10/04/12R.I. Launches New System for Teacher Evaluations
Brown Daily Herald (10/04/12) Toobin, AdamRhode Island continues to develop and implement an intensive teacher evaluation system that uses student learning as a performance metric for teacher effectiveness. The evaluation system will be used for the first time this year, and over the summer, teachers worked with school principals to create personal student learning objectives to help them track student progress throughout the year. The state will use the students' progress on those objectives to determine teacher effectiveness. While teachers for grades 3-8 have standardized test results to look to for math and science education progress, other teachers will have to determine how well students progress based on between two and four personal student learning objectives. In addition to the student learning goals, teachers also must establish at least three professional growth goals every year that focus on improving their own technical development. Finally, evaluations will include assessments from in classroom visits at least three times per year for 20 minutes or more each, and teachers will receive feedback after each meeting. The use of standardized test scores as part of the evaluation will not be included for at least two years, while the state uses the other elements of the evaluation to establish a baseline reading of student performance.
