Changes in SC Teacher Landscape New: Induction Professional Licensure Teacher Evaluation System

Induction & Licensure Changes Initial Licensure Induction – up to 3 years Annual Evaluation/Continued Licensure – Professional Development Read to Succeed Licensure/Endorsement – 5-10 years to obtain

SC Schools Teacher Evaluation System beginning % Rubric-based Observations 30% Student Growth 20% District Choice Contributes to your Teacher Effectiveness Score

50% Rubric-based Observations Based on South Carolina teaching standards Current ADEPT phasing out SC Teaching Standards phased in

30% Student growth Student growth measured over a school year or specific time periods within the year In test grades/subjects --- Classroom Value-add (VAM) --- AKA, standardized test like MAP In nontest grades/subjects --- Performance based on Student Learning Objectives (SLOs)

20% District Choice Any of below or combination of below: Parent Surveys Student Surveys Other district approved measures Student Growth (rather than 30% of overall evaluation, could be more worth more)

Addressing the SC Teaching Standards Call back date this term to teach you the new standards and the relationship of these to the ADEPT standards you have been taught and will be evaluated on this semester

Addressing Student Growth Value Add Student Growth – Value Add (VAM) Classroom value-add data is collected by your school district and as a teacher will be available to you on individual students and in various summary report formats for instructional planning and assessment of student learning. We encourage you to explore this available data in your student teaching experience

Addressing Student Growth – Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) You must develop classroom student learning objectives and expected performance to be approved by school leadership. We encourage you to ask your cooperating teacher if he/she has any student learning objectives you can study. This seminar and the follow-up seminar on Jan 23 will provide training on the development of student learning objectives. You will have an assignment to complete prior to Jan 23.

Our goals for you: Knowledge and understanding of the new SC Teaching Standards Knowledge and understanding of Student Growth measures and in particular SLOs Preparation for induction year evaluation Greater marketability in obtaining teaching positions within SC and outside of SC

Student Learning Objectives and South Carolina’s Educator Evaluation System

Overarching Objectives of this workshop Build understanding about – what SLOs are – what the SLO model looks like in South Carolina – how SLOs can be used for evaluation and professional growth – the components of the SLO

The Roles of SLOs in Educator Evaluation

Student Achievement (Proficiency) Vs. Student Growth Achievement Performance at one point in time Percent who have mastered content knowledge Example: 75 percent of students scored MET or EXEMPLARY on the state exam Growth Performance between two points in time Measures improvement based on content standards Example: Student A grew 37 points between the beginning of the year and the end of the year, which represents approximately one year of academic growth

Discussion Why might student growth be a more accurate measure of a teacher’s effectiveness than achievement?

What is an SLO? A goal that demonstrates a teacher’s impact on student learning within a given interval of instruction A measurable, long-term academic target (based on standards) written by an individual teacher or a teacher team

The Purposes of SLOs To capture student growth in every classroom To reinforce evidence based or data driven teaching practices To enhance skill in creating and selecting assessments linked to instruction and student outcomes To encourage collaboration, since teams can write the SLO together (but then apply it to their own class)

The SLO Process: Which Course? The SLO must include one class or course (preparation); educators who teach multiple courses are encouraged to develop an SLO for the course that covers the largest number of students on his/her roster. The SLO must include a minimum of six students. The SLO must cover the length of the course, whether it spans a year, semester, or quarter.

The SLO Process: Which Students? The SLO should include all students in the course or class. Only students who are not present for seventy-five (75) percent of the interval are to be excluded.

The SLO Rules

Rules Around SLOs in SC All educators in non-tested grades and subjects (no value added measure available) are required to develop and implement one SLO

Rules Around SLOs in SC The principal will conduct with each teacher three conferences a year Preliminary Approval of SLO by Sept 30 (or Feb 15 th for second semester courses) Mid-course Check-In to discuss student progress toward the goals in the SLO and provide support as needed Summative Teacher Rating and Impact on Practice

Quality Review Tool The Quality Review Tool requires the principal to assess three main components of the SLO: Content: Are the SLO objectives aligned to the standards? Is the objective measureable? Rigor of Target: Is the growth target based on students’ baseline performance, rigorous, yet attainable? Quality of Assessment: Does it measure the skills identified in the objective?

SLO Components

SLO Development Process

Components of an SLO: Objective Identifies the priority content and learning that is expected during the interval of instruction. Should be broad enough that it captures the breadth and depth of content of an extended instructional period, but focused enough to be measureable. Summarize on your SLO Template

Components of an SLO: Rationale Explains how the target was determined, including the data source and evidence used. Rationale should be provided for each target, indicating how it is both rigorous, yet attainable. Summarize on your SLO Template

Components of an SLO: Baseline and Trend Data Describes the source(s) of the data Students’ baseline knowledge (prior to instruction) and its relation to the growth targets. Trend data describes that patterns that the educator identifies after analysis of the baseline data. Summarize on your SLO Template

Components of an SLO: Growth Targets Describes where the teacher expects the student to be at the end of the interval of instruction. The target should be measurable and rigorous, yet attainable for the interval of instruction. In many cases, the target should be tiered so that it is both rigorous and attainable for all students included in the SLO. Summarize on your SLO Template

Components of an SLO: Student Population Specifies the student population targeted by the SLO. Information should include, but is not limited to the following: number of students in class, students with exceptionalities, descriptions of any academic supports that are provided to students, etc. Summarize on your SLO Template

Components of an SLO: Standards / Content and Interval of Instruction Standards: Describes the content and content standards that are addressed in the SLO. The educators provide a rationale for why these standards were selected for the focus of the SLO. Interval: Specifies the time period, or instructional interval for which the objective is planned. Objectives are typically planned to capture either year-long or semester-long growth

Components of an SLO: Assessment (Pre and Post) Describes which assessment(s) will be used to measure student learning, why the assessment is appropriate for measuring the objective, and the grading scale and/or rubric used to score the assessments. Consider state, district, school, and teacher-made assessments. Summarize on your SLO Template

Components of an SLO: Instructional Strategies Provides a description of the high yield instructional strategies that will be employed during the SLO interval of instruction. Also provides opportunity for the teacher to describe plans for differentiating instruction for learners at various proficiency levels. Summarize on your SLO Template

Components of an SLO: Progress Monitoring Describes the frequency of formative assessments used to measure student progress towards the learning goal. Describe the instruments. What will be done if students are not showing adequate progress toward the goal? What is a ‘formative’ assessment? Summarize on your SLO Template

Components of an SLO: Teacher Professional Learning Describe the learning that the teacher will complete in order to successfully complete the plan. What reading and reflection will be done during the year? Summarize on your SLO Template

Numerical data summaries could logically be used to support statements in which sections of an SLO? (list the letters of those for which this is TRUE) A.Growth Targets B.Strategies C.Baseline and Trend Data D.Rationale E.Student Population F. Progress Monitoring G. Standards/Content and Interval of Instruction H.Teacher Professional Learning I.Assessment (Pre and Post)

SLO Reviewer Activity #1 Answer questions 1- 9 in the SLO Quality Review Tool for the SLO written by Sandra Casper. Indicate Yes/No for each of the 9 questions, and give a justification for each choice, listing which section(s) of the SLO you referred to.

Selecting Assessments for SLOs

Spectrum of Assessment Choice in SLOs

Attributes of Appropriate Assessments Valid – Does the assessment measure the appropriate content? What is an example of a valid assessment?

Attributes of Appropriate Assessments Reliable – Does the assessment produce consistent results for similar students and across similar conditions? What is an example of a reliable assessment?

Attributes of Appropriate Assessments Rigorous – Does the assessment require students to demonstrate the appropriate level of knowledge, skill, or understanding?

Attributes of Appropriate Assessments Comparable – The level of comparability between teachers’ SLOs will depend on the district process for choosing assessments. – The pre-assessment and post-assessment should be comparable for each teacher’s SLO. – Are the pre- and post-assessments the same or same type of assessment? If they are different, are the pre- and post- assessments clearly aligned in terms of content, form, complexity, and scoring? Describe the ideal ‘comparability’ of assessments of an SLO.

Attributes of Appropriate Assessments Timely – Are the data available in time to be used at all relevant points in the SLO cycle? Can you name an assessment that might not be timely?

Talk to your cooperating teacher Does the district have an assessment that is valid, reliable, rigorous, comparable, and timely? Does the district have assessments that are only used for formative purposes at this time?

New Assessments: Considerations Teacher created – Need to ensure validity, reliability, rigor, and comparability – It takes time to create new assessments Commercial – Need to ensure alignment with scope and sequence and SLO content standards – Districts may not have the resources to purchase commercial assessments

Assessments to Consider Early Education – Formative data for instructional purposes (DIBELS, Fountas and Pinnell, running records, etc.) – RTI assessments Middle and High School Content Courses – Course final exams – Unit exams Arts and Performance Courses – Final projects or performances – Portfolios Career and Technical Courses – Final projects or performances – Commercial industry-based assessments

Resources for Assessment Literacy – Resources and articles to support understanding of how to measure and understand student growth – Online overview of classroom assessments

SLO Reviewer Activity #2 Revisit questions 8- 9 in the SLO Quality Review Tool for the SLO written by Sandra Casper. Change your decisions, if you feel you need to, and add a justification for your changes.

Gathering Baseline Student Data

The Data Analysis Process Identify and gather baseline data: – Is there a pre-assessment that is aligned to the post- assessment? – Are there clear groups (tiers) of students? If so, what are they? – Where is this kind of data accessible in the district? Discuss the ‘snapshot’ that baseline data provides of a student. Is baseline data alone sufficient for setting growth targets? Why or why not?

Trend data and other student data helps educators determine how much growth each student is likely to make The Data Analysis Process 52

Identify and gather trend data: – Test scores from prior years (any available) – Current and past grades – Formative assessment data from this year and previous years, including running records – Reading and math conferences – Data to inform the student population section, such as attendance records or 504 plans – Results from diagnostic assessments – Districts can set rules or give guidance on what kind of baseline or trend data teachers should include in their SLO The Data Analysis Process 53

The Data Analysis Process Analyze the data and look for trends – Are there clear groups of students? If so, are they the same groups represented in the baseline data? Are there some students whose performance has changed or been inconsistent in the last year or two? – How are students performing overall? Are most students consistently demonstrating proficiency? – What kind of growth have students been making? Have students been consistently meeting or missing expectations?

The Data Analysis Process Meaningful Baseline and Trend Data should: – Describe students in terms of groups ( or tiers) – Describe student performance over time – Inform growth targets – Inform instructional strategies

Setting Growth Targets

Process for Setting Growth Targets for Teachers Set initial growth targets – Growth made in previous years? – What would make them “proficient”? Does the initial growth target allow students to make meaningful progress towards proficiency? Adjust growth targets – Are there contextual factors that are likely to affect students’ growth in positive or negative ways? – Are these factors new, or were they reflected in students’ previous growth? – What growth have students with similar factors made in the past? Review targets – Are these targets rigorous and attainable?

Learning disabilities or conditions Behavioral conditions Student health and home conditions (i.e. transient or managing long-term health challenges) Note: It is important to consider The extent to which these factors may have impacted baseline data, and could impact student growth this year What types of interventions or supports are in place and their effectiveness Possible Contextual Factors 58

SLO Reviewer Activity #3 Look at the growth targets. – identify ways in which you can tell that these growth targets are rigorous yet attainable. You can refer to other sections of the SLO if needed.

The Importance of the Rationale The rationale allows the teacher to: Explain the process for setting or adjusting growth targets Explain the reasoning for setting or adjusting growth targets, including both – contextual/qualitative information (ex: a student’s transient status this year) – quantitative information (ex: adjusted target down 10 points from previous year’s growth because this is aligned with formative assessment data from this year) The rationale allows the evaluator to: Ensure that the growth targets are appropriate, rigorous, and attainable

Connecting growth targets to instructional strategies What instructional strategies will be used to – ensure that lower-performing students do not fall further behind? – ensure that lower-performing students can make progress towards closing their achievement gap? – ensure that students consistently demonstrating proficiency continue to grow and develop advanced skills? – engage and challenge higher-performing students?

Monitoring student progress – What kinds of formative assessments and informal formative data collection will be used? – What kind of interim goals or benchmarks will be set (formally or informally) to ensure students are on-track?

SLO Reviewer Activity #4 Revisit questions 4-7 in the SLO Quality Review Tool for the SLO written by Sandra Casper. Change your decisions, if you feel you need to, and add a justification for your changes.

Any questions or clarifications you need to feel prepared to do an SLO Review on your own?

Homework for SLO Training 2 – January 23 Evaluate a ‘real’ SLO Example Use Quality Review Tool Documents found at this link: Bring back to January 23 Training Session ---9:00 AM – 12:00 (noon) Middle Grades MAT, Secondary Education, Secondary MAT Education and Agricultural Education Student Teachers and University Supervisors :00 – 4:00 PM Early Childhood, Elementary and Special Education Student Teachers and University Supervisors.