MEMORANDUM TO: Stan Heffner, State Superintendent of Public Instruction CC: RE:

Members of the Educator Effectiveness Steering Committee Dr. Robert Sommers, Director, Governors Office of 21st Century Education

We have had 18 meetings with teachers across the state, and intend to have a number of further meetings. I have compiled the following document to outline the big concerns and themes that are emerging related to the topics of evaluation and compensation of educators. The comments below are a sampling of feedback we heard in meetings that was echoed in the 1,300+ emails that we have received. I have organized these comments into 5 areas of concern with specific sub-headings. As you can see there is a wide variety of thought on each specific issue area. This is a working document. As we have further meetings and receive further comments, we will continue to add to this list. While we move forward in developing our plan, we must take into consideration these diverse concerns and suggestions for creating a flexible and fair teacher evaluation system.

Big Concern: Who would / could / should evaluate a teacher under this new system? Peer evaluation Administrator evaluations Parent / student evaluation Self-evaluation and goal setting 3rd party evaluators Feedback from teachers: PEER EVALUATORS / MENTORS If Peer evaluations are used, the Peer should teach the same students/subjects as the person being observed Peers are more critical than administrators when reviewing PAR uses the same documents that principals use Peer evaluations could be excellent for high performing teachers Peer reviews need to include interaction between schools Formative assessment by peer evaluation for feedback throughout the year Teacher leaders should be in charge of sharing their strengths / methods for being successful with teachers who struggle in a particular area and vice versa. We need to use data about our strengths and weaknesses to help each other grow There need to be these avenues and opportunities for an individual teacher to be innovative / leaders There is no place where a Master teacher has any place to help a struggler everyone just sit and be mediocre The more pieces you can include in an evaluation the better peers, parents, students, administrators Peer reviews and research models: o Evaluation cant be one to one there has to be collegiality it takes will and confidence, time and effort Every new teacher in my district has to go through PAR o PAR evaluator decided whether or not our contract was renewed o I found it very helpful o Staff development and evaluation are at tension in a PAR model Alignment needs to go from mentoring through to the classrooms Peer review when would others find time to come in and evaluate me? EVALUATION BY ADMINSTRATORS We need to encourage principals to be in the classroom constantly

Preparing administrators to do a much better job at evaluation will be critical General concern about an administrators evaluation being the total evaluation (i.e.: the current system doesnt work, administrators have too much power) Principals need to be allowed to be the instructional leader not a full-time evaluator Snapshot observations are not very effective for determining teacher effectiveness Administrators need to be well trained in any new system that is implemented Administrators are very concerned about too much work Concern over the number of administrators involved will it require more people to accomplish the evaluations? Administrators knowing the students has a positive impact on student and staff relationships 5 minute walk-throughs contract only allows for 2 30-minute evaluations we need to fix this o Marzano 9 strategies You need to have an environment that is cooperative / collaborative (need to foster relationships between staff, admin, and union) o Evaluation goal needs to be growth There needs to be consistency there have been 16 different administrators in my school My concern is that all teachers in all buildings have to be evaluated such a big responsibility for administrators Evaluators need to see you often and really know what your classrooms are like they need to be highly trained people Ive had 6 administrators and I cant say that one has been a good evaluator I dont mind if an evaluator is doing the evaluations if there is a quality rubric Currently our district is working on walk-throughs there is a minimum per month they provide an instant email and say what they saw look for engagement, were the goals clear, etcworking out the kinks it opens the door for conversations The people who do the evaluations in the private sector have earned that right they have climbed their ladder but in education a piece of paper means that you get to evaluate me The more pieces you can include in an evaluation the better peers, parents, students, administrators There is so much protection of teachers union protects terrible teachers and administrators cant do anything about it Walk-throughs are limited at best and a joke at worst Principals should be the evaluators but the longer you have been there the more quickly you should be able to demonstrate that you are doing what you need to be doing Concern over administrator time commitment Administrator support is very important Ive had the worst administrator that I have seen in 24 years Were going to need a greater budget for assessors we are going to have to put time and money into it to get the assessments right Evaluations are done by appointment by our administrators. Everyone does a wonderful job not authentic There are some teachers who are on when they are evaluated but not doing their best every day There should be a consistent evaluation but the administrator can drop in at will Administrators must make an appointment this isnt authentic My administrator does drop in and thats great it gives me encouragement if people got used to it, it would be a good thing it keeps people on their toes PARENT AND STUDENT EVALUATIONS Parent ratings are not a good way to rate teachers Tougher districts are concerned about student or parent feedback Student perceptions can be valuable but we need to be sure extremes arent the focal points Parent input on evaluation could end up making parents seem like they are our boss Variations in the connection with parents between early year faculty and high school faculty could be an issue if parent evaluations are involved Parent / Student evaluations should be considered in the process but we must be careful

Our evaluation should include parent and student feedback The community needs to be included in this process Challenge is to deal with academic misconduct things its easier to be lackluster and keep the parents from calling if you are good at what you are doing you make life very hard for yourself o Its worse for you if you push yourself Students should evaluate the teachers drop the outliers and look at the norm There is no real carrot out there for teachers to have a relationships with parents but it makes such a big difference o I should be acknowledged for the attempts that I make to contact parents because sometimes parents arent responsive but I make attempts Student and parent evaluations parents who dont come to conferences dont get to evaluate me The more pieces you can include in an evaluation the better peers, parents, students, administrators Students are very honest with their evaluation of teachers and systems. Their evaluation should count Parent and student evaluations contradicts being stern with the students o Other side: parent evaluations and student evaluations are making me better SELF-EVALUATION & GOAL SETTING Teacher self-assessment is critical to the process Growth objectives written by a teacher, approved by supervisor, and then monitored over time If you want me to tell you my methodology I can tell you all of the why Im the professional Evaluation process at the Fed govt. employee sits down with supervisor and sets professional goals for himself looking at PD goals and performance goals, open to revision, revisit at 6 months and one year, pay evaluation is based on whether employee meets goals o Based on assessment data from the previous year o Performance objectives are what I want to accomplish throughout this year o Performance elements the steps I will take to get there o Goals must be measurable o Every teacher does IPDP could this tie in? o IPDP currently is more of a bureaucratic process than a true goal setting process perhaps that would improve if we were assessed on this goal We do goal setting at the beginning of the year I would like to see us move to classroom walk-throughs you get that data at the end of the year, along with standardized assessment data, evaluation data these things could help drive goal Categories: being a team member, interaction with students, interaction with teachers, interaction with parents, etc. etc. etc. o Self and administrator evaluate on these measures and then compare 3rd PARTY EVALUATOR

External evaluators could be good (In re: outside evaluators like ETS) I like rigorous evaluations but I dont want someone in Bangalore evaluating me I can provide video of my best practice but someone is going to have to look at that I liked the Praxis assessment process outside person coming in and evaluating

Big Concern: What would / could / should be used to evaluate a teacher (or administrator) under this new system? What should be incorporated Portfolios Process

Challenges Evaluation of Administrators Feedback from teachers:

WHAT SHOULD BE INCORPORATED Attendance, duties, etc. should count because they affect morale issues National Board Certification was valuable 10% self-assessment, 20% peer assessment, 60% administrator assessment, 10% testing Factors to consider related to evaluation: teacher interaction; relationship building with staff, parents, and students; professional growth; use of modern methods; value added results, attendance of teachers; parent/student feedback; peer review results Need to measure the larger impact in the areas such as character Master Teacher Program was very good, as was the National Board Certification How do you factor in the extracurricular activities such as sports, chess club, etc. into the evaluation process? Charlotte Danielson model Effective teacher: o Customizes instruction to meet the needs of individual students o Is collaborative (workers that engage with other professionals in their building) o Encourages people engages in improvements o Is respectful and professional o Is innovative (willing to change if something isnt working) o Models good learning through PD and growth o Engages parents and students I want reasonable expectations for each classroom We should get credit for hard work, regardless of student success We went through the lead professional licensure program what does that mean moving forward? Seven factor evaluation o (1) student growth on assessments (if applicable to the course, if the student regularly attends school) (2) peer evaluation based on peer observations and collaboration within the building (3) classroom evaluation by an expert in that age level of students or content area (4) professional engagement with the larger teaching community (knowing the research, making presentations, writing articles, etc.) (5) evaluations by parents and students (6) evaluations by an administrator (7)unique goals established by the faculty member (such as a new project, unit, or class with specific outcomes and ways of measuring them that improves instruction in the buildings Innovative learning experiences should be part of the evaluation system There is no way to measure our impact What about the number of students that a teacher has does that matter? Teacher professionalism is so important teachers sometimes work so hard to make test gains but they let other things fall by the wayside o 360 evaluation teacher, student, peer evaluations o Did I come in early / did I stay late / did I arrive late o How well do you get along with staff? o How well do you collaborate? Did everyone succeed? You dont understand the human element involved in teaching that is so important to what I do Teamwork (co-teaching, inclusion teachers working with classroom teachers) should be part of the evaluation On the 50% achievement the measurements cant be the same on art or math but the professionalism piece those 4 domains of successful teaching are the same for all teachers I dont think that we should be paid just for showing up. But I also think that there is value to being in the same place for a long time. Professional practice make sure that there is whole group, small group, and individualized instruction going on

every day I would love to see the 50% 50% Coworkers, administrators, parents know what Im doing I can look around and I know who would bump in pay and who wouldnt I want to be evaluated on my process; did I do everything I could do to be the best teacher Did I make the calls to parents? Did I create and implement quality lessons? Did I show up every day? Did I build relationships? Difference in work ethic why isnt someone in those rooms and seeing a teacher on the computer and handing out worksheets PRAXIS III was a good model Im not opposed to outside assessment I have no problem with sharing my teaching o The domains were good guidelines The conversation is around qualitative issues but so much of our job is quantitative You have to look holistically at my classroom There has to be a way if I do a good job and I get kids into my elective classes that challenge themselves (or take a risk or teach the inclusion classes, etc) how do we encourage teachers to take these students and take these risks Things like creativity need to be highly valued The more pieces you can include in an evaluation the better peers, parents, students, administrators If the kids have the same method for every class things get stale kids need a variety and teachers should have to provide that Teachers need to be role models for society how do we measure that? Teachers just want to be evaluated on things that they can control Counselors / Librarians / School psychologists there is no one size fits all Master Teacher: are you using data to drive decisions, flexible grouping, real world tie ins, communications, student engagement Baldridge can be quantified on the professional practice side Are teachers giving quality feedback? This is so important to student growth. I do a lot! IPDP, coach in the buildings, monthly meetings on Classroom instruction that works, taught classes on differentiation, etc. Look at my body of work that shows that I knew where a child was, heres the strategy that I implemented and heres where we ended up What are the teachers doing to enhance student learning: o Design engaging lessons o Assess student learning o Focus on standards I think it should be more individualized and administrators need to be held accountable o The goals that I need to set in my classroom are completely different than the school that is two miles away from me I teach kindergarten so my goals and an 8th grade teachers goals are very different Both student achievement and professional practice goals should be individualized I would like the evaluations that are designed to be research based I respect the idea that there are multiple ways to do this but I dont always know whats best for me. Technology is something that allows us to do a lot but there are some things that I do low tech on purpose. There needs to be minimal variance for special ed., pe, art, music, etc. but there need to be general guidelines across the board The things that we do are measurable not just by us but also by our constituents Wording and language is so scary! Most people agree what makes a good teacher (Danielson, etc.) but when we call it different things it makes people nervous Objectives at various parts of the year (all year objectives, time sensitive, event specific) How are we making that bridge between instruction and what kids need (career tech kids might be the lowest readers and have to read complicated manuals)

PORTFOLIOS Portfolio Style work that includes multiple assessments Portfolio showing proof that a teacher can actually produce professional tools that are associated with student growth Whatever we put together, there needs to be stability and objectivity in the process (concern that portfolios could be very subjective) You can do a portfolio assessment in my district currently how aligned is that to RttT? If a teacher is highly effective maybe they can do a project, or portfolio, etc. o As long as it is standards based PROCESS The 30 minute observation process is completely useless Timely feedback is very important Need more categories than 2 (satisfactory / unsatisfactory) There should be multiple evaluation methods for different types of teachers (grade, subject area, etc.) Differentiating evaluations makes sense just like differentiating instruction An evaluation every 3 years doesnt seem to be enough (some companies do it every 6 months) Desire freedom from administrator guidelines allowed to remediate and saw more growth than in past years We are generally not concerned about teacher evaluation. We are very interested in getting examples, understanding options, and making sure that there is follow-through. Effective teachers really want feedback from multiple sources to determine their quality We need to be cautious of how rubrics are created so that they arent focused on lesson plans etc. WE NEED A RUBRIC to know what the end game is Multiple evaluators: administrators, guidance counselor, peers, someone from my discipline, someone from my team, students Develop a labor relations council to look collaboratively at evaluation o PAR o Using assessment to drive instruction o You are treated as a professional and treat the job as a professional job o We have to change to culture of the business o A union and administration dont have to be a barrier to progress CHALLENGES

Multi-grade level personnel will be a challenge Larger issues sometimes cloud the issue of teacher evaluation: safety, incompetent administrators, poor curriculum management, etc. Need a systematic approach, however, each school is different Multiplier for taking on extra special needs or diverse children would be an added benefit How can we be evaluated on the work of the students we supervise? No one in the business world is held accountable for the people they supervise 50% on student achievement is fine but there are concerns about the other 50% being too subjective Multi-grade level personnel will be a challenge Weve spent a whole year coming up with ideas that could have been done in 5 minutes but we dont have a structure of authority that forces change to be implemented in an efficient way How to deal with team teaching situations EVALUATION OF ADMINISTRATORS Administrators, principals, school board dont seem to care about teachers, just the budget There is a shortage of administrators who are both experienced teachers and qualified leaders

Need to recognize that everyone is in the same boat for accountability principals are being judged on the same sort of system School board training is critical Administrator evaluations should parallel teachers evaluations (360 degree assessment) Principal evaluations based on teacher input are valued but only if actions were taken bad administrators need to change I think that teachers, administrators, superintendents need to be held accountable but we need to readjust the way that we are measuring progress. We need to have some type of minimum requirement for principals many have only taught for a few years and now are a principal The same evaluation protocols should apply to admins and school boards Building administrators need to be highly focused on student success so they cant put teachers in bad positions We have to be specific and objective band director who became a principal is not trained to properly assess special ed Administrators are not taking advantage of teacher leaders they are not able to be instructional leaders when they are in charge of everything Lots of the issues seem to be around the value of the leadership of the schools. Lots of decisions are not aligned to the actual needs in the classroom Administration builds the culture and their innovative strategies can have an effect on the building that kind of culture needs to be established A good principal listens and supports you in providing what you need o Understand that you are an expert about what you are doing o We know what works o They tend to us and our experiences and our professionalism o Trust us to do our job o Doesnt micromanage Holding the administration accountable is important Administrators are being beaten up because of test scores its stifling innovation o Creating a neurosis about test scores myopic focus Administrators are working for central office they are meeting to death and not in the building enough to be instructional leaders I have an administrator who allows us to work outside the box (lots of autonomy) I work harder than ever because of this administrator Its not the assessment, its the quality of leadership, its the quality of culture

Big Concern: How would / could / should student growth be measured? Outside factors (poverty, parent involvement, attendance, etc.) Gifted students Special Education and ELL Students Teacher concern over test validity and reliability Areas not currently tested Suggestions for ways to show growth Measures that we use to show growth General testing concerns Feedback from teachers: OUTSIDE FACTORS

Dont get to choose my students or parents Parent engagement is seen to be critical (Merit Pay for parents in the form of tax incentives, entitlement considerations, etc.) D is for Diploma mentality the focus is on completion not on learning Student circumstances play a large role in achievement Social issues are as important as academics Discipline is a challenge Need to be sure community members and parents understand how important education is Students in poverty do perform worse what can we do to enhance the teaching that goes on there? Certain demographics of kids arent getting their other needs met so meeting academic needs is more difficult Parents being in the classroom is very helpful helps build understanding and clarify communication Student teacher and parent teacher relationships are important I need to take the time to work with parents then we get better results for students o Success in engaging parents does show up in standardized test results o Input comes from two places: homes and teachers there is just one outputeducation is a coproduction High absence and tardies effect learning o Parents need to be accountable too o Business market is as unpredictable as whether or not my kids are coming to school or not o How do you take out the absenteeism from your overall picture you are still being measured by the same assessments when students arent at school or being read to or o We need a weighted system if a student is absent or tardy a certain amount of times then their scores need to be weighted Factor in student attendance students who attend less than 60% of sessions shouldnt count Behavior and attendance are key to student success Parental support is vital o I do what I can from my end o We have an after school program which has helped some of the kids that have less support We work with them in math and reading We also do special activities like bowling for those kids I teach MS age kids I love the kids that I teach but I have parents that wont come see me when I ask them to, I have documentation that parents havent attended any one of 4 parent conferences in the last 2 years o We go to the houses, knock on doors if its safe, dont go at night Im scared because Im a good teacher, I have good scores, but I worry about kids who are having a bad day or didnt get breakfast at the end of the day, these are kids 11 year olds who control my evaluation o Can outliers be accounted for? Does it mean that every teacher in a particular district is a bad teacher because their kids fail? o Too many variables cant control attendance, cant control parent involvement, etc. Student growth can be so different based on a group of students. One school year can be very difficult with multiple family issues - addressing family needs is a lot of my work. The growth that those kids make might not be what I had hoped but I was helping families. Next year could have involved families, didnt have to work as hard to make gains You cant AVOID using student data we cant blame the kids there are other factors but we cant just disregard it GIFTED STUDENTS Gifted resources could be valuable for assessment Use gifted personnel to help determine when students are ready to be assessed High functioning students are being held back by lower standards There is a real need for more stretch to the assessments to be sure all students are really pushed

Year of growth difficult for high achieving students SPECIAL EDUCATION & ELL STUDENTS Special-ed concerns over test scores Credit is needed for students who are hard to serve Need a carve out for special-ed in the assessment processes IEP students should have assessments based on goals Senior reading at a 4th grade level has a hard time understanding American Government no matter what I do Schools dont have the resources to meet the students needs either they pass the kids on or look bad Its all about providing interventions you dont just pass kids on without doing anything about it we should be held accountable for documenting that we know each child and that we are providing the support for the kids that need it o Could we partner with non-profits to provide some of those services? Its about teachers diagnosing need and providing interventions My dream world of education would be for every child to work at their own pace and have an IEP Students with IEPs who get aides in other areas dont get them in arts classrooms inclusion is still important in the arts as well I think education in general is hitting one group of students but not hitting everybody as best they could We have lots of special ed., ELL its too much to handle Concern over over-identification of students for funding requirements (must look to ethics to control this) Funding being wasted Students need so many supports that they arent getting yet they have to take the same test as everyone else ELL very high population of students from other countries they dont look at education the same way that we do they dont place the same level of importance on education that we do they went from survival mode to stability different religion different time off than we do creates difficulties when they leave for weeks at a time to go back to their country or take religious time off we lose about 1/3 of our population during certain months of the year There needs to be minimal variance for special ed., pe, art, music, etc. but there need to be general guidelines across the board Inclusion teachers are told that they will be inclusion teachers because they are willing to differentiate they shouldnt be penalized for taking that class I have non -verbal kids sometimes all we can do is maintain skills. Growth is very hard to show o I have been told by my district that I cant work with a student for more than 20 minutes a week o I cant meet IEP goals with such limited time o My district has said that: Time and energy should be spent on kids that are capable of growth Tutoring is designed for bubble kids why arent we working with the most needy kids o Kids arent smart enough to get into our tutoring programs Teachers are concerned about classroom composition I get the tough kids year after year I get burnt out and my scores suffer o In my 6th grade, 1 team had all the IEP kids, one team had none, one team had all the gifted kids Inequitable treatment within the school building some teachers dont get the same amount of special needs students as others. Good performance turns from a reward to punishment. TEACHER CONCERN OVER TEST RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY Concern over the validity of assessments / piloting the new assessments Validity of 5th grade assessment is a big concern The state tests the way that they are now arent efficient or valid they are archaic One concern that I have is that we have an objective way to measure achievement o OAA tests havent been validated for use o When education is done well it should inspire curiosity and learning in the students the tests dont reflect

that Maybe we just need more PD to get teachers away from paper / pencil work There are too many pencil paper things going on in school = schools make progress when we bring innovative practice in the classrooms The notion that we are measuring what students learn is vital o We need to look at how to use data to correct a system Not to reward / punish o o AREAS NOT CURRENTLY TESTED Non-academic assessments are very important to the teachers who are not academic teachers PhysEd can use technology to really get at the impact of their education Question about art how do you measure my students growth? Music performance of students is measurable when they come in and when they leave How can teachers without tests participate in merit pay? Arts standards arent exactly the same as academic standards. Interested in how to incorporate the Arts into the assessment process How are we going to test k-2 kids? o Can there be a more authentic evaluation for things like science? In my RTTT district, we sat down with teachers and decided what kids should know o Problem for me because I teach special ed math SUGGESTIONS FOR WAYS TO SHOW GROWTH Need for pre and post testing (state provided) Short cycle assessments Assessments need to be ongoing and oftenthis helps to tell what to do from a teaching standpoint Use of college placement tests for foreign language assessment More than high stakes assessments should be included. There are more authentic assessments possible Notion of alignment assessments that occur on a random basis may be a solution for providing local control o Challenge is the response by the system to tests. Most approaches are counterproductive to real learning Mixed messages from ODE on what assessments will be used District wants to use their district created assessments for k-12 combination of portfolio, end of course exams, OAA, pre/post-tests (normalized gains), unit tests, performance recordings for music, etc. teacher and evaluator decide at the beginning of the year what assessments count Pre and post-test I am responsible for making gains in my own classroom DRAs would be a good way to measure reading growth AIMS and DIBLES seem inaccurate Writing rubric to determine beginning and ending levels AIMS web for math has improved greatly PISA, Torrence tests looking at cultural competence and more creative thinking o Are we testing the right things? o My kids are 5th graders; they take the 5th grade test, etc. etc. etc. o Why cant we test kids where they are? Snapshot tests growth from October to May (Stanford test) ACT end of course exams instead of OGT We need to figure a way to use an actual achievement test starts at lower levels and goes to higher levels measure a years worth of growth Pre/posttest (Map, Stanford, computer adaptive) better than OAA o In defense of the OAA - The big overriding picture of the assessment is blueprint matched is usable (but it matters more what we are using that data for) Using short cycle assessments and weekly probes, you could easily measure whether a child is making progress to

weekly goals o You could do this for any subject for regular measurements Formative assessments can move the focus to growth instead of a focus on a single test Concern that we are moving to common core and assessing on Ohio achievements o Disconnect between what we teach and what we are assessing o PARK and Smarter balance both have a good bank of information (better impressions of Smarter balance) Concern over assessments at the recall level o Especially in SS and Science One of the best ways to assess students is by looking at their writing (writing for understanding) o Building buy in is necessary fundamentally if a student isnt scoring well on ss and other topics there is a weakness in reading and writing AIMS web (data tracking) Battelle process may be interesting (data tracking) Portfolios for students every student should have a portfolio for every subject indicating what they can do coming in empty teacher would have a calculated pre-assessment looking at what their students need to know moving forward work with and individualize student pre-assessment and what they can do to get to an endpoint accounts for a students individual knowledge and skills before and after accelerated students also show stretch in this waythough this would be very difficult to do for all student growth o Career passports are a career tech version of this Perhaps an alternative to standardized tests could be progress monitoring comments, graphs, growth MEASURES THAT WE USE TO SHOW GROWTH Need more transparency in Value Added what factors in is not well understood Teachers should be able to assess learning (look at patterns, class trends, etc.) not the state AYP / Scoring system is a major issue Value Added is a lifeline for tougher environments to show how they are making a difference Statistically valid measures would help Student growth is critical especially against their gains The key is gain, not absolute scores I dont question value added but have a concern about the use of criterion-based versus norm referenced Specific challenges with the testing process: need to get away from specific days and specific years tracking of data is a challenge but must be done There is confusion about the impact of the actual passage versus value added I like value added: you do need to see the annual growth if the students were tested in math, reading, language arts in the beginning of the year and then retested in May then you see gains that is one way that you could evaluate teachers Growth: How does the growth of students compare to past growth? We need to pre-test and post-test o System needs to be weighted on district and school wide variety in the schools in my district Looking for student growth based on their last 3 years of data Do you have access to OARS or EVAS? The state does these reports and the teachers dont have access to them o Huge imbalance for teachers to not have the data o We need to know what an assessment is and what instruction follows that assessment o How do we look at this and use it o The training is really lacking in how to use data o Also, intervention is lacking if I have access to our data, what do we do about it o We are working really hard but sometimes we are working hard at the wrong things Teachers need permission to take things off their plate If its you doing the work then you arent doing it right Your students should be the ones working hard not you the one doing the talking is the one doing the learning

Value Added = we thought it was really great but we havent reworked our assessments to match value added data If kids dont pass the test at the end of the year but they show HUGE growth that should be compensated. GENERAL TESTING CONCERNS Tests shouldnt be timed or should have differentiated timing Online assessments are critical Testing has crushed our educational quality Concerns about the current OAA 5th grade assessments are a challenge Be sure all teachers are treated fairly There needs to be refinement in the assessments (especially at 5th grade). How we measure student success is troubling Cant label kids too early, tests need to be flexible One day / one number should not determine my value or the value of children Students arent motivated to do well on tests Focus on teaching to the test has disrupted quality teaching Cheating is something to watch Can I accomplish the proficiency in the time that I have? If not, what do I do? Fear is not on assessing students, but quality of the assessments is key Manipulation of data was raised but most thought it would be good to include because it would help focus attention on parents, etc. Its a leap of faith to try to not teach to the test I cant say that I teach to the test but it is in my mind all of the time The tests are tailored to a specific cultural group inner city kids are not familiar with the word grazing Teachers feel the stress to pass the tests even if the data says that this doesnt work or administrators put pressure on teachers to teach to the test Changing the cut scores makes me look like a bad teacher Looking only at OGT scores and praising the high school teachers ignores that that student was in my social studies class in 8th grade, and his 6th grade math teacher I could be a great teacher and get great results but I have one bad year. You know where you want your kids to be, and you design everything to get to that point, and assess that at the end the political side is the problem We need to know the end game and plans backwards 50% measures of student achievement teachers are held accountable for tests but kids dont care about the test Kids have no motivation they can fail but they dont care because they still pass onto the next grade o MAPS test same thing o OGT is different because they could have failed tests all along but need to pass this test to graduate Parents and students dont appreciate education Grouping to pace instruction accordingly o Motivation to perform well overall is very low Im concerned that we are increasing the game element o Teachers dont teach things that arent tested then they come to me with deficiency (the game) We have created a system where we are asking kids to do things that they dont think is important Concern that we are moving to common core and assessing on Ohio achievements o Disconnect between what we teach and what we are assessing o PARK and Smarter balance both have a good bank of information (better impressions of Smarter balance) Our focus isnt on testing No standards based evaluations throughout our district we need more evaluation tools for those middle grades I looped with a group from 3rd to 4th - had I been evaluated their 3rd grade year, my results would have been different than they would have been their 4th grade year

Students need to learn they need to achieve o We need to take ownership of that Communication skills are lacking and we dont test writing and problem solving o Quality instruction does teach these skills We have to be careful that we are looking at results there are teachers that connect with kids and these teachers might lecture but they are effectivewe have to look at results

Big Concern: How would / could / should this new system lead to a teachers growth? Quality of professional development Professional development for growth Cost of professional development General comments regarding professional development Feedback from teachers: QUALITY OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Good professional development is embedded in practice can be very helpful. We need to have some system to connect evaluation to good PD Concern over the quality of the professional development need a clearinghouse of good examples Lots of professional development is useless, it doesnt meet our needs o Too much PD is focused on state changes o Too many consultants with a silver bullet that is never retained We continually make teachers get credit hours is that PD making us better? We spend all this time talking about block scheduling, report cards, etcwe need to be having conversations about how best to teach algebra o Sharing best practices within buildings o PLC data, teachers working together o Must have proper training to avoid toxic PLCs o Also proper training for administrators what does data look like and how is it being used PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR GROWTH Teachers need to take responsibility for professional development. If we want to be treated like professionals we need to be responsible. Need a better distribution of key PD info and options Comprehensive evaluation needs to include PD effort PD needs to be supported PD for effective people should not be prescriptive. Less bureaucracy! I want to try using this newwhateverand show you what I learned. Why do I need to do CEU stamps, and submit things in triplicateFlexibility in developing my professional goals would be very valuable for me PD isnt always there for the staff we are talked to rather than being able to do what we need to and to collaborate in groups Failing teachers need professional development to help them grow Is the system in place to help everybody do better? Can we have a structure in place to check on whether teachers are participating with staff and challenging students? District staff development needs to focus on developing the skills that they need - IBM doesnt rely on colleges to train they train employees for what they need Content area skills are so important I have a content specific masters degree it was a huge benefit for me o I try to stay abreast of my content so that I can bring content to my students in a way that isnt boring so

they can see my enthusiasm But, due to funding SS test was dropped so now students think that SS isnt important I did the same thing in environmental science PhD in science education its so easy to get a masters its sad because there is so much best practice out there to see people punch a ticket but not get anything out of it is sad o I think its important for teachers to be students again My district is good about allowing teachers to be leaders to help our school community to be leaders School improvement committee o Set rules, decide on scheduling, etc. SS committee You identify the pieces that are concerns (not coming in prepared with planning for example), we quantify this do you understand what we are asking of you, we give you strategies about how to do that, and a timeline for when that needs to be done, if those goals arent met then we have gone through due process and we need to get you out There needs to be a system for addressing teacher growth first year teachers are asked to do the same things as someone who has been doing this for 30 years Why isnt someone telling me what to do? Im doing all that I can with my kids but they arent growing Its not the test Ohio needs to provide the opportunities to help teachers grow and be successful What are the measures of student growth how can we show that based on that PD, we are seeing growth We have a work plan in my building work plans are supposed to have 3 goals the thing is that that all of this is just busy work o A work plan is a good idea, everyone should have goals It impacts the way that I taught, but the busy work is too much on our plate All of this goes into a file I would have liked to do something else if I would have had the choice o Goals in my building have to be in certain categories, tech goals etc. o My administrators put me through this PD that has NOTHING to do with me! I want to choose what I do PD is also dictated by what our union says so many staff meetings, etc. we need meaningful PD, not so much prescription. It doesnt make a difference there is not a system for taking young teachers and making them better what concerns me is that whats built in to help teachers get better? I have been asked to teach LA instead of science (which I used to teach). I have done PD in subjects that I have to teach like creative non-fiction so that I know how to approach instruction in different areas. o o

COST OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Personal debt a concern among potential teachers in the face of school cuts We need to take ownership of our own professional development - NBCT teacher Districts are cutting PD budgets There is a perception that PD is a school, not a personal responsibility financially When I was off having kids and I started my masters then, but I didnt finish until after I was hired in my district so that I didnt price myself out If you are working on recertification and licensure then you go to the front of the line for $ but money isnt there for PD for gifted GENERAL COMMENTS REGARDING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Go to PD workshops and you want to institute what you learn but there are rules that you cant use what you have learned. We need structural change. The model would need to allow and provide for professional development

PD and collaboration need to be KEY MEASUREs Will NBCT hours count towards PD hours? I was very bothered by the fact that a committee (LPDC) decided whether a teacher got to continue to teach or not o No validity except that you cant get your license without it I was fortunate enough to get my permanent certificate I havent had to deal with the IPDP it seems arbitrary to me

Big Concern: How would / could / should my pay change if we move to performance compensation? Comments on current pay scale Comments on performance compensation Feedback from teachers: COMMENTS ON CURRENT PAY SCALE One teacher at work every day and staying at it throughout the day and year another tenured teacher who is absent all the time and gets paid a lot more. Doesnt seem right Golden handcuffs the current salary structure forces people to get stuck because of your cost or because you cant transition due to higher salaries I would work for $30,000 and could be great for kids, but the union contracts make my PhD level pay too expensive There is a sense of entitlement for teachers based on their years, I wonder what motivates them Frustrated with current pay system I have a masters in physical chemistry I work my tail off Im there later, they make more than me Is current compensation system going to be thrown out, kept, or modified? The issue for me isnt the dollar amount, its that others who are terrible are making the same as me My husband has been very successful in business and I dont make much less than he did We taught, we took our PD, we did our part, we did what the state told us to do, and here we are at the top of the pay scale, and you are going change all of that COMMENTS ON PERFORMANCE COMPENSATION Concerned about competition caused by merit pay Need to be sure that performance pay is not competitive between teachers Merit Pay examples are needed to show how they might work We need examples of what performance pay structures would look like Fairness is critical What is merit pay exactly? Performance pay is not very well understood purpose, implementation, rationale I argue back and forth with myself on merit pay How can teachers without tests participate in merit pay? Legislative remarks have made this a teacher thing instead of a performance investment thing (communication issues) Salary schedule in SB5 being misconstrued as pending legislation (it is actually being removed from statute) I experienced merit pay 20 years ago in another state RESULTS should = opportunity teachers who get results should be used to the max and compensated for their responsibility NYC, Tennessee - a lot of the merit pay systems that have been narrowly focused on standardized test scores have been abandoned. Teachers would feel more like experts if they were given a pay scale that recognizes their areas of expertise (it works for kids!)

A LOT of concern about competition principals give favorite teachers the bright students, with families that support them, other teacher gets the challenges one will get merit pay the other wont (sense that some win and some lose) o Idea to address this: adjustment factors for students if you were to measure students at the beginning of the year why couldnt you adjust for the students in the room? Inner city needs to be revamped they need to follow Geoffrey Canadas model, cream of the crop teachers and cream of the crop salaries Our county ESC has been on a merit bonus raise according to an evaluation o get a bonus on top of that o got rid of that because of budget cuts o Focused more on actual compensation o thought that bonus was for above and beyond but we all work above and beyond If we arent careful about how we compensate then you are going to make it the focus We need to find a way to allow failing districts to get rid of underperforming teachers LOTS of misunderstanding about salary schedules Im for merit pay I think that my students benefit from what I do I just dont know how to measure art o Language arts is much the same its subjective whether students can visualize a setting, or relate to a character In the past, merit pay represented a hammer to bring teachers into line gave administrators possibility to keep teachers in positions to not make growth o I think that merit pay is very divisive for a staff o Working in a high school if we set a goal that no dropouts if we meet that goal then we all move forward instead of being divided / selfish o PLC model the whole SS PLC would be compensated instead of just one We would all work together o How do we build collegiality when we are competing for money? Teachers that are effective need to be able to make a living o We have to be smart about how we pay teachers Compensation needs to be focused on the market o So few chemistry teachers, special ed, foreign language, high level science o I work in a really nice area and I pay top dollar. I shouldnt be paying top dollar the teachers who work in challenging situations should be paid more o We have to be careful in how we are evaluating in challenging districts Whatever system is devised I think that the door has to be open to pay based on education on a district levels o In my high school my department teaches over 20 classes the student results vary from year to year (AP govt 6 years, good scores vs. IB psychology first year, not good scores) o A lot of the problems with student performance are based on decisions made on expediency and convenience When teachers are going above and beyond they should be compensated for that Compensation doesnt have to be money for me it could be time in my schedule to get something done o Or I could go to a conference that would help me in my content area Compensation should be designed so that a highly accomplished teacher who could advance results would be the highest compensated regardless of licensure Some teachers check out when they get close to retirement if you have to remain highly effective to be highly paid then then we would prevent that I am against merit pay because the research says it doesnt work How can we afford to pay teachers more if we cant afford the $2,500 NBCT stipend? Collaboration, professional development and mentoring should all be involved in deciding pay