New teacher evaluation program in MD

The Baltimore Sun reported on Monday night that the Maryland Council for Educator Effectiveness has unveiled a new teacher evaluation system for the state that will begin a pilot program in seven counties--including Baltimore City and Baltimore County--starting this fall.  The new evaluation system will rate teachers as highly effective, effective, or ineffective based on their scores in several different areas.  50% of an educator's evaluation will be determined by the principal's assessment of qualitative factors such as classroom environment and lesson plans, much like the evaluation currently used in Baltimore City.  The other 50% of the evaluation will be based on student performance, with 30% based on measures determined by the state (results from three assessments; using state assessments as one indicator, with city benchmarks or student portfolios as other measures) and 20% based on measures determined by the district (also to include student work).  The article mentions that the panel also suggests some alternative options for teachers who do not teach tested subjects, such as submitting videos of musical or dramatic performances. 

This new evaluation system seems promising in that it holds each teacher directly accountable for their students' performance.  It does not matter how well a classroom is organized or how good a teacher's management is if the students are not learning, and this new evaluation attempts to address the issue of student achievement in a way that the current BCPS evaluation system does not.  If increasing student achievement is the goal of the state's public education system--as I believe it should be!--then teachers should certainly be judged on whether or not they are making academic gains in their classrooms. 

However, as with any new system, the question of implementation remains a problematic one.  It is already difficult for some principals to conduct their semi-annual classroom observations in a timely manner, so what will happen when they are expected to look at work portfolios and analyze student achievement data for every teacher?  When the time is found, how can we be sure that principals know what rigorous instruction and student growth looks like in every content area and in every grade level represented at his or her school?  The hope is that all of the state's administrators would be familiar with all of the content taught at their schools, but the reality is that this new evaluation system, if not implemented correctly and carefully, could end up being simply more paperwork that is passed through offices and signed off on by administrators. 

I believe that the proposed new evaluation system is a very good start, and a huge improvement over the current system used in our city schools.  However, there will need to be a lot of oversight on the part of the state--especially during the pilot year--to make sure that principals know how to use the new system, and are prepared to invest the time and resources necessary to make it a worthwhile and accurate measure of teacher effectiveness in the classroom.