Teacher Appraisal in Australia I am going to talk to you about teacher appraisal in Australia.

Role of Australian Government in school education States and territories have responsibility for delivery of education The Australian Government contributes significant funding and takes on a leadership and coordination role in policy development. To provide some context. As you would be aware under our system of government, although the Australian Government commits significant funding to school education in Australia, schooling is principally the constitutional responsibility of the eight states and territories. The Australian Government does also plays a leadership role in, and often provides additional funding for areas of national educational importance, such as driving teacher quality. This is a corner stone of the current government’s education reforms – the National Plan for School Improvement.

National Plan for School Improvement Five areas of reform: Quality teaching Quality learning Empowered school leadership Meeting student need Transparency and accountability The National Plan for School Improvement is the biggest schooling reform for forty years. The aim of our plan is to make sure that Australia is in the top five countries in the world in reading, science and mathematics by 2025. To do this we need the best teachers and principals in our schools. The Plan will be phased in over six years, starting from 2014, so that schools have time to adjust. Reforms to Quality Teaching under the National Plan for School Improvement include: higher entry requirements for the teaching profession more practical classroom experience for student teachers before they graduate Providing new teachers with extra time to plan their lessons, and receive mentoring by more experienced teachers extra training for teachers to manage disruptive behaviour and bullying a yearly performance review for all teachers and training to help them meet the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers access to ongoing training throughout their careers And for our School Leaders: principals will receive extra leadership training as well as ongoing professional development principals will have more power to make decisions about things like staffing and managing the school budget. Much of this work will be led by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL).

The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) AITSL provides leadership in promoting excellence in the teaching profession. AITSL has developed: The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers The Australian Professional Standard for Principals The Teacher Performance and Development Framework Nationally consistent teacher registration Certification of Highly Accomplished and Lead teachers AITSL was established in 2010 and is a public company established to provide national leadership for the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments in promoting excellence in the profession of teaching and school leadership. AITSL's role includes: developing and maintaining rigorous Australian Professional Standards for Teachers and the Australian Professional Standard for Principals; implementing an agreed system of national accreditation of teachers based on these standards; driving high quality professional development for teachers and school leaders through professional standards, professional learning and a national approach to the accreditation of pre-service teacher education courses; and working collaboratively with government and non-government school systems, key stakeholders including professional associations and education unions, teacher educators, business and school communities, and the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) and Education Services Australia (ESA). Of this work, the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers has become the cornerstone or the building block for a vast array of recent quality teaching reforms.

The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers The Standards: are a public statement of what constitutes teacher quality make explicit the elements of high-quality teaching in 21st-century schools make clear the knowledge, practice and professional engagement required across teachers' careers contribute to the professionalisation of teaching and raise the status of the profession. The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers is a public statement of what constitutes teacher quality. The Standards are organised into four career stages and guide the preparation, support and development of teachers. The stages reflect the continuum of a teacher's developing professional expertise from undergraduate preparation through to being an exemplary classroom practitioner and a leader in the profession. The Standards also inform the development of professional learning goals, provide a framework by which teachers can judge the success of their learning and assist self-reflection and self-assessment. Teachers can use the Standards to recognise their current and developing capabilities, professional aspirations and achievements.

The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (continued) The four professional career stages of the Standards: There are seven Standards which outline what teachers should know and be able to do. They are grouped into three domains of teaching: Professional Knowledge, Professional Practice and Professional Engagement. Four professional career stages: Graduate, Proficient, Highly Accomplished and Lead. Graduate – the first two years of the teacher’s career. Proficient – most teachers will be at this level for the majority of their career, unless they decide to seek certification at the higher levels (more on this later).

Teacher Performance and Development Framework The Framework will help to build a culture of teacher quality, feedback and growth. It will improve teacher effectiveness and consequently student outcomes. It will ensure all teachers have access to effective, continuous and constructive feedback throughout their careers. The Australian Teacher Performance and Development Framework was endorsed by Commonwealth, State and Territory Education Ministers on 3 August 2012. The Framework requires that all teachers in Australian schools participate in an annual appraisal process where they will receive regular and constructive feedback on their progress, as well as opportunities for further professional development. The Framework highlights what is required to build a comprehensive and effective approach to high performance and development. It outlines the characteristics of a successful system and the culture that needs to be in place for sustained improvements to occur in schools. It describes the characteristics of an effective performance and development cycle, including the elements of the cycle that are essential for success and should be implemented in all Australian schools. The Framework provides a structure for appraising, developing and improving teaching practice as well as recognising the entitlement of teachers to meaningful feedback and support. The Framework provides a vehicle for all teachers to have ongoing meaningful discussions about their practice, premised against the clear expectations of what is a quality teacher outlined in the Professional Standards.

Importance of teacher performance and development Quality of teaching Improvement in student outcomes Better appraisal and feedback Targeted development Key points to share There is also strong evidence that better appraisal and feedback leading to targeted development can improve teacher performance. Positive message: teachers want effective feedback teachers want support to develop and improve (both newly qualified and experienced teachers). Teachers who do receive appraisal and feedback view it positively: they want both to help them develop their practices. The vast majority of teachers agree that the appraisal and feedback they have received are fair (83%) and helpful in the development of their work (79%) (OECD 2012, p. 2). Although Australian teachers, according to OECD research, are not receiving the effective feedback they require, Australia is not alone in this – most OECD countries are the same, although there are pockets of excellence across sectors (TALIS, 2009) (statistics included in notes on slide 5). Expected outcomes Participants to see the need for a national Framework. Research ‘Teachers are telling us that they work in systems that do not develop their skills or address weaknesses in their schools. They are bearing the burden of systems that fail to recognise effectiveness and therefore reward ineffectiveness. Change is clearly needed if we are to revitalise our school education system. We will lose our best teachers if change does not occur and we will continue to fail to attract the best and brightest into teaching. And the greatest impact will be on students. Students gain the greatest benefit from effective teaching and they lose the most from ineffective teaching’ (Jensen, B 2010 p. 27).

Performance and Development Cycle Key points to share We want to build a culture in our schools of performance and development. A focus on student outcomes – Improving teaching is not an end in itself. It is directed at improving outcomes for students. The Framework defines student outcomes broadly to include student learning, engagement in learning and wellbeing, and acknowledges that these can be measured in a variety of ways. A clear understanding of effective teaching – The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers outline what teachers should know and be able to do at four career stages. The Standards should be seen as providing the basis and a common language for coming to a shared understanding of what effective teaching looks like in the context of a particular school at a particular time. Leadership – Research is clear on the critical role of leaders in creating a culture of performance and development. While it is acknowledged that principals have a central role, a performance and development culture cannot be driven by one person alone. A truly effective approach is characterised by a shared commitment to improvement and an acceptance that teachers have a powerful role to play in each others’ development, as well as their own. Flexibility – All schools are different, and need to respond to their unique contexts and histories. Schools vary widely in their existing approaches to teacher performance and development. The Framework describes the elements of an effective approach to teacher performance and development, but acknowledges that these elements will look different in each school. Coherence – Performance and development processes and teacher goals should reflect the overall approach to teaching and learning within a school, and should be consistent with the school plans. Alignment to school plans and school-wide approaches to professional learning are particularly important.

The Framework animation If time allows (video lasts about 5 minutes). Key points to share As discussed in the introduction (slide 1) AITSL has collaborated with education stakeholders to develop the Australian Teacher Performance and Development Framework. The Framework has been developed based on research, national mapping and analysis of existing practices, advice from national and international experts, and national consultation. Through national consultation on implementation of the Framework, examples of existing best practices have been identified, and a national conversation in education has begun to build a groundswell, creating a national culture that values the performance and development of teachers, and generating a genuine and effective environment for the implementation of effective teacher performance and development practices across the nation. The Framework highlights what is required to build a comprehensive and effective approach to high teacher performance and development.  It outlines the components of a successful system and the culture that needs to be in place for sustained improvements to occur in schools. It describes the characteristics of an effective performance and development cycle, including the elements of the cycle that are essential for success and should be implemented in all Australian schools. The Framework will provide a structure for appraising, developing and improving teaching practice as well as recognising the entitlement of teachers to meaningful feedback and support. Click image to play

Teacher Certification Teachers can be certified at the Highly Accomplished and Lead levels of the Standards. Certification is voluntary and involves: Initial self-assessment; Submission of evidence, including a written statement addressing the standards; and Classroom observation. Certification is managed by each state or territory teacher regulatory body. In April 2012, all Education Ministers endorsed national certification of Highly Accomplished and Lead teachers. Certification is an important element in our broader teacher quality strategy that develops, recognises and supports excellent practitioners at the top end of the Professional Standards. National certification is based on the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers and is voluntary. It will ensure that teachers, in every school, have access to a rigorous and transparent process that recognises Highly Accomplished and Lead teachers and is portable throughout Australia. Certification of Highly Accomplished and Lead teachers has three primary purposes: recognise and promote quality teaching provide an opportunity for teachers to reflect on their practice provide a reliable indication of quality teaching that can be used to identify, recognise and/or reward Highly Accomplished and Lead teachers. Working alongside the Australian Teacher Performance and Development Framework, the certification process requires teachers to not only establish their capabilities against the relevant standards by compiling a portfolio of evidence, but also relies on supporting evidence from each teachers annual performance appraisal, that includes classroom observation of that teacher in practice, that attests to the fact that they are working at either the Highly Accomplished or Lead teacher levels of the Standards. Once collected and submitted, the portfolio of evidence is submitted to a panel of qualified external assessors who are make an assessment about whether that teacher meets the relevant standard, and if so, one of those assessors is then required to observe that teacher in practice. It is only after a teacher has passed both stages of this assessment process that they will be recognised as either a Highly Accomplished or Lead teacher.

The Certification process

Certification offers opportunity for: professional growth national recognition and portability enhancing collaboration within and across schools career progression while remaining in the classroom improving practice in order to improve outcomes for students

Certification (continued) Under the Rewards for Great Teachers initiative, teachers certified at the Highly Accomplished or Lead levels will receive a one-off bonus payment. Once a teacher is recognised as either a Highly Accomplished or Lead teacher, under the Australian Governments Rewards for Great Teachers initiative, Teachers will receive a one off payment of $7500 if they are certified at the Highly Accomplished level and $10,000 if certified at the Lead level.

Where to find out more National Plan for School Improvement: www.betterschools.gov.au Teacher Standards, Teacher Performance and Development Framework and Certification: www.aitsl.edu.au Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations: www.deewr.gov.au

Thank you, takk, merci, danke schoen, gracias and hvala.