FEBRUARY 2012

1. Teacher Evaluation How establishing a rigorous evaluation process can help schools differentiate teacher performance and drive key human capital decisions. California Charter Schools Association Conference FEBRUARY 2012

2. Agenda Welcome and Introductions Introduction to The School Leader’s Toolbox Instructional Culture Insight Teacher Evaluation Question & Answer

3. Agenda Welcome and Introductions Introduction to The School Leader’s Toolbox Instructional Culture Insight Teacher Evaluation Question & Answer

4.  With the support of the Walton Foundation, TNTP partnered with charter organizations across the country, including the CCSA, as well as traditional districts and states to develop training content on effective human capital policies. • The goal was to develop a series of trainings on successful human capital management practices in charter schools, covering the following topics: • Recruitment and Selection; • Teacher Evaluation; • Retention of High Performers; • Performance Accountability; • Building a Professional School Culture; and • Teacher Development.

5. TNTP worked with the California Charter Schools Association and other partners to identify exemplar schools, networks, and districts. • Surveyed nearly a thousand charter school teachers and administrators in order to gain a deeper understanding of educators’ perceptions of human capital management practices in their schools and networks. • Collected rubrics, frameworks, policies, process descriptions, and other tools used by exemplar states, districts, networks, and charter schools to manage their teacher workforces for high achievement. • Interviewed state, district, network and school leaders, teachers and staff to explore how human capital management policies and practices affect teacher satisfaction and retention.

6. We found that a comprehensive approach to human capital management drives greater teacher satisfaction. Number of questions with which teacher agreed* Percent of teachers satisfied with their current school** Key Teacher Survey Questions RECRUITMENT “The recruitment process effectively prepared me for what to expect in my role at my school.” EVALUATION AND DEVELOPMENT “The professional development I receive at my school is tailored according to feedback and/or development areas from my performance evaluation.” RECOGNITION“Teachers’ accomplishments are regularly recognized and celebrated.” PERFORMANCE ACCOUNTABILITY “Teachers are held accountable for their performance.” SCHOOL CULTURE “I feel appreciated for my hard work at my school.” *Includes “Strongly Agree” or “Agree.” **Percent “Satisfied” or “Very Satisfied.”

7. The School Leader’s Toolbox is an online repository of successful strategies and practical resources that charter schools can draw on to create effective human capital policies, with the aim of creating sustained, scalable models for effective instruction. A high-performing teaching team The School Leader’s Toolbox Recruitment & Selection Teacher Development Building a Professional Culture Evaluation Performance Accountability Retaining High Performers School-tested strategies for growing great teaching teams

8. Research has shown that effective teachers are critically important to student learning. Dallas students who start 2nd grade at about the same level of math achievement… …may finish 5th grade math at dramatically different levels depending on the quality of their teachers. After 3 HIGHLY EFFECTIVE Teachers 49 After 3 INEFFECTIVE Teachers Note: Calculating the effects of 3 teachers requires 4 years of test data; hence starting with scores in 2nd grade and ending in 5th. Source: Jordan, H., Mendro, R., & Weerasinghe, D. (1997). The Effects of Teachers on Longitudinal Student Achievement. Dallas, TX: Dallas Public Schools

9. The School Leader’s Toolbox includes toolkits covering six areas of human capital management. 1 2 3 4 5

10. Dramatic improvements in student achievement cannot occur without a sustained and strategic focus on maximizing teacher effectiveness. 5 Boost effectiveness of all teachers through effective evaluation and targeted professional development. Strategies for Optimizing Teacher Effectiveness 2 Retain and leverage most effective teachers. Optimize new teacher supply by hiring from preparation programs whose teachers consistently achieve better student outcomes. 1 3 Teacher Effectiveness in Improving Student Achievement 5 4 Improve or exit persistently less effective teachers and replace with more effective teachers. Prioritize effective teachers for high-need students. Current teacher performance Potential teacher performance

11. Each toolkit includes guidance on promising practices and ready-to-use tools from leading charter schools, districts and states. • Each toolkit in The School Leader’s Toolbox contains: • A slide presentation with guidance and insights from exemplar school leaders • A library of tools and resources contributed by exemplar networks, districts and states • Users can review, download, and adapt the guidance and tools for their contexts

12. Example: Recruitment & Selection

13. Hyperlinks under each slide link to specific examples from exemplar schools.

14. Users are encouraged to adapt the resources in The School Leader’s Toolbox to meet their unique needs. New School Design Scaling Up Strategic Improvements Situation → A design team wants state-of-the art human capital policies but doesn't know where to go for design principles and tools. Solution → Review all six toolkits to understand a range of options. Download resources as a starting point in developing design principles and customized tools for the school. Situation → A school leader of an established school has been making decisions about hiring, pay, and retention on a case-by-case basis, but as the school grows, needs a more coherent, strategic set of policies. Solution → Review the toolkit contents to identify and download examples and tools that align with the school’s established vision and approach. Situation → A network operator is satisfied with policies on evaluation, hiring, and retention, but has a standard “steps and lanes” salary schedule and wants to begin to move to a system more aligned with teacher effectiveness. Solution → Focus on contents of one toolkit, Retention of High Performers, to see what leading charter networks are doing in this area.

15. New Features for 2012 • District content • Additional charter partners • Search and navigation functionality • Teacher Development Toolkit  • Any questions about • the purpose of The School Leader’s Toolbox, • navigating the website, • or the origination of the content?

16. Agenda Welcome and Introductions Introduction to The School Leader’s Toolbox Instructional Culture Insight Teacher Evaluation Question & Answer

17. Instructional Culture Insight is a teacher-centered survey tool, which is used to create stronger school cultures. What is Insight? • 46-question survey, given to teachers twice per year • Gathers timely information on school leadership and instructional environment • School and district/CMO leaders use the information to build a strong workplace culture that supports teachers Where is Insight? • Piloted in 37 Washington, DC charter schools in May 2010 • Expanded to 249 schools across 6 states in 2011 • 90 more schools added so far in 2012 Why does culture matter? • Schools with strong cultures are far more likely to retain their best teachers • The strength of school’s culture is a valid leading indicator of student results on state tests

18. Most surveys just lay out the landscape; Insight provides a clear path to improving school culture and assesses change over time. 1. Survey teachers 2. Generate Index score 15-minute survey, teachers give feedback on 40+ aspects of school culture Answers from three key questions generate a single Index score, a barometer of school cultural health Insight Survey School Report 1-10 Index Score Give schools a roadmap Assess progress 4. Schools improve culture 3. Schools get reports Schools take concrete steps to improve their culture All principals receive school reports, with guidance on where to focus efforts

19. Three survey items combine to create the Instructional Culture Index, a single measure of the strength of a school’s culture. Instructional Culture Index • From the survey, we built a valid statistical composite of teacher agreementwith three indicators that is predictive of student outcomes. • Teachers at my school share a common vision of what effective teaching looks like. • At my school, the expectations for effective teaching are clearly defined. • My school is committed to improving my instructional practice. A single measure of instructional culture that predicts teacher retention and student gains.

20. The other Insight questions allow schools to make targeted changes to management behaviors that shape overall instructional culture. Insight Survey What management behaviors do principals need to improve?

21. District teachers are twice as likely to leave schools with weak cultures where they do not feel valued as professionals. 18% of effectiveteachers at district schools with the strongest cultures plan to leave in the next 2 years At district schools with a weak culture, twice as many effective teachers plan to leave in the next 2 years 38% of effective teachers at district schools with the weakest cultures plan to leave in the next 2 years

22. The strength of a DC Charter school’s culture explains as much of the variation in math achievement as demographics alone. Percent Variation in Math Proficiency Explained By…. • The Index explains between 5% and 20% of the variation in student performance between schools within a particular site. • Demographics include school size and student demographics. Index Score 19 Demographics Alone These findings have been externally validated by the American Institutes for Research.

23. Teachers in schools with strong instructional cultures are observed – and receive feedback – more frequently than other teachers. Mean Number of Total Short Observation 20 Total 19 Total 14 Total Combined with the likelihood of receiving feedback, teachers in top-quartile schools have already received 2x the feedbackas those in the bottom-quartile.

24. Teachers at top-quartile schools are far more likely to report they receive enough feedback, and that the feedback is useful.

25. Top-quartile schools more frequently deliver informal feedback – an email or quick chat in the hallway – following observations. More than half of all teachers at top-quartile schools report receiving these types of informal feedback, compared to one-third of teachers at bottom-quartile schools.

26. Using the Campus Reports, we highlight areas for specific school improvement and point to local exemplar practices. LEA School Top Quartile Providing local exemplars gives each campus a sense of what is possible within their own school Schools that are struggling can target areas for improvement, setting goals based on what top schools realized • By identifying how each school stacks-up against the most effectively managed schools in their community, we uncover what works—and what needs work—to build a stronger learning environment.

27. Agenda Welcome and Introductions Introduction to The School Leader’s Toolbox Instructional Culture Insight Teacher Evaluation Question & Answer

28. Contents of the Evaluation Toolkit ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS TOOLS • Who is responsible for evaluating and developing teachers? • How frequently are teachers evaluated? • How frequently are teachers observed and given feedback? • How can feedback be delivered effectively? • How is student performance data considered in teacher evaluation? • How are summative ratings determined? • Expectations and goal-setting documents • Observation and feedback schedules • Observation tools and trackers • Protocols for conducting observations and delivering feedback • Feedback and professional growth forms • Summative evaluation rubrics

29. Promising Evaluation Practices

30. Promising Practices in Action Achievement First

31. Informal diagnosis • Think to yourself: Does your school’s evaluation system exemplify these promising practices? • Turn to your neighbor: What is the most effective aspect of your evaluation system? In which category can you most improve?  31

32. CLEAR, RIGOROUS EXPECTATIONS Teachers who share a common vision of instruction are more satisfied with their evaluation. Percent of teachers who “Strongly Agree” or “Agree” that “Overall, I am satisfied with the evaluation process at my school.” Teachers who believe that fellow teachers share a common vision of effective teaching* All other teachers *Teachers who responded "Strongly agree" or "Agree" to “Teachers at my school share a common vision of what effective teaching looks like.”

33. CLEAR, RIGOROUS EXPECTATIONS A common vision of excellent instruction ensures shared expectations between teachers and administrators. D.C. Public Schools Achievement First (AF) Houston ISD Friendship Public Schools • The IMPACT Teaching and Learning Framework provides a clear definition of what effective teaching looks like with descriptions of both teacher and student behaviors for each standard. • Teachers receive both written and oral feedback on a minimum of five observations throughout the year, with guidance on next steps for professional growth. • Conversations between teachers and managers at the start of the year focus on how the teacher will meet AF’s Essentials of Effective Instruction. • Regular observations and feedback conversations revisit these same expectations. • The Instructional Practice and Professional Expectations Rubrics in the Teacher Appraisal and Development System describe teachers performing at different levels and the possible sources of evidence for each criterion in the rubric. • The ENGAGE! performance management process involves creating a detailed self-assessment and setting specific goals for student outcomes. • Specific instructional interventions are documented and discussed throughout the year. • Evidence is collected in portfolios and discussed during regular feedback sessions.

34. Frequent Observation Teachers who receive more observations report higher satisfaction with evaluation and feedback. Teacher Satisfaction with Evaluation and Feedback * Includes both short (≤15 minutes) and long (>15 minutes) observations.

35. FREQUENT OBSERVATION Observation frequency and length varies, yet nearly two-thirds of teachers are observed at least 10 times annually. Average Annual Number of Observations* Reported by Teachers 84% of teachers surveyed reported being observedat least 5 times during the last school year. 65% reported being observedat least 10 times. * Includes both short (≤15 minutes) and long (>15 minutes) observations.

36. FREQUENT OBSERVATION Managers evaluate an average of 13.1 teachers, while leveraging instructional staff to conduct multiple observations. Which of the following people observed your teaching last year? How many teachers is each manager responsible for evaluating? Across exemplar schools, each instructional leader is responsible for evaluating an average of 13.1 teachers.

37. FREQUENT OBSERVATION Schools conduct more observations per teacher by finding creative ways to free up capacity. Memphis City Schools Rocketship Education D.C. Public Schools Peak to Peak Charter • Leveraging Technology • Classroom time focuses on higher order critical thinking skills • Learning Lab gives students 1:1 computer time for basic skills mastery • Decreases the ratio of teachers to instructional managers and allows for a greater focus on individualization of support. • Utilizing Master Educators • Master educators are expert practitioners in a content area that travel from school to school to conduct observations. • Combined with principal evaluations, teachers have a formal, extended observation 5 times a year. • Adding More “Blocking and Tackling” • An Executive Principal oversees 3 schools, assuming most of the schools’ administrative responsibilities (“blocking and tackling”) and allowing campus leaders to focus their time on the observation and development of teachers. • Training observers • The use of certified observers, in addition to principals and assistant principals, allows each teacher to receive a minimum of 4 to 6 observations during the observation cycle.

38. FREQUENT OBSERVATION Classroom observations can be recorded using a variety of tools. Observation Forms Indiana Department of Education North Star Academy (Uncommon Schools) West Denver Prep Denver Public Schools

39. REGULAR FEEDBACK An effective cycle of observation and feedback connects each step in the process. North Star Academy (Uncommon Schools) The Observation & Feedback Cycle 1. Review feedback from last interaction (whether lesson planning meeting or past observation). 7. Provide accountability during next touch point, ensuring that the teacher made the changes and that the changes worked! 2. Observe classroom teaching. Instructional managers (school leaders and trained senior teachers) conduct short (10-20 minute) weekly observations of each teacher. Frequency and duration are adjusted based on teacher needs. 3. Prioritize two “bite-sized” changes that will move student learning. 6. Summarize notes in tracker. 5. Hold the conversation with the teacher. 4. Plan the development/ feedback conversation.

40. Use of student growth Some districts and networks have developed new ways to consider student outcomes in evaluations. Achievement First (AF) • AF implemented its revised evaluation system in the 2010-11 school year; compensation and career path decisions will be influenced by effectiveness data beginning in SY 2012-13. Piloting new assessments in non-tested subjects. System considers both outputs and inputs. Student achievement weight differs based on types of assessments

41. Apply these promising practices to your school How can you incorporate each of these promising practices into the teacher evaluation system at your school? 

42. Agenda Welcome and Introductions Introduction to The School Leader’s Toolbox Instructional Culture Insight Teacher Evaluation Question & Answer

43. For more information on The School Leader’s Toolbox… Visit www.schoolleaderstoolbox.org to watch pre-recorded webinars on toolkit content and review our six engaging Toolkits; take a flyer at your seat to remember the web address. Sign up to receive monthly newsletters, which will highlight upcoming webinars in the spring.