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GSCS Note: It is positive that the State Board revisions, put forth by Commissioner Cerf, indicate that – but only to a limited extent - concerns of the public and practitioners have begun to be heard. However, GSCS’ position remains one of concern for the practicality and workability of the new code as it is implemented this fall. Among other issues, GSCS has held that it would be a wiser course to use at least the first year of implementation as an opportunity to test out the new evaluation process and thus 1) it is more reasonable to begin with an Student Growth Percentile (SGP) of 15%, rather than the adopted 30%. This aligns to the Student Growth Objective of 15% for the 80% of teachers that cannot be qualified for SGP analysis; 2) the sticking point of the different treatment of teachers where 20% are measured not only differently, but also more incisively , than the remaining 80% of NJ’s teaching staff would not be so severely drawn; 3) the issue of whether growth and achievement are too tightly correlated could be studied in depth in a less high stakes situation; and, 4) it is very problematic that tenure decisions will have to be made without having actual data results on hand. Actual data feedback will not be available for several months after decisions are required to be made, and 5) the problems with the rush to move ahead, while confined by federal 'Race to the Top' restrictions, is compounded by the fact that in two years the state will be transitioning to a new assessment system altogether under PAARC. Is there a plan in place to match today's new data system with PAARC data requirements so that critical time and like analysis is not lost in this this transition?
An additional concern of the GSCS is that the Student Performance Reports (SPR's)require a new public understanding on what the reports demonstrate which will evolve over time. For instance, one GSCS member analyzed its school district's particular ranking among its newly-designated peer group and found that the "... [Our] school is less than 1% under the next 11 higher “ranked” peer schools. State folks did admit that the rankings are “tight” at the top…so for less than 1% in achievement as measured by HSPA, [our high school district] is ranked under 11 other schools, all of whom are well over 92% proficient overall…"
NJ Spotlight - Student Test Scores to Carry Just a Little Bit Less Weight for Tenure Decisions…Administration shaves test score component of teacher evaluations by 5 percent
Star Ledger - State board of education adjusts teacher evaluation rules ”After hearing criticism about a plan to rely heavily on student test scores in evaluating teachers, the state Board of Education today cut back — slightly — the amount of weight given to the scores… The test results will count toward 30 percent of teacher evaluations under the change discussed today — down from 35 percent. Teacher observations will be worth 55 percent, up from 50, and other student progress measures — things like classroom work — will count for 15 percent…” NJ Spotlight - Student Test Scores to Carry Just a Little Bit Less Weight for Tenure Decisions…Administration shaves test score component of teacher evaluations by 5 percent Bottom of Form By John Mooney, May 2, 2013 in Education After an extraordinary amount of public comment and some high-level meetings, the Christie administration has hedged on its plans to use test scores to evaluate teachers -- but not by much. Related Links State Education Commissioner Chris Cerf and his staff yesterday presented revisions to the new teacher evaluation code before the State Board of Education that would slightly lessen the weight that test scores would have in a teacher’s annual evaluation. After first proposing that scores would amount to 35 percent of a performance evaluation for math and language arts teachers in grades 4-8, Cerf yesterday said that total would be trimmed to 30 percent for next year. In addition, he said only the scores of students who had been enrolled with a given teacher 70 percent of the year would be applied to his or her rating. The previous level was 60 percent. The board gave its preliminary approval to the revised proposal -- known as Achieve NJ -- moving it to the next stage in a lengthy regulatory process that still has a few months and more public comment to come. But the vote was a critical step in the process: Changes now are much more difficult to make. “There was a feeling that 35 percent was too much, and reducing it by 5 percent made sense,” said Arcelio Aponte, the board president, after the meeting. “Based on the many discussions we had on this, I think 30 percent is a fair number.” But even with the changes, there hardly seemed much satisfaction from those who have been critical of the state’s approach, nor much a sense that more compromise would come. The state’s teachers unions have so far led the charge, with members of the New Jersey Education Association packing the public hearing in March and its top officers meeting with Cerf last week. They have been critical about the overall use of student test results, but especially with plans to use so-called student growth percentiles, which weigh student progress against that of comparable peers. After watching the board’s vote yesterday, some of those officers said they didn’t feel they had made much headway, according to a spokesman. “Not sure these changes really go far enough,” said Steve Wollmer, the NJEA’s communications director. He said the 30 percent is not much better than 35 percent, indicating that both were arbitrary amounts with limited backing in research. And he said the commissioner still had the prerogative under the regulations to move them back up as high as 45 percent the second year and beyond. “Board members got thousands of letters about this, and in the end, nothing much changed,” he said. “Twenty percent of our teachers are now going to be guinea pigs in this experiment, they really are.” A key voice in the debate was also circumspect yesterday after the board’s action. State Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex) was the chief architect of the recent teacher tenure law that is the basis of the new regulations, and she had lobbied the administration to reduce the 35 percent as well, at least in the first year. When asked if a reduction by 5 percent was enough, she didn’t say one way or the other. “It’s all about getting together and having a conversation about what’s responsible, and our conversation allowed for that,” Ruiz said. The only dissent on the board came from Ronald Butcher, who ended up abstaining in the otherwise unanimous vote. He said afterward that the research backing the use of student test scores in general and “student growth percentiles” in particular was inconclusive. Cerf and others on his staff have repeatedly pointed to a recently completed Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) Project that tracked more than 3,000 teachers and backed the use of test scores in measuring their practice, along with classroom observations and student surveys But that project has its detractors as well, and Butcher after the meeting said he hopes there will be a further airing of the different points of view. ”This is not just about New Jersey, but in other states, too, where there are concerns,” he said. “If you look at the research, there are some issues with it. The MET study is just one study, and there is a lot of research calling it into question.” Butcher stressed he wasn’t against the proposal overall, or the urgency to improve the teacher evaluation system. “I don’t want to halt the whole thing, I’m just raising some questions,” he said. But the vote yesterday was a critical turning point in the process, with the proposal next being posted in the State Register and open for 60-day public comment before expected adoption in September. Changes can still be made, but if significant, they would likely require the process to begin again. Aponte said that as president he could waive some of those steps, but added that rarely happens. Wollmer wasn’t too hopeful about his side prevailing. “I don’t think anybody expects much change now,” he said. Star Ledger - State board of education adjusts teacher evaluation rules ”After hearing criticism about a plan to rely heavily on student test scores in evaluating teachers, the state Board of Education today cut back — slightly — the amount of weight given to the scores… The test results will count toward 30 percent of teacher evaluations under the change discussed today — down from 35 percent. Teacher observations will be worth 55 percent, up from 50, and other student progress measures — things like classroom work — will count for 15 percent…” Jeanette Rundquist/The Star-Ledger By Jeanette Rundquist/The Star-Ledger The Star-Ledger TRENTON — After hearing criticism about a plan to rely heavily on student test scores in evaluating teachers, the state Board of Education today cut back — slightly — the amount of weight given to the scores. Assistant Education Commissioner Pete Shulman presented the change, which comes two months after a flood of educators and others addressed the proposal at a March board meeting. Many of the speakers railed against the plan to use test scores in evaluations. "We are listening, we're continuing to listen," he said. Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf also said districts may be able to seek a waiver from some provisions of the evaluation process _ but not the use of standardized test scores in measuring the effectiveness of some teachers. The state's new tenure law requires all teachers to be evaluated on both student progress and teacher observation. Student progress includes standardized test scores for teachers in grades 4 through 8, the levels where students take NJ ASK standardized tests. The test results will count toward 30 percent of teacher evaluations under the change discussed today — down from 35 percent. Teacher observations will be worth 55 percent, up from 50, and other student progress measures — things like classroom work — will count for 15 percent. Those percentages are set every year, state officials said. Under the tenure law, which takes effect this fall, teachers who receive the lowest annual evaluation rating will lose tenure and could lose their jobs. The measure has been controversial; more than 140 people offered comment on the original proposal. Debate continued yesterday, with Board Member Ron Butcher saying he still saw some "yellow flags" surrounding the use of test scores. One issue he cited: Only about 20 percent of the state's teachers will be evaluated with test scores. "How valid is the process really?" he asked Cerf said research shows test scores are "far and away" the best gauge of teacher effectiveness, and to not use test score data would be "very anti-child." Acknowledging that the state is "transitioning into a new system," however, Cerf said the percentage of weight given to test scores was changed. He called 30 percent "the minimum amount we could do responsibly in the best interest of children." The board voted unanimously to approve the measure at the proposal level _ with Butcher abstaining. There will be a 60-day comment period, beginning in June, prior to a final vote on adoption in September. The commissioner also said there will be a waiver process available to districts, expected to be outlined in a memo later this month, if they want to change some parts of the evaluation process. "We certainly want to encourage innovation," he said. Jeanette Rundquist: (973) 392-7827 or jrundquist@starledger.com.
on May 01, 2013 at 6:21 PM, updated May 01, 2013 at 10:12 PM
