Evaluating Progress: State Education Agencies and the Implementation of New Teacher Evaluation Systems. White Paper. WP #2015-09
Author: McGuinn, Patrick
Date: 2015-09-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: State Departments of Education,Teacher Evaluation,Beginning Teachers,Program Implementation,Systems Development,Comparative Analysis,Case Studies,Interviews,State Officials,Followup Studies,Qualitative Research,Capacity Building,Fidelity,Supervisory Training,Supervisor Qualifications,Principals,Administrator Responsibility,Evaluation Utilization,Data Collection,Disclosure,Behavioral Objectives,Alignment (Education),National Standards,Agency Cooperation,Politics of Education,Legal Problems,Common Core State Standards,Change Strategies,Educational Legislation,Federal Legislation,Federal Aid,Federal Programs

In a 2012 paper for the Center for American Progress, &quot;The State of Evaluation Reform,&quot; Patrick McGuinn (Drew University) identified the opportunities and challenges facing education agencies in Race to the Top (RTTT) grant-winning states as they prepared for the implementation of new teacher evaluation systems. The 2012 study undertook in-depth comparative case studies of six states: Tennessee, Colorado, Delaware, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania. For this paper the individuals interviewed in those states two years ago (or their replacements if necessary) were re-interviewed to understand how and why their efforts differ today. By analyzing state implementation efforts at two different points in time, the new study utilizes a longitudinal qualitative approach that can reveal the extent to which states are learning and adapting in this work over time. Rather than the detailed state case studies of State Education Agency (SEA) implementation work provided in the 2012 paper, this report uses a more thematic approach that will synthesize the lessons that have emerged from the field. This paper serves 2 purposes: (1) To provide a snapshot in time (Jan 2015) of SEA implementation efforts around new teacher evaluation systems; and (2) To contrast more recent implementation efforts with those two years earlier to understand the ways in which SEAs have (and have not) learned and adapted their implementation work over time. More specifically, the paper will address the following questions: What kinds of capacity--financial, personnel, technical--have SEAs added to support the implementation of new teacher evaluation systems? What kind of capacity is still lacking? How rapidly and how effectively are states implementing their new teacher evaluation systems? Why do some states appear to be having more success/smoother implementation than others? How are states approaching this implementation work differently from one another--do some approaches appear to be more or less effective than others? What challenges are emerging and how are states addressing these? What lessons can be learned from these &quot;early adopter&quot; states that can inform teacher evaluation reform in the rest of the country? How are states approaching the training of evaluators and the principals and teachers who are supposed to use the evaluations to improve personnel decisions and classroom instruction? How well are new teacher evaluation systems being aligned with other reforms such as the move to Common Core and new assessments? How are states dealing with the challenge of measuring student achievement in non-tested subjects? The following is appended: Interviews Conducted As Part of Research.