Why is there a new teacher evaluation plan?

The State of Illinois passed the Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA) in January, 2010, to get Race to the Top funds. They did not get the funds, but the law stands.

What is the philosophy behind the push for teacher evaluation?

The corporate reformers who push teacher evaluation as the new “solution” to the problem of low student achievement ignore the fact that at least 75% of differences in achievement can be explained by non-school factors. Teachers, while important, still account for less than half of the school components, or about 10% overall. Instead of working on the factors that account for 90% of the achievement differences, such as health, poverty, mobility, segregation, and poorly-run schools, legislation is focused narrowly on teacher evaluation. Further, by making student growth a significant factor in teacher evaluation, the corporate reformers are continuing the failed policies of the test-based No Child Left Behind. More emphasis on testing leads to less conceptual understanding, independent thinking, and creativity. The new teacher evaluation policies are bad for students and bad for education.

What are the main features of the Performance Evaluation Review Act (PERA)?

Student growth must be a significant part of teacher and principal evaluation. Every evaluator must pass a state training. There will be four performance ratings: Excellent, Proficient, Needs Improvement, and Unsatisfactory. All school districts must implement PERA-based teacher evaluation by 2016. Some must do so earlier, with Chicago being the earliest: September, 2012 for at least 300 schools.

How are the details of the evaluation plan determined?

In Chicago, CPS and CTU had 90 days to meet and discuss the evaluation plan. If they did not agree, then the “last best offer” of CPS would be the plan. In the rest of the state, unions and districts have 180 days and if they don’t agree, will have to default to a state model plan.

What has been the result of negotiations on the teacher evaluation plan?

The negotiations concluded March 29, 2012. The law gives CPS the right to implement their “last best offer”, which is explained in other Questions. However, we were able to push CPS on several issues. We feel that our participation in the negotiations helped create a plan that is better for teachers than what CPS initially proposed. For example:

• CPS initially proposed that student growth count for 45% of a teacher’s evaluation. They now plan to use 25% in 2012-13 and 2013-14. However, they do plan to move up to 40% by 2016-17.

• Initially, CPS wanted to use student surveys as part of teacher evaluation. Now they will pilot surveys in 2012-13, and not count them toward teacher evaluation, although they plan to use them as 10% of a teacher’s evaluation after that.

• CPS wanted to use Explore, Plan, and ACT to measure high school student growth. Now they will pilot using these tests for evaluation in 2012-13, and not count them toward teacher evaluation but, depending on pilot results, may use them in future years.