1. Reading Public Schools
SMART Goals Training Presentation
September and October, 2012
Self-Assessment-Step 1 of 5 Step Cycle

2. Overview of Training Process
District Wide Staff Meeting
Overview of 5 Step Cycle
September 19 or 20-Inservice Day
Self-Assessment
October 3rd Inservice
SMART Goal Development

3. Every educator is an active participant in the evaluation process
Continuous
Learning
Every educator conducts an analysis of evidence of student learning, growth, and achievement
Every educator conducts an assessment of practice against Performance Standards.
Prepares to strategically identify professional practice and student learning goals.
Explain:
“This module builds upon the knowledge you gained in Module 2, when you learned about the Model System educator rubrics. Recall that the educator rubrics are different from observation tools you may have used – they help you look at your performance across all areas of practice, and they play a role in each step of the 5-Step Cycle, not just observation. Today we’ll focus on Step 1: the comprehensive self-assessment.
The purpose of the self-assessment is two-fold: as the first step in the cycle, it purposefully places the educator in the driver’s seat by engaging the educator in launching and shaping his or her own evaluation. A comprehensive self-assessment prepares the educator to propose rigorous, targeted goals that drive the content and direction of his or her professional growth and development throughout the school year.”
Collaboration and Continuous Learning are the focus
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 3

4. Self-Assessment Reading Public Schools TAP Presentation Fall, 2012
Self-Assessment Workshop

5. Please refer to the workbook during this section for more information

6. The self-assessment process …
Establishes a continuous improvement plan for every educator
Promotes professional growth and continuous learning
Keeps student learning at the core of all instructional and professional practice decisions
Accelerates and builds upon work by supporting a through- line of goals informed by district and school goals
Builds consistency across the school and district
Explain:
“Self-assessment is the first step in an educator’s continuous improvement cycle that promotes professional growth and student learning. It’s also an important opportunity to build upon work already being done by the school and district and increase the relevance and effectiveness of initiatives.”
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

7. Step 1: Self-Assessment Components According to the regulations
Self-assessment must include:
“an analysis of evidence of student learning, growth, and achievement for students under the educator's responsibility;
an assessment of practice against Performance Standards; and
proposed goals to pursue to improve practice and student learning, growth, and achievement” (35.06(2)(a)(1-3))
Explain:
“Educators can start their self-assessment at the end of the previous school year and/or at the very beginning of the new school year, keeping in mind that some data won’t be available until the beginning of the new school year.
“One component of a comprehensive self-assessment calls for educators to conduct an analysis of student learning, growth and achievement. During this part of the self-assessment, educators collect and analyze a wide range of evidence of student learning (e.g. readiness, academic achievement, social-emotional learning) related to both their incoming students and students they have taught in the past.
“A second component of the self-assessment involves educators assessing their own professional practice against the Standards and Indicators of Effective Teaching Practice and/or Administrative Leadership, as outlined in the rubrics. Educators identify performance standards, indicators and even behaviors from the rubric where they excel, as well as areas where they need to improve their practice in order to facilitate student learning.
“Finally, based on this analysis of student learning and assessment of practice against Performance Standards, each educator proposes goals.”
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

8. Step 1: Self-Assessment
As part of the self-assessment process the following should occur:
An analysis of evidence of student learning, growth, and achievement for students under the educator’s responsibilities
An assessment of practice against each of the four Performance Standards of effective practice using the district rubric.
Proposed goals to pursue.
The self-assessment using the performance rubric should be completed by October 2nd on BaselineEdge. Please note that the self-assessment step cannot be viewed by your administrator.
This part of the process should be completed on Baseline Edge using Form A and B which is called Develop Draft Goals from Self-Assessment on BaselineEdge, no later than October 8th.

9. Self-Assessment
Analysis of Evidence of student learning, growth and achievement
Assessment of Practice against performance standards
Proposed goals to pursue to improve practice and student learning.

10. Which Performance Rubric Do I Use for Self-Assessment?
General Classroom Rubric
PreK-High School
Special Education
ELL
Vocational Education
World Languages
Health, PE, Family and Consumer Science, Arts
Specialized Instructional Support Personnel for Counselors
School Social Workers and Adjustment Counselors
Guidance Counselors
School Psychologists
Specialized Instructional Support Personnel for Nurses and Specialists
School Nurses
Library Media Specialists
Technology Integration Specialists
Reading specialists
OT/PT
Speech and Language

11. Questions to Ask During Self-Assessment
As you are reviewing student data or are thinking about which data should be used, ask yourself the following questions:
What do you want your students to know?
How will you know if they know it?
What will you do with the students who don’t learn what they are supposed to learn?
What will you do with the students that already know what they are supposed to know?

12. Step 2: Proposing the Goals
After conducting the self-assessment, educators are required to:
Propose goals to pursue to improve practice and student learning, growth, and achievement, including at least one:
Student learning goal; and
Professional practice goal
Goals can be constructed for individuals, teams, departments, or groups of educators who share responsibility for student results. These are strongly encouraged.
Exceptions
First Year Teachers (Year 2 or 3 teachers at guidance of Principal)
Teachers who have not received ratings of Proficient or Exemplary

13. Goal Setting
Evaluator reviews goals the Educator has proposed in the self- assessment.
The evaluator retains final authority over goals to be involved in an educator’s plan.
Educators meet with the evaluator by October 15th to develop their educator plan. New educators must meet by October 1st.
Educator plan should be completed by October 30.

14. Coherence Through Aligned Goals
Explain:
“The goal-setting process also promotes efforts to ensure that the goals build consistency and coherence across and within the schools and classrooms.
“One thing learned from successful early implementations of the 5-Step Cycle was the value of team goals. Team goals should be encouraged—they can be leveraged to promote the realization of school and district goals, while still meeting the needs of both educators and students.”
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

15. Creating a Through Line for Coherence
District
School
Educator Teams
District Goals/Initiatives
School Goals/Initiatives
Standards for Effective Teaching Practice
Target Indicators
Potential Team Goals
I. Curriculum, Planning, and Assessment
II. Teaching All Students
III. Family and Community Engagement
IV. Professional Culture
Explain: “We are going to use Handouts 6 and 7 for this activity. Handout 6 is the Teacher Performance Rubric At-a-Glance, and Handout 7 is Creating a Through Line.
“We’re going to go through this activity in a step-by-step process that moves pretty quickly. The ultimate goal is to help you create a document that you can bring back to your school and use as a targeted guide for goal setting.
“I’m going to give you about 10 minutes to complete the first part of this activity. As a team, start to identify key district initiatives and goals for 2012–13 as well as key school improvement initiatives and goals. Compare them to one another and locate where they align. You might want to do this on some scrap paper or the backside of Handout 7.
“Finally, match your district and school goals for next year to the appropriate Standards from the teacher performance rubric, as identified on Handout 7. Identify one person to fill in the first two columns of the table as you engage in this discussion. You don’t need to complete all four rows—the important aspect to focus on is the alignment between the first two columns—your district and school priorities. Okay, 10 minutes—let’s begin.” After 10 minutes, move to the next part of the activity.
Explain: “Now that you’ve had time to identify and discuss points of alignment between your district and school goals this year and located them in the four Performance Standards of practice, let’s drill down to identify 2–3 target Indicators associated with each Standard that really embody high-quality practice related to these goals and initiatives. For example, if you’ve identified points of alignment between your district’s focus on community engagement through the Massachusetts Tiered Systems of Support and your school’s Wraparound Zone Initiative, you might identify Indicators III.A. (Engagement) and III.B. (Collaboration) under Standard III: Family and Community Engagement as “high leverage” for your staff this year. Use Handout 6: Teacher Performance Rubric At-a-Glance for this step. Remember—the Indicators are the bold subtitles under each Standard. For those of you who were able to complete three or four rows on your through line, select two to focus on for purposes of this activity, and make a plan to complete the others back at your school. I’ll give you about eight minutes for this step.”
After eight minutes, bring participants’ attention back and move into the final step of this activity.
Explain: “At this point, you should have a pretty good idea of what good practice related to key district and school initiatives is going to look like back at your school. The last part of this activity is where the rubber meets the road. Knowing the importance and value of collaboration and teamwork, what would you hope to see teams of educators within your school working on together in pursuit of these goals?
“We are now going to complete the last column on Handout 7. Divide your team into two groups, and assign each subgroup one team goal to develop. Each goal should be related to professional practice that would support and promote your most important district and school priorities. Think about and focus on grade-level teams, vertical teams, and/or department teams—whatever is the most naturally occurring team in your building. Be as thoughtful and focused as possible here. These could serve as a starting point as you go back to your schools to propose goals. You have eight minutes to complete this last step.”
Common facilitation challenges and solutions:
Participants may not be familiar with their district initiatives.
Remind participants that there may not be many district initiatives and that they can still complete the activity with the topics they know about. Tell participants that effective implementation of the new Educator Evaluation System is one initiative that most Massachusetts districts have. Implementation of the new Massachusetts Curricular Frameworks (the Common Core) is another initiative.
Participants may have difficulty identifying appropriate example team goals.
Tell participants to consider one subject area or grade level with which they are familiar—they can focus on that area and use it as an example for the team goals.
Participants may have anxiety because their school culture is not collaborative or conducive to team goals.
Remind participants that team goals need to be considered but are not required. They could also focus on a school leadership team goal, or an administrator team goal, as a way to model what a collaborative team goal would look like.
Guiding question: What potential team goals did you identify that align with the district and school goals?
Implementing Wrap-Up/Debrief (10 minutes)
Explain: “Before we wrap up, I want to give your leadership team the opportunity to share each team goal with one another. Go ahead and take a few minutes to discuss your ideas, and take time to jot down ways you might strengthen or improve each goal.”
After five minutes, bring the whole group back together.
“Wow—you have just completed an enormous amount of work, with the intention that this will be a solid launching point for implementing Step 2 back at your school.”
Create a through line from district  school  educator team goals
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

16. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Explain:
“As mentioned earlier, the self-assessment and goal setting steps of the evaluation cycle are interrelated. Self-assessment provides a solid, evidence-based foundation for goal setting and ensures that goals are tied directly to the performance standards in the rubric, relevant to the individual educator’s needs, and useful to continued growth of individual educators and teams.
“When goals are S.M.A.R.T.er, they become the basis of a detailed Educator Plan, which identifies what the educator is going to do, what support the evaluator and schools are going to provide, and when things will be completed.
“The educator and evaluator check in on progress toward goals and adjust the plan as needed during the formative assessment/evaluation.
“Take a look at the arrow at the bottom of the slide. Throughout all of these steps, educators and evaluators collect and share evidence to demonstrate educator improvements in professional practice and student growth.”
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

17. An Example
Reading Public Schools
SMART Goal Training
September, 2012

18. Meet Sally Smith Sally Smith: Her school: Fourth grade teacher
11 years of teaching experience
Two-Year Self-Directed Growth Plan
Her school:
Elementary level with 400 students
16% Students with disabilities
1% with limited English proficiency
Student growth on MCAS in recent years has contributed to a positive school climate
“So now that you’ve had an introduction to the three components of a self-assessment, I’d like to do a quick check-in with all of you about your previous experience with this kind of self-assessment. Raise your hand if you have no experience with any of the aspects of self-assessment I’ve just described.” [Pause] “Raise your hand if you have some experience with aspects of this self-assessment process.” [Pause] “Finally, raise your hand if you have completed a formal self-assessment that includes both analysis of student data and reflection on professional practices.”
“As you can see, ______________ [summarize what you learned about experiences of the group]. The sample educator we’ll use for the next part of the module will give us all a shared experience with the process and provide an illustration of self-assessment in action. There’s no “one way” to conduct an effective self-assessment. This is just one example of how you might approach the process. The key aspects to focus on are the data-driven nature of this teacher’s self-assessment, as well as her targeted, strategic use of the performance rubric.”
“Meet Sally Smith.
“Sally is going to be our example teacher that we follow through the self-assessment process. Sally is a fourth grade teacher with 11 years of experience. She is on a 2-year self-directed growth plan.
“She teaches at an elementary school in Central Massachusetts of around 400 students; 16 percent of those are students with disabilities and 10 percent have limited English proficiency.
“Today we are going to examine Sally’s self-assessment process, seeing how it builds to the next step, goal setting.”
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

19. Sally Smith’s Brainstorm
Strengths
Needs
Improving student performance in both Math and ELA for students who enter my class performing below grade level
Teaching classrooms with diverse needs (especially meeting the needs of student with an IEP)
Family outreach and communication
Additional support for implementing the revised MA Curriculum Frameworks
Improving communication with families for whom English is a second language
Strengthen leadership skills
“To begin her self-assessment, Sally starts with a brainstorm that documents her general strengths and needs. She asks herself: ‘Where do I feel most comfortable in my profession, or where have I seen results?’ She jots down some of these strengths on a piece of paper. Then she asks herself: ‘What do I find most difficult? Where would I like more help from others?’ and jots down these areas she’d like to improve upon as ‘needs.’
“Would someone be willing to volunteer to read the strengths Sally identified?”
Choose a volunteer to read her strengths; then ask a volunteer to read the needs she identified.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

20. Summary of Sally Smith’s Student Data Refer to the Workbook
Part 1: Analysis of Student Learning, Growth, and Achievement
Briefly summarize areas of strength and high-priority concerns for students under your responsibility for the upcoming school year. Cite evidence such as results from available assessments. This form should be individually submitted by educator, but Part 1 can also be used by individuals and/or teams who jointly review and analyze student data.
603 CMR (2)(a)1
Strengths: the DRA-II shows that most of my incoming students have strong reading foundations, including accuracy and fluency. According to their previous teachers, students enjoy reading fiction and creative writing. In 3rd grade overall, students have Reading and Math scores that are higher than the state average with Math (68% Proficient) slightly higher than Reading (62% Proficient).
High-priority concerns: 5/20 incoming students are ELLs and 5/20 have IEPs (mostly focused on literacy goals). Six have reading comprehension at the 2rd grade level and five have reading comprehension around the 3rd grade level according to the DRA-II. Students with weak reading comprehension also have weaker reading fluency. Students will need additional support to be reading and comprehending successfully at grade level by the end of the year. There are also four students reading above grade level as well, so instruction and materials in that area will need to be strongly differentiated.
“Let’s take out Handout 5a. This form is Part I of the self-assessment process from the Model System. As you can see, Sally completed this form after conducting a thorough analysis of evidence specific to her new students’ strengths and needs.
“Take a few minutes to read Sally’s reflection on her student learning data. Highlight or underline specific pieces of data or sources of evidence that informed her analysis.”
(Give participants about 3 minutes to find the page and read it.)
When participants start to look up or talk, explain:
“Sally’s reflection on her incoming students shows that she has conducted a much more formal analysis of student learning in order to complete this form.”
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

21. Sally’s Source Data Consider the following questions:
What types of information did Sally use to develop this student profile?
What other sources of data could Sally have considered?
Based on this analysis, what types of “student learning needs” might Sally focus on in the coming year?
“Now turn to Handout 3. With an elbow partner (someone sitting next to you), discuss the three questions in the left-hand column and record your answers.
What types of information did Sally consider in her analysis of student data? (Circle any types of data that Sally used that’s similar to what you might draw from at your school.)
What other types of data could Sally have used?
Based on this analysis, what types of “student learning needs” might Sally focus on in the coming year?
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

22. Sally Smith’s Brainstorm
PROMPT: Where do I feel most comfortable in my profession? Where have I seen positive results?
PROMPT: What do I find most difficult? Where would I like more help from others?
Strengths
Needs
Improving student performance in both Math and ELA for students who enter my class performing below grade level
Teaching classrooms with diverse needs (especially meeting the needs of student with an IEP)
Family outreach and communication
Additional support for implementing the revised MA Curriculum Framework
Improving communication with families for whom English is a second language
Strengthen leadership skills
Learning Activity 3: Sally Smith’s Skills (25 minutes)
Explain:
“Now that she has completed an analysis of student learning, Sally is going to continue on to Part 2 of the self-assessment and conduct an assessment of her own professional practice.
“To do this, she goes back to the brainstorm of strengths and needs she created. So let’s flip back to her brainstorm, which is Handout 2.”
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

23. Sally Smith’s Professional Practice Skills
Pull out the Rubric-at-a-Glance page (Last Page of Workbook)
Circle the Indicator(s) that best align with Sally Smith’s strengths and areas of need
Explain:
“Now each of you is going to become Sally. You are going to complete this portion of the self-assessment process just like she would.
“We’re going to use Sally’s brainstorm again for this activity, as well as Handouts 4 and 5a. Handout 4 is a Rubric-at-a-Glance that summarizes the Teacher Rubric. You’re going to identify which Indicators on that outline best align with the strengths and needs Sally identified in her brainstorm.
“This is the process Sally would follow in order to move from a brainstorm to concrete findings related to professional practice using the rubric. Locating self-identified strengths and needs in the rubric will help Sally target and focus her professional practice goals to the Performance Standards on which she’ll be evaluated. It also helps educators avoid biting off more than they can chew, which is what it might feel like if they were to start their self-assessment with the entire rubric.
“Using the Rubric At-a-Glance, just focus on Indicators for now. Remember, the Indicators appear as the lettered, bolded subtitles under each Standard. Don’t worry about the numbered elements. What Indicators embody or align to the self-identified strengths and needs from Sally’s brainstorm?
“Working on your own, jot down at least one Indicator next to each strength and need on her brainstorm (Handout 2).”
Facilitator Note: Put slide 20 back up on the screen for the duration of work time. It should take 3-6 minutes for participants to complete the activity. Slide 22 contains some possible answers – advance to slide 22 when you see participants have completed the activity.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

24. Sally’s Assessment of Practice Against the Rubric
Strengths
Needs
Improving student performance in both Math and ELA for students who enter my class performing below grade level (I-A: Curriculum & Planning; II-A: Instruction)
Teaching classrooms with diverse needs (especially meeting the needs of student with an IEP) (II-A: Instruction; II-B: Learning Environment; II-D: Expectations)
Family outreach and communication (Standard III)
Additional support for implementing the revised MA Curriculum framework (I-A: Curriculum & Planning)
Improving communication with families for whom English is a second language (III-C: Communications)
Strengthen leadership skills (IV-C: Collaboration; IV-D: Decision-Making)
“Here are Indicators from the teacher rubric that you might have circled as representative of the strengths and needs Sally initially identified during her brainstorm.
“Check your thinking against these answers.”
Give participants a minute to look at this slide to check their work. Ask for questions, areas of disagreement, or confusion.
Common facilitation challenges and solutions:
Participants may have difficulty getting started with this exercise or be confused as to what they’re trying to do.
Circulate around the room and offer tips on how to get started (or share with the whole group if many people look puzzled). Tips include:
Start at the Standard level, grouping information into the largest buckets possible. Then go down to the Indicator level.
Use the elements to help you understand what the Indicator means (but don’t worry about aligning to the element level). The elements provide additional detail related to each Indicator.
Also remind participants that there isn’t really a “wrong” answer so they should just jump in and give the exercise a try.
Participants may disagree with the “answers” on the PowerPoint slide.
Explain that while effective teaching practice has been organized into four distinct Standards and 16 Indicators, the skills and behaviors described in each area are interrelated. Therefore, it’s not unusual for two people to approach this alignment activity differently. The conversation is most important, as well as staying open to others’ perspectives. In this example, we’ve identified a few areas of alignment for several of Sally’s reflections, to demonstrate that there are multiple possibilities.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

25. What Sally Does Next…
Read the elements of the Indicators you’ve identified, focusing on the “proficient” description
Which Indicators best align with Sally’s strengths and areas of need?
What key words are used to describe what it looks like to be “proficient” in these areas?
Based on what she identified as areas for improvement and using the rubric as a guide, what are some specific aspects of performance that Sally might need to focus on?
“Can anyone guess where we’re going with this? Why would Sally link her strengths and needs to the rubric?
“We are going to stay in Sally’s shoes for a bit longer. The next thing Sally wants to do is get a better understanding of what it would mean to improve and excel in her self-identified areas of need. At this point, she’s going to turn to the full Teacher Rubric to get a sense of what it means to be Proficient in these areas. We are going to do the same.
“For this section, you will need the complete Teacher Rubric, which is the last 15 pages in the back of your handout packet, Sally’s brainstorm, which is Handout 2, and Handout 3. So gather those together.
“Partner with someone at your table, or work together as a group if there are just a few of you. We’re going to complete the right-hand column of Handout 3, which we used earlier. Start by locating those Indicators we already identified as aligned to Sally’s strengths and needs. Then, read the descriptions of Proficient practice associated with each element under those Indicators. Proficient practice is the third column of the rubric.
“Respond to questions 5 and 6 on Handout 3:
What would it look like for her to be proficient in those areas?
Based on these descriptions of practice, what might be some goals related to professional practice that Sally might choose to focus on?”
Facilitator Note: Put Slide 22 back up so participants can locate the Indicators they’re focusing on.
Give participants 15 minutes to complete this activity.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

26. Sally’s Form A (Part 2)
Individual
Strengths:
Former student MCAS data (achievement and growth) and benchmark data shows that I am successful at improving student performance in both Math and ELA for students who enter my class performing below grade level. I have also received positive feedback from my peers and principal regarding my ability to differentiate my instruction to meet diverse needs (Indicator II-A). I have also been successful at increasing communication and collaboration with parents, as evidence by increasing attendance to parent nights, homework workshops, and internet traffic to my classroom website. (Standard III).

27. Sally’s Form A, Part 2 (Continued)
Areas for support:
I would like increased opportunities to serve as a mentor and model for my peers, and support in developing leadership skills. I am also concerned that although my past performance with regard to Curriculum and Planning (Indicator I-A) has been strong, I will face new challenges when we begin to implement the revised curriculum frameworks. I would like additional support in transitioning to the new frameworks.

28. Sally’s Form A, Part 2 (Continued)
Team
Our 4th grade team met to review the rubric and agreed that one of our team strengths is parent engagement. However, we are collectively concerned about the implementation of the revised curriculum frameworks, and would like to have additional supports (time, PD, etc) to develop our skills with regard to unit design, backward mapping to the new standards, and assessments.

29. Getting to Goal Topics
What needs jump out at you as the most pressing?
Do you see any that could be combined into a concrete student learning goal or a professional practice goal?
Do you see any opportunities for alignment between a student learning goal and a professional practice goal?
Learning Activity 4: Getting to Goal Topics (10 minutes)
“Before Sally is finished with the self-assessment step of the cycle, she needs to complete Part 3 of the self-assessment process: posing goals. These goals should come directly from the student learning needs and professional practice needs we’ve already identified on our Needs Analysis chart paper.
“Based on our charted responses to questions 3 and 6, what needs jump out at you as the most pressing? Do you see any goal topics that could be combined? Do you see any opportunities for alignment between a student learning goal and a professional practice goal? .
“For now, stay focused on goal topics that might provide the basis for these goals. Don’t worry about S.M.A.R.T. goals yet—just topics.”
Notes for facilitator during this whole group discussion:
Star the most pressing need in each column on the “Needs Analysis” chart, keeping in mind that not every need has to go into a goal
Draw solid lines between ideas that could be combined easily into a goal statement
Draw dotted lines between ideas that might be combined into a goal statement with some work
As the group starts making these connections, record possible goal topics for student learning and professional practice goals on the piece of chart paper titled “Possible Goal Topics,” positioned next to the “Needs Analysis” chart.
Explain: “Remember, Sally will have to write at least one student learning goal and one professional practice goal in the next step of the evaluation cycle, and she can consider team goals for either. You’ve probably begun to see relationships or opportunities for alignment between student learning needs and professional practice needs, which is terrific. That type of alignment can help focus and propel multiple goals forward.”
Example goal topics might be:
Student learning: meeting the needs of English language learners; improving the performance of students who arrive below grade level.
Professional practice: acting as a leader for her team during the rollout of the new curriculum frameworks.
Professional practice 4th grade team goal: collaborating around the development of lesson plans based on the revised MA curricular frameworks.
Take about 10 minutes to complete this whole group activity.
 Guiding questions for discussion: What are some goal topic areas for Sally that align with her student learning analysis and/or professional practice analysis?   
Learning Wrap-Up/Debrief 4 (5 minutes)
After listing possible goal topics together, lead the participants through a whole-group discussion about the topics, asking each of the questions listed below of the group in order.
What was the most difficult part of these activities for your group? Why?
What did you learn about the self-assessment process by completing these activities?
What are some other ways you might approach the self-assessment process? 
Transition to Slide 26, explain:
“These activities actually put you in the shoes of an educator completing a self-assessment, so you could understand the steps and ways of thinking necessary to complete this step of the educator evaluation cycle. Now we are going to spend some time thinking strategically about implementing the self-assessment step back at your school.”
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

30. What does Sally do next?
Based upon Sally’s Self-Assessment, her draft goals could focus on the following areas:
Improve reading comprehension for all students, especially ELL and students on an IEP
Align the grade 4 literacy and math curriculum to the Common Core State Standards and develop district determined measures that align with those standards.
Complete a new mentor training program.
The next two slides give examples of how Sally could write her three goals. Refer to Page 6 and 7 in the workbook.

31. Student Learning SMART Goal
Check whether goal is individual or team;
write team name if applicable.
Professional Practice SMART Goal 1
Individual
X Team: Julie Jones (Grade 4 Special Education Teacher), Barbara Bingham (Reading Specialist) and Fred Fosey (ELL Teacher)
By the end of the school year, all students in my class will advance at least one grade level in reading comprehension and ELL and students who have literacy goals on their IEP will advance at least two grade levels in reading comprehension as measured by the DRA-II. This will be a team goal with the Grade 4 Special Education Teacher, Reading Specialist and the ELL Teacher.
X Team: Bob Smith and Maria Nunez (Grade 4 Teachers)
By the end of the school year, our grade level team will have successfully aligned 100% of the Massachusetts Common Core State Standards in literacy and mathematics for Grade 4. We will work with our grade level colleagues throughout the district to develop at least two district determined measures in literacy by the end of the school year that are aligned with the CCSS.

32. Professional Practice SMART Goal 2
Check whether goal is an individual or team/department goal; write team/department name if applicable.
X Individual
Team/Department/Grade Level Name:
School wide
By the end of the school year, I will have successfully completed the new mentor training that is offered by the Reading Public Schools. As a result of that training, I will be able to mentor a colleague in my school during the school year.

33. Looking Ahead Laying the Foundation
School teams will work together to develop a completed educator plan. We will focus on this on October 3.
As a team, action steps will be identified.
Merge these activities into one Educator Plan that addresses each of the two goals in a strategic, coherent manner. Then document the needed supports and resources and determine a timeline.
Student Learning Goal(s) and Professional Practice Goal(s) Planned Activity
Action
Supports/Resources From School/District
Timeline/Benchmark or Frequency
Learning Activity 2: Laying the Foundation (40 minutes)
Purpose and intended outcomes: Taking sample student learning and professional practice goals for one educator, participants will identify specific actions and benchmarks to be included in an Educator Plan.
Facilitation notes: Each school team will work to develop an Educator Plan based on two goals for one educator—one student learning and one professional practice goal. The examples are included in each handout packet. The goals belong to an eighth-grade geometry teacher on a one-year self-directed growth plan.
The goals for this teacher are listed below:
Goal 1: Student Learning Goal (Individual): In order to ensure mathematical literacy in each of the three content areas for eighth-grade geometry, I will incorporate essay questions into unit assessments that require elaboration of mathematical reasoning so that by the end of the 2012–13 school year, 80 percent or more of my students demonstrate proficiency on essay questions on the end-of-he-year eighth-grade geometry assessment.
Goal 2: Professional Practice Goal (Team): Our eighth-grade mathematics team will become more familiar with instructional strategies proven to provide access to the mathematical curriculum and develop language skills across domains (speaking, listening comprehension, reading, and writing) for intermediate and advanced ELLs, such that we are able to implement a minimum of three targeted strategies by the end of the 2012–13 school year and see improvements in ELLs’ achievement in mathematics as a result.
Teams will work together using Post-it Notes and a blank piece of chart paper. Their worksheet instructs them to label it so it resembles this chart. Starting with Goal 1, team members will write action steps, one per Post-it Note, to share with the team. As each team member completes a Post-it Note, he or she should begin placing them on a blank piece of chart paper. The first time through, all action steps should be posted. This will be completed for both goals. Then the team will work to consolidate the similar action steps. Once consolidated, teams will then work together to determine the needed resources and supports and to develop the timeline to complete the Educator Plan.
Activity Detail. Explain: “This activity is a culmination of the activities completed throughout the day. You will take what you learned today and use that knowledge to develop an Educator Plan. Your school team will work together to develop a plan for an educator with two goals. The example goals and instructions for this activity are included on Handout 4, so make sure you have that in front of you. One member of your team is going to quickly label your chart paper so that it resembles the chart on the slide.”
“The first step in building a plan is to identify action steps needed to accomplish each goal. These are things like attending a professional learning activity, working with the team to identify and implement instructional strategies that are more accessible for English language learners, etc. Start with Goal 1, his individual student learning goal. Working together, brainstorm action steps related to that goal and write them on your Post-it Notes. Use one Post-it Note for each suggested action step. When 3–4 minutes have passed, I’m going to cue you to move on to his second goal, which is a professional practice team goal. You’ll do the same thing—brainstorm specific action steps related to that goal and place them on Post-it Notes.
“We’re focusing only on action steps right now. The intent of this activity is to generate a lot of ideas in a short period of time. So, it is okay to have duplication. As ideas are generated, post each action step onto the chart paper, in no particular order.
“We will take eight minutes to complete this part of the activity, so you should plan on taking 3–4 minutes generating activities for each goal.
At seven minutes, give a one-minute warning to wrap up, and then bring the group back together after eight minutes.
Ask the participants: “Was that an easy process? Did you have duplication in the actions steps?”
Wait for participant responses.
“Yes, most often it is likely that action steps will be similar for the goals—most particularly if they are aligned. Now as a team, take the next five minutes to organize or cluster the action steps into groups that are similar, so the Educator Plan can be as strategic and coherent as possible. This process should take about seven minutes.”
At four minutes, give them a warning. At five minutes, pull the group back together to describe the next step.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

34. Next Step: Educator Plan Development
Designed to provide Educators with feedback for improvement, professional growth, and leadership
Plan must be aligned to the standards and indicators, as well as, district and school goals.
Shall include
At least one goal related to the improvement of practice tied to one or more Performance Standards
At least one goal for the improvement of the learning, growth, and achievement of the students under the Educator’s responsibility
An outline of actions the Educator must take to attain the goals and benchmarks to assess progress. Actions must include specified professional development and learning activities.
Examples could include, coursework, self-study, action research, curriculum development, study groups with peers, and implementing new programs.

35. Educator Plans: Requirements and Timelines
Self-Directed Growth Plan
Rated Proficient or Exemplary
Two-year plan
Developed by the educator
Directed Growth Plan
Rated Needs Improvement
One-year plan or less
Developed by educator and evaluator
Improvement Plan
Rated Unsatisfactory
At least 30 calendar days; up to one year
Developed by the evaluator
Developing Educator Plan
Without Professional Status
Developed by the educator and evaluator
Explain:
“Each Educator Plan has specific requirements. Generally speaking, experienced educators with higher performance ratings will be on self-directed growth plans, which give them the most ownership over the development of the plan. This will probably apply to the majority of educators at your school. For those identified as Needs Improvement or for teachers without professional status, both the evaluator and educator develop the plan collaboratively. In situations in which the educator is rated as Unsatisfactory, the evaluator is responsible for developing the Educator Plan.
“This is also the case in determining the duration of the plan. Experienced teachers rated as Proficient or Exemplary can be on two-year plans, while educators with increased needs are on a shorter timeline in order to provide these educators with more frequent monitoring and feedback on their performance.”
“Let’s take a minute and discuss the benefits of differentiating the requirements within the Educator Plans. Do any of you have thoughts about some potential benefits to this approach?”
Call on 1–3 volunteers in the audience. Anticipate the following possible responses:
Shorter plans for struggling educators or educators identified as in need of improvement may feel counterintuitive, but it has the effect of focusing more resources in a more targeted manner where needed. It addresses one of the five driving principles of the new evaluation framework—to shorten timelines for improvement.
Differentiating plans allows for evaluators’ time to be allocated more effectively, with more time devoted to educators identified in need of additional supports.
Self-directed growth plans for strong educators acknowledge their experience by placing them in the driver’s seat, giving them opportunities to work toward more long-term goals, while simultaneously ensuring that they are not ignored.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

36. What Plan Will I Be On For This Year? For 2012-13 School Year
Non-PTS (Will be Non-PTS Next Year)
Developing Educator Plan
Non-PTS (Will be PTS Next Year)
Self-Directed Growth Plan
PTS on Year 1 of TAP Cycle
Year 2 of Self-Directed Growth Plan
PTS on Year 2 of TAP Cycle
Self-Directed Growth Plan or Directed Growth Plan
PTS New to An Assignment
Developing Educator Plan or Self-Directed Growth Plan
PTS on Year 1 of Alternative Evaluation
Will Complete Year 2 of Alternative Evaluation, then new TAP system in
PTS on Year 2 of Alternative Evaluation
PTS on Additional Assistance Plan and will continue on it next year
Directed Growth Plan
PTS on Additional Assistance Plan and will not continue on it next year

37. Implementation Responsibility
Educator Responsibilities:
Identifying, collecting & organizing artifacts/evidence related to goal progress.
Documenting action steps completed.
Collecting and submitting common artifacts.
Collecting and submitting evidence related to Standards III and IV.
Evaluator Responsibilities:
Making resources and supports available.
Identifying common artifacts/evidence.
Observing practice and providing regular and specific feedback on performance.
Monitoring progress – including midpoint check-ins.
Explain:
“Regardless of what plan you’re on, educators and evaluators truly share implementation responsibility. Part of developing, refining, and finalizing goals and plans is collaborating around what will be most useful for the educator, what specific types of evidence are available to demonstrate progress, and how the evaluator can best support attainment of goals through existing resources, ongoing and upcoming professional development, and targeted and ongoing feedback.”
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

38. Assignment For Next Time (By October 2)
Use the educator rubric (Self-Assessment Tool for Classroom Teacher or Specialized Instructional Support Personnel Rubric) to self-assess where you are currently for each element. Do this on Baseline Edge. Highlight the appropriate level for each element.
Be as self-reflective as possible. This self-assessment is for your own use only and does not have to be shared with others. Your evaluator cannot view it.
Refer to the Educator Evaluation: Self-Assessment and Goals Development Workbook for more samples and information in preparation for the October 3rd Inservice Day.