EDUCATOR EVALUATION IN NEW JERSEY
THREE YEAR REVIEW 2013-16
Kristen Brown
Chief Talent Officer
Carl Blanchard
Director, Office of Evaluation
Pete Mazzagatti
Policy Analyst, Office of Evaluation
May 3, 2017
Agenda
Evaluation System History and Outlook
Teachers
School Leaders
Recognizing and Supporting Our Top Teachers
2
Summary
•
Teacher and school leader effectiveness are the most important in-school factors
contributing to student success
•
Via the TEACHNJ law and subsequent AchieveNJ regulations, the DOE and school districts
have focused substantial effort over the past several years on improving educator
effectiveness through evaluation and support
•
On a statewide basis, AchieveNJ has provided educators with a significantly improved
educator evaluation system through which:
– Teachers have shown improved performance
– Schools have retained effective teachers at high rates
– Great teachers are being recognized and many are taking on new roles
– Principals and other administrators are growing as instructional leaders
•
At a local level, the accuracy and value of evaluations continues to vary; the Department
reaffirms its commitment to supporting districts in their improvement efforts
3
Improving Student Achievement Through
Better Instruction
Quality
Standards
Aligned
Assessment
Professional
Development
Recruitment &
Preparation
Educator
Effectiveness
Of all the in-school factors related to student
success, the effectiveness of teachers has the
biggest impact; leader quality is second only
to teacher quality
Instruction
Student
Student
Achievement
Achievement
Certification
Evaluation
4
Educator Evaluation: A Tool for Improving
Effectiveness
Where We Were
• Old binary system
predicated on
satisfactory/unsatisfactory
rating provided little
information to help
educators improve
Number of
Educators
Unsatisfactory
Satisfactory
Effectiveness
5
Educator Evaluation: A Tool for Improving
Effectiveness
Where We Are
• AchieveNJ provides a more
nuanced and informative
picture of educator
performance
Number of
Educators
1
4
Effectiveness
6
Educator Evaluation: A Tool for Improving
Effectiveness
Where We Are Going
• Better performance
information coupled with
the right professional
development yields
increased effectiveness,
and positive results for
students
Number of
Educators
1
4
Effectiveness
7
Development and Implementation of
AchieveNJ
•
AchieveNJ was developed and continues to improve by learning from pilots and
continually gathering educator input
•
The Department continues to provide support to districts as they improve their
systems
Evaluation Pilots
Evaluation Pilot Advisory
Committee
Innovation/Principal Pilots
AchieveNJ Advisory
Committee
TEACHNJ and Initial Regulations
Direct Support
11-12
12-13
Highly Effective Teacher Evaluation/
Principal Committees
AchieveNJ Regulations
Workshops
13-14
Regulation Updates
Resources
14-15
Communication
15-16
16-17
Compliance to Quality to Ownership
8
Teacher Evaluation
AchieveNJ has enabled districts to identify the lowest and highest performing
teachers, setting the stage for next steps for these educators
•
Teachers at all performance levels are improving
– 2/3 of teachers identified as less-than-effective have improved their
practice through targeted coaching
– Number of Highly Effective teachers has grown each year over the past
three years
•
Districts are retaining and growing their best teachers
– Each year, 95% of Effective and Highly Effective teachers continue teaching,
about 1/3 less-than-effective teachers leave NJ classrooms1
– $2M in stipends awarded to 250 Highly Effective educators from 28 school
districts to further develop as teacher leaders through the Achievement
Coach Program
1. Based on analysis of LEA data submitted 2014-16
9
Teachers Have Improved For Several Reasons
1. Expectations have been clarified for what good teaching is
“Teacher evaluation in New Jersey now has a sharper focus on academic knowledge,
teaching practice, student engagement and using student data to differentiate instruction.”
~ Virginia Grossman, 2017 Burlington County Superintendent of the Year,
Westampton Township Public Schools
2. Evaluation framework allows for improved conversations and feedback
“As a result of AchieveNJ, the Millstone Schools had some of the best conversations about
teaching and learning over the course of these last two years EVER.”
~ Scott Feder, Superintendent, Millstone Township School District
3. Student and teacher data is used to improve teacher practice
“Teachers are now focused on the objectives as outlined in the SGO requiring the teacher to
focus the learning in the classroom and align it to the learning goal.”
~ Lisa Adams, Morris County Teacher of the Year 2014,
Morris County Vocational School District
“Each elementary school decided on a professional development goal based on observation
data analyzed by each school's ScIP teams.”
~ David Heras, Supervisor of Elementary Language Arts, Franklin Township Public Schools
10
Addressing Challenges in Teacher Evaluation
•
In some districts, evaluations are
still only compliance-based and not
being used to improve teacher
effectiveness
Made regulatory changes in 201617 so districts can focus on what
matters most
•
Disconnect between evaluation
component results suggests
improvements in evaluation quality
may be needed in some districts
Provided evaluation data cards to
assist district evaluation
improvements
•
Little differentiation in component
scores, e.g. observations, reduces
usefulness of evaluation for
professional development
Proposed QSAC revisions focus on
evaluation and professional
development systems
11
School Leader Evaluation
School leaders have made a significant contribution to the success of their
teachers and are growing as instructional leaders
• Survey results show that over half school leaders spend a majority of
their time on activities that contribute to teacher efficacy and student
learning1
• AchieveNJ has provided an opportunity for more frequent conversations
around principal practice
1. 462 leaders surveyed by NJDOE/NJPSA instrument in 2016
12
Addressing Challenges in School Leader
Evaluation
About 1 in 10 school leaders are
not receiving a complete evaluation
Proposed QSAC revisions ensure
compliance with basic evaluation
requirements
•
Retention of school leaders seems
unrelated to evaluation
performance
Regulatory changes in 2016-17 and
updated guidance focus on
improving evaluation accuracy and
value for principals
•
Challenges in principal observation
process decrease value of principal
evaluation
•
Developing streamlined observation
instrument and process for optional
district use 2018-19
13
The Achievement Coaches Program
• Achievement Coaches are
Highly Effective educators who
provide high quality professional
development to their peers
while growing as leaders
14
Purpose
• The Achievement Coach Program increases the impact of the state’s Highly
Effective educators
Professional
Development
• High-quality, job-embedded
• Informed by evaluation data
• Created by educators for
educators
Teacher Leadership
•Peer support and leadership
•Growing school leaders
Cultural Shifts
•Teachers leading
•Local ownership of PD
•District partnerships
15
Process
•
Achievement Coaches Summer Institute: Weeklong centerpiece of each year in which
coaches from the districts who created content trained coaches from other awarded LEAs
• 300 total coaches then trained educators throughout New Jersey, reaching an
estimated 15,000 teachers in over 100 districts through over 350 direct trainings





Home School District
Achievement Coach Cohorts
Partner Districts
16
Outcomes
Program Impact on Teacher Practice
• Teachers report that the PD they were provided by Achievement Coaches
was high quality and helped their practice
Immediately after training, over 90% agreed that…
1. they were satisfied with the professional learning opportunity the
Achievement Coach program provided
2. the content and skills they learned from the Achievement Coaches will
help them improve as an educator
3-6 months after training, over 80%…
1. are incorporating the skills and information learned in the sessions
2. believe the skills and content learned are impacting their students
17
Outcomes
Teacher Leadership and Cultural Shifts
East Brunswick School
District
Developing a Common
Language for Great Teaching
Morris County Vocational
School District
Magnifying the Impact of
Teacher Leaders
Jackson School District
Sustaining the Program
18
18
East Brunswick School District: Developing a
Common Language for Great Teaching
• Video recordings
• Distributed leadership in
professional development
and embedded coaching
• Communicating the
district’s focus
19
Morris County Vocational School District:
Magnifying the Impact of Teacher Leaders
• Identifying the need (2009)
• Achievement Coach
Program bolsters teacherleadership (2015 – 2017)
• Teacher-leadership moving
forward (2017…)
20
20
Jackson School District: Sustaining the Program
First Two Years
– Provided a platform for highly
effective teachers from around
the state to share, collaborate,
and model great teaching
– Blueprint for delivery of
effective professional learning
– Creating and fostering
“teachers as leaders”
Sustaining the Achievement
Coach Program
– Use Title II funds to support
Achievement Coach stipends
– Design and implement a
“homegrown” summer institute
– Expand our cadre of Coaches
to further increase the capacity
for teacher leadership
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FIND OUT MORE:
www.nj.gov/education/AchieveNJ
[email protected]
609-777-3788