10/01/12Teachers, Principals Volunteer for Evaluation Pilot
Baltimore Sun (10/01/12) Toth, SaraIn Maryland, the General Assembly paved the way for the state to create new teacher and principal evaluation systems as part of the federal Race to the Top grant program. Now, 129 Howard County teachers and 23 principals will participate in a pilot evaluation, even though the new evaluation system does not take effect until 2013. The evaluation systems must ensure that student growth is used as a measure in teacher evaluations, with about 50 percent of a teacher's evaluation based on student growth. The Howard County pilot evaluation project was created with help from teacher and principal unions and the Howard County Education Association and the Howard County Administrator Association. The Howard County pilot will be half based on professional practice, including planning preparations, instruction, classroom environment, and professional responsibilities. The student growth component is split into four areas, including literacy, mathematical practices, creative problem solving in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), and content. State Deputy Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction and Administration Linda Wise says, "We can collaboratively say that we believe the models we developed are not only good for teachers and teacher effectiveness, but will guide our work to ensure our students are college- and career-ready. Other counties that piloted evaluation programs include Baltimore, Charles, Kent, Prince George's, Queen Anne's, and St. Mary's.
