The specific examples need not exist in every case, but teachers and evaluators must support their claims that each performance standard is met using detailed descriptors of the work like the ones in the examples. Teachers are committed to students and their learning. Teachers are responsible for establishing and managing student learning in a positive learning environment. Teachers continually assess student progress, analyze the results, and adapt instruction to improve student achievement. Teachers are committed to continuous improvement and professional development.
Teachers exhibit a high degree of professionalism.
Direct observation of the teacher's work, reviews of the teacher's planning and self assessment, reviews of the teacher's long term professional growth plans and efforts, and a review of student achievement data are all utilized in the formal performance evaluation of each teacher. Standard IV, in particular, focuses on data about student achievement and the efforts of the teacher to modify his or her teaching strategies in response to that data. However, test score data does not, in and of itself, justify conclusions. The data provokes questions, the answers to which support judgements about the quality of the work being done. In a system of shared accountability, student achievement results provide the grist for an ongoing and rich critique of the work of each individual who contributes to those outcomes either in the classroom or as a support to it.