Florida Board of Education prepares to set teacher evaluation standards
Since adopting the much challenged value-added model for rating teacher performance, Florida has allowed local school districts to assign evaluation performance levels to teachers based in part on local definitions.
That's about to change. When it meets next Thursday in Tampa, the Florida Board of Education is set to adopt a new rule setting standard definitions for the ratings in courses associated with statewide tests, such as Algebra I and English/Language Arts.
The proposed rule would set the levels as follows:
a. Highly Effective. A highly effective rating on Performance of Students criteria is demonstrated by a value-added score of greater than zero (0), where all of the scores contained within the associated 95-percent confidence interval also lie above zero (0).
b. Effective. An effective rating on Performance of Students criteria is demonstrated by the following:
I. A value-added score of zero (0);
II. A value-added score of greater than zero (0), where some portion of the range of scores associated with a 95-percent confidence interval lies at or below zero (0); or
III. A value-added score of less than zero (0), where some portion of the range of scores associated with both the 68-percent and the 95-percent confidence interval lies at or above zero (0).
c. Needs Improvement, or Developing if the teacher has been teaching for fewer than three (3) years. A needs improvement or developing rating on Performance of Students criteria is demonstrated by a value-added score that is less than zero (0), where the entire 68-percent confidence interval falls below zero (0), but where a portion of the 95-percent confidence interval lies above zero (0).
d. Unsatisfactory. An unsatisfactory rating on Performance of Students criteria is demonstrated by a value-added score of less than zero (0), where all of the scores contained within the 95-percent confidence interval also lie below zero (0).
b. Effective. An effective rating on Performance of Students criteria is demonstrated by the following:
I. A value-added score of zero (0);
II. A value-added score of greater than zero (0), where some portion of the range of scores associated with a 95-percent confidence interval lies at or below zero (0); or
III. A value-added score of less than zero (0), where some portion of the range of scores associated with both the 68-percent and the 95-percent confidence interval lies at or above zero (0).
c. Needs Improvement, or Developing if the teacher has been teaching for fewer than three (3) years. A needs improvement or developing rating on Performance of Students criteria is demonstrated by a value-added score that is less than zero (0), where the entire 68-percent confidence interval falls below zero (0), but where a portion of the 95-percent confidence interval lies above zero (0).
d. Unsatisfactory. An unsatisfactory rating on Performance of Students criteria is demonstrated by a value-added score of less than zero (0), where all of the scores contained within the 95-percent confidence interval also lie below zero (0).
The proposed rule also would set the VAM formulas for districts to use. Incomprehensible to many, the DOE recently offered an explanation of how it sees the model working. For all the nitty gritty, check out the attachments that follow the actual rule language.
This move comes on the heels of lawmakers' decision to let districts reduce the amount that student test scores count on evaluations, from 50 percent to 33.3 percent -- a change that districts are approaching with varied views. Pinellas schools, for one, decided to let teachers count their VAM at whichever level benefits them most. Pasco schools, by contrast, proposed to cut the rate to 35 percent, but the teachers union so far has balked.
Pasco officials have suggested that the changing state rule might have an effect on the teachers' point of view, and have recommended taking advantage of the new flexibility, noting such legislative offers come rarely.
And the concept of VAM, though reviled by many educators as unfair and unproven (among other negatives) looks here to stay. A federal court recently ruled that the Legislature was "not irrational" in adopting the model, leaving opponents with a shrinking opportunities to dislodge it. The Florida Education Association is contemplating whether to further appeal its case. Stay tuned.Florida Board of Education prepares to set teacher evaluation standards | Tampa Bay Times:
