Districts weigh in on teacher evaluations

Study finds 51 percent of teachers do not think evaluations are fair, effective

In recent years, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education changed its requirements for teacher evaluations, which could be why educators have mixed opinions, according to local school officials.

The Missouri State Teachers Association released a study this week with 51 percent of teachers statewide expressing dissatisfaction with their evaluations, saying the tools are not effective, accurate or fair. They received responses from 2,576 MSTA members who represent 1,200 different school buildings from 423 districts.

Central Missouri teachers made up 395 of the participants and represent 180 school buildings from 71 districts in Mid-Missouri.

The survey found 60.6 percent of teachers are evaluated with the Network for Educator Effectiveness (NEE) tool developed by University of Missouri, which is the tool that also received the most complaints from teachers. TalentedEd was the least widely used among surveyors but also got the most positive feedback, according to the study.

Jefferson City Public Schools uses TalentED, Superintendent Larry Linthacum said. Using the system, administrators typically perform five classroom walk-throughs and three formative evaluations where the administrator watches the teacher conduct the class. Tenured teachers may receive fewer of those evaluations, he said. Teachers should also receive an end-of-the-year summative evaluation that includes observations and feedback from the walk-throughs with tips on how the educator can improve.

Missouri's teacher evaluation requirements were revamped with an emphasis on student growth, Linthacum said, which is more strenuous than it used to be.

More veteran teachers noted dissatisfaction with the evaluation tools used than new teachers, according to the survey. Linthacum said he thinks the restructuring could be one reason for the difference in opinion.

"If teachers, veteran teachers especially, are used to having an evaluation system and now DESE is telling us, 'We're turning this upside-down cause we need to raise the bar,' then we need to sit down and explain to (staff) why the changes are occurring," Linthacum said.

Having positive communication with staff during evaluations is an important component. Teachers might be used to receiving high marks and are now getting more objectives to work on under the new model. The new growth model can feel threatening, he said.

In terms of improving, Linthacum said they'll have to ask their own teachers to identify what areas of the evaluation could be better.

Blair Oaks High School Principal Gary Verslues said his district uses the NEE model, which is also the least favored among surveyors. However, he said he's heard resounding positive feedback from his staff because their evaluation results can be accessed online and require less paperwork.

At the high school, they typically perform six 10-15 minute unscheduled visits instead of the one or two scheduled classroom assessments people describe as a "dog and pony show," he said. The NEE model has several components to it including classroom observations, student surveys, a professional development plan, student assessments to monitor growth and intensively planned units which can also be used to monitor growth. Verslues said they don't use the instruction units as part of teacher evaluations, and they only use student surveys for certain grades - they wouldn't survey young students.

The most important part of the evaluation is the feedback, though.

"Regardless of which evaluation system you use, a number is a number is a number," he said. "It's the dialogue that makes all the difference in the world. If I say 'good job' and walk out, that's not effective on my part."

Receiving feedback was one of the most valuable parts of the evaluation, according to surveyors, and one common complaint was they weren't receiving feedback.

It can be difficult to sit down with each teacher shortly after their observations, but Verslues can fill out his feedback using the NEE tool online, and teachers are notified when that's available.

"They can read that anytime," he said. "Most want to have a way to respond back if I don't have time to discuss it with them. I try to meet with them for 30-40 seconds and have more formal conversations."

He said they've been happy with the NEE system. If there's anything that might make teachers uncomfortable, it's how evaluations will be assessed by the state moving forward and how impactful student growth is on their evaluation.

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