School improvement and teacher development

1. School improvement and teacher development 28 July 20011 Independent Schools Queensland state conference Cairns Ben Jensen

2. Grattan Institute • Grattan Institute is Australia's newest think-tank: independent and evidence based • Grattan Institute is truly non-aligned and well-resourced • The independence of the Institute is underpinned by independent resourcing, with a substantial funding endowment • Focus • Cities • Energy choices • Productivity growth • School education • Higher education

3. Grattan education reports • Measuring What Matters: Student Progress • January 2010 • What Teachers Want: Better Teacher Management • May 2010 • Investing in Our Teachers, Investing in Our Economy • November 2010 • Better Teacher appraisal and Feedback: Improving performance • April 2011

4. Investing in teachers should be our number one priority The impact of teacher quality on students is LARGE And… the impact is cumulative In one year, the difference for a student between having a ‘good’ teacher as opposed to a ‘poor’ teacher can be as much as a full year’s difference in achievement. If we increase the effectiveness of Australian teachers by 10% it would lift us to the top tier of PISA high-performing education systems The difference between students who were assigned effective teachers 3 years in a row compared to students who had three ineffective teachers was 49 percentile points Even when students have a highly effective teacher after having a series of ineffective teachers, students did not make up enough for ‘lost ground’ P 4

5. Investing in teachers should be the priority • Improve the quality of applicants to the teaching profession • Improve the quality of initial education and training • Evaluate and develop teachers’ skills once they enter the profession and are working in our schools • Recognise and reward effective teachers • Address under-performance

6. Investing in teachers • Improve the quality of applicants to the teaching profession • Largely a result of addressing other issues • Other options • Increase entrance requirements to undertake teacher education • Test students throughout their teacher education

7. Investing in teachers • Improve the quality of initial education and training • Opportunity for schools and school sectors • Implement outcome measures • Develop ratings of new teachers • Student progress (value-add) • Evaluation of teaching from school principal • Peer review • Student feedback • Develop indicators on the effectiveness of each universities’ graduates. • Strengths and weaknesses • Assists school principals/employers, universities, teachers (labour market)

8. Investing in teachers • Evaluate and develop teachers’ skills once they enter the profession and are working in our schools • In general, not doing this well. Evaluation is largely meaningless and not linked to development • Frequency of teacher evaluation in Australia is relatively high • 76% of Australian teachers receive evaluation and/or feedback on their work at least annually • BUT teacher evaluation is largely just an administrative exercise • 63% of Australian teachers report that teacher evaluation is largely completed simply to fulfill administrative requirements • 61% of Australian teachers report that in their school, teacher evaluations have little impact on the way teachers teach in the classroom. • Australia is the least effective in all but two of the 23 TALIS countries

9. Investing in teachers • Evaluate and develop teachers’ skills once they enter the profession and are working in our schools • Too many teachers lose too much class time to factors other than effective instruction • On average each teacher loses 24% of their class time, or 196 teaching hours per year to factors other than effective teaching and learning • One-quarter of Australian teachers are losing at least 30% • 11% losing at least half of class time • School principals report that a lack of teacher preparation is a serious problem in Australian schools • 36% of teachers work in schools where the school principal a lack of pedagogical preparation hinders instruction in their school ‘a lot’ or ‘to some extent’ • 6th highest in TALIS countries • Teachers report that more meaningful professional collaboration between teachers is needed in schools

10. Investing in teachers • Recognise and reward effective teachers • Again, we are poor performers • Teacher effectiveness is not recognised in schools • 91% of Australian teachers report that in their school, the most effective teachers do not receive the greatest recognition. • 4th highest in TALIS countries • Teacher quality is not recognised in schools • Over 90% of teachers report that if they improve the quality of their teaching they would not receive any recognition in their school • Teacher innovation is not recognised in schools • Over 90% of Australian teachers report that they would receive no recognition if they were more innovative in their teaching • 4th highest in TALIS countries

11. Investing in teachers • Address under-performance • A significant problem • 71% report that in their school, teachers will not be dismissed because of sustained poor performance • 43% report that in their school, sustained poor performance would be tolerated by the rest of the staff • 93% of teachers report that in their school the principal would not take steps to alter the monetary rewards of a persistently under-performing teacher

12. Investing in teachers • How do we address these issues? • Provides an opportunity for change • Teachers are telling us they want meaningful evaluation and development • First step in recognising effective teachers and addressing under-performance is to create meaningful teacher evaluation and development

13. Improved teacher evaluation and development • Student outcomes • Peer observation and collaboration • Direct observation of classroom teaching • Student feedback – student surveys • Parent feedback • Self-assessment • External observation and assessment • 360 degree feedback

14. Improved teacher evaluation and development • Student outcomes • Analyse performance of teachers’ students • Student progress, value-added, low performers • Patterns of improvement/stagnation • Key learning areas • What does this say about teaching • Set development plans • Key areas that need to be addressed • Identify key students/groups of students • Set objectives for forthcoming year

15. Improved teacher evaluation and development • Student outcomes • Peer observation and collaboration • Strong evidence for impact on student learning • Often requires cultural change • Greater collaboration and sharing between teachers • Teachers placed in groups to discuss learning objectives • Period of of observation • Period of reflection and development • Period of observation

16. Improved teacher evaluation and development • Student outcomes • Peer observation and collaboration • Direct observation of classroom teaching • More specific role for school principal and effective teachers • Alignment to learning objectives • What is an effective teacher in my school • Linked to development priorities

17. Improved teacher evaluation and development • Student outcomes • Peer observation and collaboration • Direct observation of classroom teaching • Student feedback – student surveys • Very positive reports from teachers • I know what I’m supposed to do in class • There is enough time to finish class work • I know how well I am doing in class • I know why we learn what we learn in class • This class is not too slow or fast to learn well

18. Student survey questions • Clear direction • Relevancy • Good instruction • Punctual • Well equipped • Pace • Known standards • Consistent discipline • Respect • Good atmosphere • Enthusiasm • Challenging • Motivated • Cares for me • Knowledgeable • Approachable

19. Improved teacher evaluation and development • Student outcomes • Peer observation and collaboration • Direct observation of classroom teaching • Student feedback – student surveys • Parent feedback • Growing importance with push to connect to the school community • Was the classroom the right difficulty for your child? • Did the teacher treat your child with respect, care, and knowledge of the child’s needs? • Were you satisfied with your child’s overall school experience provided by this teacher?

20. Improved teacher evaluation and development • Student outcomes • Peer observation and collaboration • Direct observation of classroom teaching • Student feedback – student surveys • Parent feedback • Self-assessment • Essential part of evaluative process • Must ensure multiple sources of evidence are used • Use other feedback to identify strengths and weaknesses • Must NOT become another administrative exercise

21. Improved teacher evaluation and development • Student outcomes • Peer observation and collaboration • Direct observation of classroom teaching • Student feedback – student surveys • Parent feedback • Self-assessment • External observation and assessment • Provide a benchmark • Increase learning about ‘what works’ • Assist schools having trouble implementing programs • Great potential for strengthening school networks

22. Improved teacher evaluation and development • Student outcomes • Peer observation and collaboration • Direct observation of classroom teaching • Student feedback – student surveys • Parent feedback • Self-assessment • External observation and assessment • 360 degree feedback • Vital step for effective programs • Emphasises the new role of teachers and school principals • Teamwork and collaboration • Assessing and developing other teachers • Leadership • Cultural change

23. Cost • A school that uses peer observation and collaboration; student surveys; student performance and assessments; and 360- degree feedback. • If we consider an extreme example, in which no savings are made in teachers’ working time, these four methods will take about 8.5 days in each teacher’s year, 17 days in each school leader’s year. • 3.5% of each teacher’s annual working time (Australia) • 7% of each school leader’s time (Australia) • The estimated annual cost of this time across the Australian government school system is $678 million. This is almost 4% of government school system employee-related expenditure and about 2% of total expenditure.

24. Implementation steps for schools • Identify how system objectives relate to the school • Develop school objectives • Develop rationale for teacher evaluation and development • Develop teacher objectives – what is effective teaching in your school • Develop balanced scorecard • Choose appraisal methods • Set roles for teachers and school leaders • Develop training programs • Implementation and planning • On-going monitoring and evaluation

25. Thank you for your time 28 July 20011 Independent Schools Queensland state conference Cairns Ben Jensen