News Brief
Maryland Approves Teacher, Principal Evaluation Plans
Washington Post (06/14/13) Bui, LynhOn June 13, the Maryland Department of Education announced the approval of 21 of 22 teacher and principal evaluation plans, which will take effect for the 2013-14 school year. The acceptance of the plans -- which must ensure the Maryland School Assessment accounts for 20 percent of the measure for evaluating teachers -- came nearly seven days after seven school systems turned in revisions to their previously rejected plans. School systems also had to ensure planning and professional practice accounted for 50 percent of the calculation. Maryland Superintendent of Schools Lillian M. Lowery says, "We want people to understand that the most critical part of this evaluation system is the professional practice." Not all of the approved plans use only scores from the state standardized exams to evaluate teachers, but they all use data tied to the assessment in some way to reach the 20 percent benchmark, she says. Lowery indicates that the department wanted to offer some schools flexibility as they transitioned to new evaluation systems. "We have local jurisdictions that have come up with thoughtful ways to [evaluate educators.] We're going to learn from that and share it across the state," she says.
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