Student Achievement is Key to Educator Evaluation

For the past seven months, a 40-member Task Force has been working to recommend a new teacher evaluation system to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE).  MBAE’s executive director represented the business community in this effort but MBAE cannot support the final report that will be presented to the BESE on March 22^nd.  As she noted in a previous post, MBAE considers student achievement the primary and central factor in evaluating teacher effectiveness.  The Task Force voted to make it a “significant” factor, but failed to define what that means.  Those states that have taken a stance often specify at least 50%.  In my view, Massachusetts should not lag behind that group, but should lead it.

There is no dispute, in the research or among educators, that an effective teacher is the most important in-school factor affecting student achievement.   It is therefore imperative in any teacher evaluation system  identify effective teachers, i.e. teachers who can improve student achievement.  If teachers do not improve student achievement, we cannot consider them successful, even if they prepare adequate lesson plans, engage parents effectively and pursue professional development opportunities.  Demonstrated ability to improve student performance should be the most important factor in the evaluation of teachers.  We cannot accept that factor constituting less than half of the basis for such evaluation.  My personal inclination would be for an even higher percentage.

Accordingly, MBAE opposes the adoption of any teacher evaluation system that does not make improving student achievement at least 50% of the basis for evaluation, and eventually more.   We accept that multiple measures of student achievement can be used for the purpose of evaluation, so long as these are valid and objective.  Many such measures of student achievement currently exist and more will be developed as states join together to develop measures aligned with the Common Core State Standards.   But there can be no justification for countenancing a system of teacher evaluation that does not make the demonstrated ability to improve student achievement necessary for a favorable evaluation.