cathy pine, ph.d., director office of professional development new jersey dept. of education...
TRANSCRIPT
Creating a Principal Evaluation System:
Where We Are; Where We Hope to Go
Cathy Pine, Ph.D., DirectorOffice of Professional Development
New Jersey Dept. of EducationDecember 6, 2011
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National and state context for creating a principal evaluation system
NJ DOE work to date and proposed timeline Challenges Questions and feedback
Presentation Overview
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Context and Rationale
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Need to prepare students for a changing world◦ “21st century skills”◦ “college and career ready”
Recognition that the achievement gap persists – US global rankings and closer to home
RTTT opportunity and NCLB waiver option put emphasis on the importance of educator effectiveness
2010 NJ Governor’s Executive Order No. 42 and the creation of the Educator Evaluation Task Force
Impetus for Reform: Focus on Students’ Learning Needs
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Enhanced expectations for students mean enhanced expectations for educators, e.g., Common Core State Standards & assessments and revised InTASC professional teaching standards
States are being challenged to build a coherent educator effectiveness system across the continuum of practice – evaluation is a key component
Implications for Educators
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Improving the effectiveness of the principal will improve student outcomes◦ Fostering a rigorous curriculum◦ Supporting teachers in delivering high-quality
instruction◦ Connecting with the external community
Why Is Principal Evaluation Important?
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Principal’s effectiveness is critical to retaining effective teachers◦ Influence on working conditions◦ Influence on school culture focused on
collaboration, student learning, and educator learning
◦ Role in developing staff and exiting ineffective teachers
Why Is Principal Evaluation Important?
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A common understanding and set of expectations around effective leadership practice is necessary to improve effectiveness and inform professional development◦ Goals of evaluation are to assess in order to
develop professional practice◦ Assessment of current performance is necessary
to provide feedback on practice and to support a continuous cycle of improvement
Why Is Principal Evaluation Important?
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The existence of a system to evaluate performance reinforces the importance of principal effectiveness
“What gets measured gets done.” -Peter Drucker
Why Is Principal Evaluation Important?
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Most systems still result in a binary judgment – satisfactory/unsatisfactory
Critical behaviors related to improving student learning are not emphasized
Most systems are not aligned with professional growth and development plans
Principal evaluation is not seen as a high priority for district leaders
Evaluation status quo does not inspire confidence
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Development of a NJ Principal Evaluation System
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To create a high-quality evaluation system that enables districts and the state to:◦ Identify and address professional development
needs◦ Recognize excellence and inform hiring, retention,
and, where applicable, separation◦ Address inequitable distribution of effective
teachers across schools and subject areas
With the ultimate goal of increasing student achievement for all the state’s 1.4 million students
NJ Educator Effectiveness Task Force (EETF) Mission (2010-11)
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The needs of students are paramount.
All children can achieve at the highest levels.
Educators have the power to inspire, engage, and broaden the opportunities of all students.
NJ EETF Guiding Principles
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Multiple measures of student achievement that represent at least 50% of the evaluation and
Measures of practice that would account for the remaining 50% of the evaluation.
Evaluation System Must Include:
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NJ Educator Effectiveness Task Force Recommendations Required components of principal
evaluations
Four levels of performance: highly effective, effective, partially effective, ineffective
Use of multiple sources of evidence
Measures of practice40%
Differential retention of effective teachers10%
Measures of student achievement50%
Aligned with 2008 ISLLC professional standards for school leaders
Hiring and retaining effective teachers and exiting poor performers
35% aggregate performance15% school goals
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Vision-building and change Leading learning Management and operations Ethical behavior Family and community engagement Advocacy and policy
2008 ISLLC Professional Standards for Principals – 6 domains of practice
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Examination of commercial systems and state-developed systems◦ Domains of practice◦ Rubrics◦ Types of evidence◦ Weightings of components◦ Procedural details◦ Links to professional development
Conversations with higher ed representatives, the Professional Development Advisory Committee for School Leaders, PSA critical friends group, and the Evaluation Pilot Advisory Committee
Staff Work Subsequent to EETF
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Analyzing Principal Impacts
Leadershippractices
Organizationalcapacity andeffectiveness
Teacher capacityand
effectiveness
Other schooloutcomes
Student achievement
gains
Other studentoutcomes
Margaret Terry OrrBank Street College of EducationNew York, NY
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Who is included? What is assessed within the different
“lanes”, i.e. components What sources of evidence are used? Who makes the value judgments on the
evidence? Are contextual factors taken into
consideration? How? How are the pieces weighted when
combined? How is the evaluation conducted?
Margaret Terry OrrBank Street College of EducationNew York, NY
Key Considerations in Building a Framework for Evaluating Principal Practice
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Application had to address three principles, including: Supporting effective instruction and leadership by developing and implementing state teacher and principal evaluation systems that take into account both student outcomes and practice.
Application included details about the principal evaluation system components (as set forth in the EETF report), guidelines for the assessment of principal practice, and a timeline for statewide implementation.
ESEA/NCLB Waiver Submission
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Be research-based and shown to be valid and reliable;
Be based on multiple sources of evidence collected throughout the year;
Encompass domains of practice aligned to the NJ Professional Standards for School Leaders;
Include at least two observations of principal performance;
Include a measure of progress on at least one individual, school and/or district performance goal;
Guidelines for Principal Practice Framework: Minimum Criteria
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Incorporate feedback from teachers; Incorporate feedback from any other stakeholder
groups (such as parents or students) if deemed appropriate based on designated performance goals;
Include an assessment of the quality of the principal’s evaluations of teachers;
Include evidence of the principal’s leadership for implementing a rigorous curriculum and assessments aligned to content standards;
Include evidence of the principal’s leadership for high-quality instruction; and
Include rubrics for assessing practice that have a minimum of 4 levels of performance.
Minimum Criteria: Continued
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2011-12 SIG schools will begin to implement their principal evaluation systems – training is beginning next week
2011-12 Mini-pilot in a few interested districts (2-3)
2012-13 SIGS continue with implementation; Larger pilot with volunteer districts (20-25?)
2013-14 Statewide rollout
Timeline for Statewide Implementation
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Challenges for Principal Evaluation System Development
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Evaluation of assistant principals and supervisors Determining valid measures for the minimum
recommended components Contextual considerations related to time in the
position, school and district characteristics (e.g., size of teaching staff, number of administrative support staff, DFG)
Weighting of components, within the practice measures or between practice and student achievement – should these differ according to context and/or over time?
Incorporation of student achievement results in non-tested subjects and grades.
Issues and Challenges
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Timeline for pilot year - getting information out quickly so that districts can make an informed decision about participation
Funding availability for pilot – not sure yet Creating and communicating the necessary
guidance to districts Lack of an evaluation system for
superintendents
Challenges (cont.)
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Sharing information/templates on commercial systems to support districts in making informed choices
Communicating expectations and preparing more detailed guidance
Adoption of 2008 ISLLC standards to update our professional standards for school leaders
Building a technical assistance team
Immediate Next Steps
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We can do a better job of developing systems to evaluate principals in order to:◦ Provide more focused feedback based on evidence◦ Reward excellence and identify areas for
improvement◦ Provide the necessary leverage to dismiss
ineffective practitioners; and◦ Support relevant and practical professional
development plans and activities. We have to create and perfect this system
together
Concluding Thoughts
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“Leaders … will be explorers, adventurers, trailblazers … leaders of leaders … They will gather around them people who have the future in their bones.”
-Rowan Gibson, 2008, Rethinking the Future
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NJDOE staff members: Eileen Aviss-Spedding
Bernadette (Bobbi) Newman Carol Albritton
Victoria Duff Jessani Gordon
Acknowledgements
