NJ Spotlight published the following article on July 21, 2014. To read the full article, click here.
FINE PRINT: DOE DETAILS TEACHER EVALUATION AFTER CHRISTIE COMPROMISE
JOHN MOONEY | JULY 21, 2014Summer training and deadlines for schools following Christie rollback on use of student test scores in evaluations
What it is: The State Department of Education sent to districts last week thedetails of the administration’s updated mandates for teacher evaluation in 2014-2015, following Gov. Chris Christie’s decision a week ago to change some of the criteria in the face of growing political opposition.
What’s in it: The major changes outlined were Christie’s decision to reduce for the next two years the amount that student progress on state tests — known as “median student growth percentiles” (SGPs) — count toward teacher evaluations.
It also outlined a new review process for the use of other “student growth objectives” (SGOs) in the 2013-2014 school year. In addition, the memo laid out a series of workshops for educators over the summer that will offer further training on the evaluation process and the use of SGOs.
The new breakdown for 2014-15: Under the agreement reached with Democratic legislative leaders, the new breakdown for evaluation of teachers of 4th – 8th grade language arts and Math are:
- 10 percent median student growth percentiles (SGPs)
- 20 percent student growth objectives (SGOs)
- 70 percent teacher practice through classroom observation
Evaluations of all other teachers will consist of:
- 20 percent student growth objectives
- 80 percent teacher practice
The new breakdown for 2015-2016: For 4th – 8th grade language arts and math:
- Up to 20 percent median student growth percentile (as determined by DOE)
- 20 percent student growth objectives
- 60 percent teacher practice
Evaluations of all other teachers will be as follows:
- 20 percent student growth objectives
- 80 percent teacher practice