Dear Colleagues,
At our Executive Board meeting last week two of the generalized questions had to SLOs and OTES. We hope this is helpful.
In Union,
Ari Klein
CHTU PresidentSetting SLO Growth Targets.
Many growth targets last year were automated because we were using MAP testing or other vehicles that predict growth based on tens of thousands of points of data. This year many of our teachers will be creating our own growth targets and having these approved by different principals. Predictably, there will probably be a huge variance in what is accepted, acceptable, and rejected.
If you are giving a new test then predicting what students you just met are going to be able to do in early April is pretty much just guessing. Do not get bullied into using the famous “Austin Formula” or some other variant. There is no proof that these formulas have any better chance of predicting student growth than using a roulette wheel. Go through your student data and use what you have available about their past growth. Make conservative estimates for what they might attain on a post-test given that the period of instruction is now truncated on both ends. If you have fewer kids in one class than another those students may do better. If 50% of your students have special needs that might have an impact on the general education students one way or another. Use your experience, but be conservative.
To me, Student Growth Measures are one piece of information, but have no place in teacher evaluation decisions. This is especially true for a multitude of reasons that I am sure many of you may be able to elucidate without even swearing. Unfortunately, the State of Ohio needs to be convinced.
If you want to use the spreadsheet that computes the Austin Formula for your data where you can change the number you divide by, go to: http://chtu.oh.aft.org/evaluation. I guess if is organized Roulette, if that is possible.
WHO GETS EVALUATED?
An evaluation consists of two observation cycles in a year. When a teacher goes through only one observation cycle it is not an evaluation – it is a chance to get feedback and will not change a teacher rating. All limited contract teachers (non-tenured) go through a full evaluation each year.
When tenured teachers rated “accomplished” or “skilled” went through one observation cycle the next year, they were not being evaluated – their rating did not change. The only way classroom teachers are evaluated is if they go through a full OTES with two cycle observations.
Tenured teachers who were rated “accomplished” three years ago may not have gone through an evaluation the next two years. Instead, these teachers had one observation cycle and regardless of how it turned out they continued to be rated “accomplished.” They were not evaluated the last two years, but this year they must go through the full OTES evaluation with two observation cycles.
The same is true for tenured teachers rated “skilled.” These teachers could have had one observation cycle and their rating would not change. After missing one year of an evaluation they will go through the full OTES this year.
This does not even get into student growth measures or the fact that an administrator can evaluate (meaning full OTES with 2 observation cycles and a possible change in rating) every year if they want.
One way to see where you stand is to look in eTPES.
-Log in and click the “EVALUATIONS” next to “HOME.” This is white letters on a red background.
-Then click the “EVALUATIONS” button that is below where you just clicked. This is red letters on a white background.
-You are now in “My Evaluations” and can view eTPES documents from past years.
-If “completion status” shows any greyed circle on the right of your screen it means you did not have an evaluation that year, but an observation cycle only.
-If “completion status” shows all blue circles, then you were evaluated.