ADEPT
SAFE-T
Judgments
www.scteachers.org
1
SAFE-T
What are the stages of
SAFE-T?
 Stage I: Preparation
 Stage II: Collection of evidence
 Stage III: Deliberation
 Stage IV: Judgments
2
SAFE-T
What is the role of SAFE-T
evaluators?
SAFE-T evaluators are both collectors of
evidence and judges.
As collectors of evidence, they are
responsible for gathering evidence that is
as objective as possible.
As judges, they are responsible for making
informed professional judgments.
3
SAFE-T
What is an “informed
professional judgment?”
“Informed” means that the judgment is
based on evidence.
“Professional” means that the judgment
(1) is consistent with ethical guidelines,
(2) is made on a case-by-case basis, and
(3) eliminates to the extent possible
external motives and personal feelings.
4
SAFE-T
Where is the evidence
located?
The evidence is contained in the
templates in the teacher’s dossier.
The chair of the evaluation team
maintains the dossier.
5
SAFE-T
What’s in the dossier?
At this point, the dossier should contain the
following completed documents:
TT1: teacher’s LRP and reflections
TT2: teacher’s UWS and reflections
ET1s: evaluators’ observation records
TT3s: teacher’s reflection on each observed
lesson
ET2: professional review completed by the
principal
TT4: teacher’s self-assessment
6
SAFE-T
What connects the
evidence to the judgments?
The evaluation criteria serve as the
primary connection between the evidence
and the judgments.
7
SAFE-T
What connects the
evidence to the judgments?
The evaluation criteria are described in
ET3.
To reduce subjectivity, all evaluators must
use ET3 to review all evidence.
8
SAFE-T
How many judgments are
made?
Judgments are made at three levels.
1. The first judgment concerns whether or
not the teacher met the requirements
defined by each of the 34 key elements
associated with the ADEPT Performance
Standards.
9
SAFE-T
How many judgments are
made?
Judgments are made at three levels.
2. The second judgment concerns whether
or not the teacher passed each of the
four ADEPT domains for classroom-based
teachers: planning, instruction,
environment, and professionalism.
10
SAFE-T
How many judgments are
made?
Judgments are made at three levels.
3. The third and final judgment concerns
whether or not the teacher received an
overall passing score on SAFE-T.
11
SAFE-T
How are the judgments
made?
The team chair must ensure that each
member of the evaluation team has access
to the entire contents of the dossier.
12
SAFE-T
How are the judgments
made?
Each team member must independently
review the evidence in terms of the
written description of each of the key
elements.
Based on this review, each team member
independently determines whether each
key element was “met” or “not met.”
13
SAFE-T
What happens next?
 The next stage is deliberation. Here,
the team members meet
1. to discuss their independent reviews,
2. to arrive at consensus regarding the
judgment for each key element; and
3. to complete a consensus-based ET3
(SAFE-T Evaluation Summary).
14
SAFE-T
What else needs to happen
at the consensus
(deliberation) meeting?
The team must agree on the rationale
for the consensus-based decision (“met”
or “not met”) for each key element.
15
SAFE-T
What else needs to happen
at the consensus
(deliberation) meeting?
The rationales must be provided in the
appropriate sections of ET3.
The rationale statements are especially
important when the decision is “not met.”
16
SAFE-T
How many key elements are needed to
pass each domain?
Domain
# Key Elements
Needed to Pass
Planning
10 or 11
Instruction
11 or 12
Environment
5 or 6
Professionalism
4 or 5
17
SAFE-T
How many key elements
are needed to pass each
domain?
A teacher can miss one key element and
still “pass” a domain. If a teacher misses
two or more key elements in a particular
domain, he or she “fails” the domain.
18
SAFE-T
What is the overall passing
criteria for SAFE-T?
To pass SAFE-T, a teacher must pass
all four domains at the time of the
final evaluation.
Key elements that are “not met”
automatically become areas for
improvement.
19
SAFE-T
Is a written report
required?
Yes. The consensus-based ET3 serves as
the written evaluation report.
A consensus-based ET3 must be
completed after each evaluation period.
20
SAFE-T
Is a teacher conference
required?
Yes, at least one evaluation team member
must meet with the teacher following each
consensus meeting but prior to the end of
each evaluation cycle.
The purpose of the conference is to provide
the teacher with an explanation and a copy
of the consensus-based ET3.
21
SAFE-T
Is a teacher conference
required?
The teacher must sign and date the
consensus-based ET3 at the conclusion of
the meeting. The signature simply
indicates that the teacher has reviewed the
information contained on the consensusbased ET3.
The teacher must receive a copy of the
22
consensus-based ET3
SAFE-T
In summary, what are the
steps involved in making
the necessary judgments?
1. Each evaluation team member conducts
an independent review of the dossier
and completes ET3.
23
SAFE-T
In summary, what are the
steps involved in making
the necessary judgments?
2. All evaluation team members meet to
discuss their independent ratings and to
achieve consensus.
24
SAFE-T
In summary, what are the
steps involved in making
the necessary judgments?
3. The evaluation team members prepare
and sign the consensus-based ET3.
25
SAFE-T
In summary, what are the
steps involved in making
the necessary judgments?
4. One or more members of the evaluation
team conference with the teacher to
provide an oral and written explanation
of the evaluation results.
26
SAFE-T
Are there any remaining
important points?
School districts must seek to continuously
improve the formal evaluation process by
 obtaining and analyzing feedback on an
annual basis regarding the ADEPT
formal evaluation process,
27
SAFE-T
Are there any remaining
important points?
School districts must seek to continuously
improve the formal evaluation process by
 analyzing their ADEPT data system
(ADS) reports and evaluation
summaries, and
28
SAFE-T
Are there any remaining
important points?
School districts must seek to continuously
improve the formal evaluation process by
 using the results of these analyses to
continuously improve the design and/or
implementation of the ADEPT formal
evaluation process.
29