Principal Evaluation in Massachusetts: Where we are now National Summit on Educator Effectiveness Principal Evaluation Breakout Session #2 Claudia Bach, Director of Educator Preparation, Policy and Leadership Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Friday, April 29, 2011

Our Guiding Principles underlying Standards and Indicators Administrative Leadership –has become increasingly more complex and challenging –requires significantly greater knowledge and higher skill level –attracts fewer educators

Overriding Goal: Develop new Leadership Standards for Licensure that are more rigorous in order to strengthen the leadership work force at all career stages Single set of Performance Standards for all Administrative Leaders

Four Standards for Administrative Licensure* 1.Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment: Promotes the learning and growth of all students and the success of all staff by cultivating a shared vision that makes effective teaching and learning the central focus of schooling 2.Management and Operations: Promotes the learning and growth of all students and the success of all staff by ensuring a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment 3.Family and Community Engagement: Promotes the learning and growth of all students and the success of all staff through partnerships with families, community members, and other stakeholders that support the mission of the school and district. 4.Professional Culture: Promotes success for all students by nurturing and sustaining a school culture of professional growth, high expectations, and continuous learning for staff. * These Standards and their Indicators were cross walked with the ISLLC Standards and received input from state and national experts before these latest revisions.

To meet our goal for strengthening Licensure Indicators: 1. Learning and Instruction –g. Accountability. Creates a culture in which both staff and students take responsibility for their performance and behavior. –h. Closing Proficiency Gaps. Can identify and address the complex, multiple causes of educational underperformance and ensures that districts/schools close proficiency gaps. –n. Differentiated Instruction. Ensures that instructional practices manifest high expectations, engage all students, and are personalized to accommodate diverse learning styles, needs, interests, and levels of readiness.

Another example 3. Family and Community Engagement –a. Cultural Proficiency. Recognizes, values and enlists the diverse strengths of the whole district/school community to improve student outcomes. –b. Effective Communication. Effectively executes a full range of communication strategies that generate public understanding and support for the district/school. –c. Family Engagement. Ensures that family concerns are addressed in an equitable, effective, and efficient manner and creates opportunities for families to inform policies, practices and programs that support students and their families and enhance student learning.

Evaluation Framework: Five Elements Two objectives : - Make student learning and growth a significant factor in educator evaluation - Aligned to the Licensure Standards and Indicators 7 4 Statewide Standards and Indicators 4 Statewide Standards and Indicators 4 Statewide Performance Ratings 4 Statewide Performance Ratings 3 Categories of Evidence 3 Categories of Evidence 5 Step Evaluation Cycle 5 Step Evaluation Cycle 4 Paths 4 Plans 4 Paths 4 Plans

Educator Evaluation Standards 1. Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment: Promotes the learning and growth of all students and the success of all staff by cultivating a shared vision that makes effective teaching and learning the central focus of schooling Assessment indicator: Ensures that teachers use a variety of formal and informal methods and assessments to measure student learning, growth and understanding, and make necessary adjustments to their practice when students are not learning 4 Statewide Standards and Indicators 4 Statewide Standards and Indicators

Educator Evaluation Standards Aligned to Licensure Performance Standards: 2.Management and Operations: Promotes the learning and growth of all students and the success of all staff by ensuring a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment 3. Family and Community Engagement: Promotes the learning and growth of all students and the success of all staff through partnerships with families, community members, and other stakeholders that support the mission of the school and district. 4. Professional Culture: Promotes success for all students by nurturing and sustaining a school culture of professional growth, high expectations, and continuous learning for staff. 4 Statewide Standards and Indicators 4 Statewide Standards and Indicators

Three categories of evidence 1. Multiple Measures of Student Learning, Growth and Achievement. Measures of student progress on school-based learning goals set between administrator and evaluator for the academic year. –State-wide growth measure(s) where applicable, including MCAS Student Growth Percentile and Massachusetts English Proficiency Assessment (MEPA) –District-determined measure(s) of student learning, comparable across grade or subject district-wide. 2. Judgments based on Observation and Artifacts of Professional Practice, including announced and unannounced observations of practice of any duration 3. Additional evidence relevant to one or more Standards of Effective Administrative Leadership, with the educator assuming the responsibility of compiling and presenting to the evaluator evidence 3 Categories of Evidence 3 Categories of Evidence

Four Statewide Ratings 4 Statewide Performance Ratings 4 Statewide Performance Ratings Statewide Performance Rating Scale CategoryDefinition ExemplaryPractice is consistently and significantly above proficiency on the Standard or overall ProficientPractice demonstrates skilled performance on the Standard or overall Needs ImprovementPractice demonstrates lack of proficiency on the Standard or overall UnsatisfactoryPractice demonstrates lack of competence on the Standard or overall

Five –Step Evaluation Cycle The Evaluation Cycle includes these stages: 5 Step Evaluation Cycle 5 Step Evaluation Cycle

Four Plans/Four Paths 4 Plans 4 Paths 4 Plans 4 Paths 4 Paths, 4 Plans for Educators, Differentiated by Career State and Performance PlanPath Description: All Plans include measurable goals, both for learning, growth, and achievement of students under the educator’s responsibility, and for improvement of the educator’s practice, as evaluated against the Standards. Administrators in first 3 Years Developing Administrator Plans Educators and evaluators work together to develop a Developing Teacher/Administrator Plan. Administrators rated “Proficient” and “Exemplary” Self-directed Growth PlansEducators develop a Self-Directed Growth Plan. Administrators rated “Needs Improvement” Directed Growth PlansEducators and evaluators work together to develop a Directed Growth Plan that focuses on specific areas for improvement. Administrators “Needs Improvement” Improvement PlansEducators and evaluators work together to Improvement Plan that focuses on areas in which the educator must improve during a specific time period.

District Challenges in Massachusetts in implementing new Evaluation System 14

First Challenge: Evaluation Roll Out Spring 2011 – Department is developing a Model Evaluation System (process that will be on-going for two to three years June 2011 – Board of Education approves new evaluation Framework Fall 2011 – 35 Low Performing schools (Level 4 Schools) must adopt either the model Evaluation System or adopt one that is consistent with state regulations Fall 2012 – All Race to the Top Districts must adopt either the model Evaluation System or adopt one that is consistent with state regulations Fall 2012 – All Districts must adopt either the model Evaluation System or adopt one that is consistent with state regulations

Related Challenges 1. Information: All educators need to be fully informed about the new system, which includes helping them understand that the system is intended mostly to be about on-going growth and development of educators, not about “gotcha” 2.Training: All evaluators must be fully trained in the new system, and for many the new system is a major change, requiring new knowledge in data analysis, goals setting, plan development, targeted PD 3. Collective Bargaining: There will be areas that must be collectively bargained and this includes decisions regarding student growth measures, use of peer reviewers, collecting student and parent input 4. Increase in Evaluations for Evaluators: New system will require evaluations be completed every year for every educator