Utilization of Student Performance Data in Teacher Evaluations

Across the country, the educational policy landscape is undergoing yet another major shift. This time through
the implications of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the foundation of the way in which the teacher is
evaluated is experiencing a major paradigm shift. From the mandated inclusion experienced under the previous
legislation to the more flexible nature of ESSA, states are beginning the process of defining how they measure
those that teach the children of our nation.

In states such as Michigan, one sees the continued high percentages and unification of student growth measures
in the evaluation of the states classroom teachers. This methodology can be compared to the more teacher-
centered approaches utilized in states like North Carolina, where student performance data is noticeably absent
from the total measure of a teachers effectiveness. What is the right solution under a regulatory environment
that does little to provide direction for states on the means and measure in the evaluation of it’s teacher? Does
student performance data relate to teacher effectiveness?

In this current state of flexibility, each state has been given the opportunity to define best practices for their
teachers. This movement has acted to increase local control yet in many states, especially those that are unable
to provide unified measures, implementation or standards, it has caused a power vacuum in the overall measure
of teacher’s classroom impacts.

The question of data as a critical aspect of teacher evaluation has been debated through the past several
iterations of legislative mandates. Schmoker (2003) identifies the most central issue in this debate as the
teachers ability to consume and utilize student data in the formation of instructional processes. This necessary
skill of data consumption further impacts the debate of the use of performance data in the measure of teaching
and learning. If a culture of data informed instruction could be established in the classroom-learning
environment, then why would teachers not want this as a measure of their individual and collective evaluation
model? The simple answer, they are overwhelmed.

Teachers across the country are constantly being asked to do more with less. More assessment, more
instruction, more programming all the while being provided less resources and less compensation for their
efforts. Data, with its complexity, is simply overwhelming for the classroom educator. So what is the answer and
how can states ensure that student performance data remains a critical aspect of the teacher’s evaluation,
growth and development?

For an example, we turn to Texas and their most recent policy reform efforts on teacher evaluation. Through a
combination of mandated percentages of data inclusion and the flexibility for the districts and schools to locally
define the measures that they will use in the evaluation process becomes a tool and resource in the development
of all teachers. This policy movement has effectively sparked the debate of how student performance should be
measured, between student learning objectives and value added measure. This debate at the local level, in
combination with a uniform evaluation model that is implemented and supported from the state level, allows
the schools and teachers to focus on the outcomes of students. By effectively removing the prohibitive costs of
the evaluation instrument and its implementation the state has allowed the schools to shift their focus on
becoming better consumers of student data, acting on data and making informed instructional decisions.

For teachers, students and learning communities, evaluation remains a critical aspect of the educational process.
The inclusion of student performance data and the ability of that data to inform the instructional process are and
will remain a critical aspect to effective teaching and learning across the country.

Riley J Justis is the Vice President for Business Development at a leading national technology company focused on
the educational market. He is also a Ph.D. student at Central Michigan University where he is focusing on the impact
of assessment and student data in the teaching and learning process.