1. Student Learning Targets (SLT)
You Can Do This!
Calcasieu Teacher Preview Training
By Pat Deaville
Getting Ready for the School Year

2. Hold Hands Link “compliance” with “common sense.”
Compliance with laws, policy and regulations are important.
But application of common sense is equally important.
Use your expertise, experience, and resources to make the initial implementation of SLTs a “doable” thing for teachers and evaluators.

3. SLT Annual Timeline Louisiana Department of Education
Summer: Districts determine strategy for standardizing targets and/or assessments and develop support system for teachers and evaluators.
Beginning of School Year: Teachers set at least two targets and define what performance will look like at each level of effectiveness. Evaluators approve targets based on three criteria.
Mid-Year: Teachers and evaluators monitor progress towards targets: Teachers and evaluators update targets, if assignment or student population changes significantly.
End of School Year: Evaluators assign teachers a final rating based on students’ progress towards target, using the agreed upon definitions of effectiveness from the beginning of the year.

4. Calcasieu Parish School System Student Learning Target Implementation
General Timelines for Initial Implementation:
Development of Plans, Tools and Processes – January - July 2012.
Initial Awareness Training – March - June 2012.
Follow-up Training – July - September 2012.
Sample SLT Writing and Refinement – March-August 2012.
Writing and Sharing Workshops – May-September 2012.
Blackboard Availability of Tools and Samples – June - October 2012.
Evaluation Workshops – July - September 2012.
SLTs written and submitted for review by Sept 14, 2012.
SLTs reviewed, refined and approved by October 11, 2012.
SLT results given by teachers to evaluators on April 19, 2013.

5. Calcasieu Parish School System Student Learning Target Training
Important Components for Training:
Awareness
Writing of Student Learning Targets (SLTs)
Selecting/Developing Appropriate Assessments/Rubrics
Evaluating SLTs

6. Calcasieu Parish School System Local Training in Support of LDOE Training
Delivery of Training:
Face to Face (Live)
Face to Electronic Face (TV Production)
Blackboard
Webinar

7. Calcasieu Parish School System Student Learning Targets
Important SLT Decisions for the District:
Determine local strategy around standardization of common assessments and/or SLTs.
Critical Learning Objective for various subjects and grades
Assessment Tools for various subjects and grades
Rubrics for various subjects and grades
Determine additional local guidance to be given to teachers and evaluators relative to SLTs (e.g. timeline for process; opportunities for collaboration among teachers of similar assignments)
Determine how the district will support individual teachers prior to the submission of SLTs to Principals/Evaluators

8. What is a Student Learning Target (SLT)?
A student learning target (SLT) is a measurable goal for student achievement over a given period of time.
SLTs should be driven by baseline data on where students are performing.
SLTs should be aligned with the appropriate standards for the course.
SLTs should be measurable by a pre-determined assessment.

9. Four Components of a Quality SLT
RATIONALE FOR SLT
What are the critical learning objectives, the content standards aligned to those objectives, and the assessment plan to be used in measuring student growth.
STUDENT LEARNING TARGET
Clear statement of the statistical projection of student growth in meeting a pre-established goal.
BASELINE DATA
Information about the target audience gathered by the teacher to establish the performance/skills/achievement levels at the beginning of the year as relates to the critical learning objectives.
SCORING PLAN AND ACHIEVEMENT RANGE
Clear statement of the ranges of achievement that demonstrate the teacher’s impact on students meeting a pre-established goal.

10. What else should I know about SLTs?
An SLT is not a compilation of everything you teach in your class.
An SLT does not need to include every student that you teach.
An SLT focuses on one or more critical learning objectives within the full range of what students are expected to learn.
There must be a valid rubric that determines proficiency of the student.
There should also be a gathering of evidence of student progress over time (body of evidence) between the initial assessment and final assessment or aggregation of final results.

11. Who Writes an SLT?
LDOE requires all teachers, counselors and librarians to write two student learning targets each year.
The student growth component of the evaluation for Non-VAM teachers (70% of all teachers) will be based on Student Learning Targets (SLTs).
The student growth component for the evaluation for VAM teachers (30% of all teachers) comes from VAM.
Teachers using the VAM model are required to write SLTs as LDOE sees SLT writing as a best practice.

12. Who is the Target Audience of the SLT?
Teachers may set targets focused on an entire class/a specific subject/a cohort or their lowest performing students.
The target audience is not necessarily every student taught by the teacher.
The teacher and evaluator may collaboratively select a grade level or subject as the target audience so long as the grade level or subject is representative of a cross-section of all student taught by the teacher.

13. How is the SLT rated ? Rating the SLT (End of Year)
Evaluators assign teachers a final rating based on students’ progress towards target, using the agreed upon definitions of effectiveness from the beginning of the year
Insufficient Attainment of Target (1)
Partial Attainment of Target (2)
Full Attainment of Target (3)
Exceptional Attainment of Target (4)

14. Calcasieu Formula for Achievement Ranges Sample Based on 60 Students and 70% Achieving Target Goals
Insufficient Attainment is any result below Partial Attainment. (1 point) 32 or fewer students out of the 60 students in the target audience Partial Attainment is a range from 10-15% below the target to just below the actual SLT. (2 points) students out of the 60 students in the target audience START HERE: Full Attainment is a range from the actual SLT up to 10-15% above the target. (3 points) 70% of 60 students students out of the 60 students in the target audience. Exceptional Attainment is any result above the Full Attainment range. This range should represent more than a year’s worth of growth. (4 points) 52 or more students out of the 60 students in the target audience.

15. Calcasieu Guidance on Target Audience and Percentage for Achievement Range
The “target audience” should represent no less than 35% of the students taught by the teacher.
The teacher should project no less than 70% of the target audience as “achieving the goals outlined in the SLT.”
The teacher and evaluator may cooperatively establish lower percentages for the “target audience” and/or percentage “achieving the SLT goal” based on unique circumstances of the teacher’s assignment or student population.

16. Calcasieu Guidance on Attendance Impacting Achievement Ranges
The teacher may write into the SLT an attendance factor for 80% attendance required
“70% of the students who attend 80% or more of my classes will be proficient in the Critical Learning Objective stated in my SLT.”
An achievement range calculator will adjust for a target audience that shrinks due to transfers or attendance issues.
A target audience in the SLT can shrink but cannot grow.
Electronic form initiated by teacher sent to evaluator for verification when removing a student from the target audience.

17. Calcasieu Parish Schools Achievement Range Calculator
The district has created an excel calculator to assist teachers and evaluators in establishing (and confirming) achievement ranges for SLTs.
The calculator is available in the COMPASS course on the CPSB Blackboard Site.
Enter into the left hand column the number in the target audience.
Enter into the next column the percentage projected to be proficient (minimum of 70%)
The calculator will the give you the achievement ranges for your SLT

18. Calcasieu Writing Process
Go to CPSB Blackboard – COMPASS
Review the writing guide.
Look at samples written by peers.
Do a draft on the template provided.
Don’t rush. It make take several attempts to feel good about what you have written.
Have a peer or supervisor review for support when you feel good about what you have written. (District and School Level Support System.)
Consult with your evaluator to insure you are on the same page. This should done at the beginning of the process as well as near the end of the process.
Repeat the process for writing a 2nd SLT.
Refine and polish your final product.

19. To Self-Enroll in the Calcasieu COMPASS Blackboard Course
Log into Blackboard.
Click on the Courses Tab at the top right of the screen.
Type compass in the Class Search Box and click Go.
At the bottom of the screen you will see the COMPASS course. Click on the down pointing arrow next to the class id.
Click Enroll.
Enter the following for the code: compass
Click Submit
Click Ok.