NCAE SBE Review: Instructional Policy Updates S E P T E M P E R
Back to school facts: There are 1,537,643 public school students attending NC schools this year. 1.5 million attending traditional public schools. 78,000 attending public charter schools. 20,000 enrolled in at least one course in NC Virtual Public School. 9,000 students in grades 5 & 6 along with their teachers are piloting a new testing system.
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Race to the Top Data From Evaluation Study Part of the Race to the Top plan included studies of tasks implemented and if benchmarks and outcomes were met. The evaluation of the NC Educator Evaluation System and impact on student growth provided the following: Forty percent of the teachers had EVAAS data and the report is focused on their summative and overall ratings Sixty percent of the teachers had no systematic approach to collect data on impact of student growth Eighteen percent of the teachers with EVAAS data were rated “in need of improvement” Eighty percent of these teachers in “needs improvement” did not meet the goal of Standard Six BUT were proficient or higher in Standards One—Five. Ninety percent of the time principals rated teachers proficient or accomplished and the ratings have not varied over the last four years
This is the first year that all high school students will be on a 10-point grading scale.
Teachers are rated more globally rather than providing meaningful distinctions or feedback on how to move along the continuum
Ryan Catalfu of Green Hope High School in Wake county came in second place in the Microsoft world competition.
Teachers’ view about the NCEES
Teachers take note: During the 2014 session, the General Assembly changed the number of renewal credits required for a teacher renewing a Standard Professional 2 license. The renewal credits increased from 7.5 to 8.0. The specifics include: at least three credits in a teacher's academic subject area, for elementary and middle school teachers at least three credits related to literacy. This change is effective for renewals beginning July 1, 2016.
There is little correlation between Standard IV and VI and test data is weighted more than standards 1-5
Teachers said the process is fair, however from 2011-12 to 2013-14 the view of fairness declined slightly. The major concern for teachers is that the use of the evaluation tool is more focused on student test scores than helping teachers to grow and improve in their craft. Teachers are more collaborative under this evaluation format than others and share knowledge with each other to impact student success and best practices. Concerns based on conversations and data regarding this study that could impact policy The intent of the NC evaluation process is not being implemented consistently across the state. Principals need more in depth training on what to look for and how to better coach teachers where improvement is needed. In some systems veteran teachers are not empowered to be teacher leaders and/or coaches based on the rating of accomplished or distinguished. Schools of high poverty or consistently low-performing schools have a high turnover rate and many of the “needs improvement” teacher ratings were from these schools. An idea was shared that highly effective teachers could have larger class sizes (up to 35) and teachers who need to improve or are new to the profession need smaller class sizes. The state needs to support mentoring and a stronger induction program to ensure that all new teachers are not just “thrown to the room with a roll book.”
NCAE SBE Review September 2015