Evaluation Success Story: Revolutionizing Staff Performance Strategies at Stride
Stride, Inc. (“Stride”) is a national education company that works with school districts and charter boards to provide educational products and services to schools across the country. Deanna Ericson, one of Stride’s directors of learning development, faces unique challenges at the heart of this organization.
Stride's expansive reach, serving Kindergarten through vocational online school programs in more than 30 states, has demanded the creation of a robust system to evaluate the performance of the staff implementing this comprehensive education model.
The Challenge
Stride's vast network and differing evaluation standards across states create a significant challenge for the twenty-year-old company — a lack of a centralized location for staff performance data. According to Ericson, "Each state has different rubrics and evaluation protocols. We didn't have a way to pull those together into a single, seamless instance for our clients, our teachers, and our administrators."
This decentralization not only led to difficulty in aggregating data but also hampered strategic decision-making based on that data. Ericson further explained, "Most of the pain points were really around data action and outcomes — having to spend an entire week or longer pulling all of that data together and then making sense of it to improve outcomes was a spreadsheet nightmare."
"Most of the pain points were really around data action and outcomes — having to spend an entire week or longer pulling all of that data together and then making sense of it to improve outcomes was a spreadsheet nightmare."
The absence of real-time reports posed a risk for decision-making effectiveness, as Ericson noted. "Once data is old, it’s not worth using anymore. So having those real-time reports is really important for schools to know what’s working and to be able to make very pivotal changes."
"Once data is old, it’s not worth using anymore. So having those real-time reports is really important for schools to know what’s working and to be able to make very pivotal changes."
In a nutshell, Stride required a system that could centralize its performance evaluation data across various rubrics and protocols while enabling swift strategic decisions based on accurate, timely data.
The Solution
With a desire for a unified and efficient evaluation system, Stride found its solution in Evaluation. Transitioning to the new system was a considerable task, given the variety of rubrics and the need for accurate rostering. But, according to Ericson, the process was viewed as an improvement to the existing setup, rather than a disruption. "Our schools, once they experienced it, were super happy about it. They really viewed it as an enhancement. They were excited to learn the new platform."
Key to Stride's successful transition to Evaluation was the exceptional customer support that users received. Ericson praised the support team, noting, "Our tickets are turned around so quickly — when I put a ticket in it’s often resolved within 60 minutes. That is probably my favorite part of this service."
"Our tickets are turned around so quickly — when I put a ticket in it’s often resolved within 60 minutes. That is probably my favorite part of this service."
The swift and effective support from Evaluation significantly contributed to the platform's smooth integration, reinforced trust in the system, and aided in the fast resolution of any encountered issues.
The newfound ability to track and review performance data across the organization in real-time marked a major turning point for Stride. Administrators could 'walk the digital halls,' observing teaching and ensuring regular, purposeful feedback for their teams. This allowed for a high standard of oversight, putting administrators inside Stride’s virtual classrooms twice a month on average.
"We have a very high standard of how often administrators are supposed to be in classrooms ... We need them there with a purpose and a plan that aligns with their rubric — then they need to document all that in the Evaluation platform."
The ability to compile this observation data across the entire organization provided new insights, highlighting areas for commendation and others in need of further support. This system empowered the organization to enhance its education delivery at every level while maintaining the autonomy of individual schools.
The initial experience of seeing the collected data was a thrilling moment for the Stride team. Ericson enthusiastically stated, "That was really our first 'Oh this is going to be really good’ moment, when we knew we were going to be able to make a lot of fun decisions.”
The Results
In the quest for better educational outcomes, Stride employed the Evaluation system to obtain trend data on the use of instructional rubrics. By identifying and focusing on key areas of teaching practice, such as student engagement and rigorous content curriculum, Stride was able to design targeted professional development interventions.
And although the precise correlation is challenging to measure, Ericson confidently stated, "We've seen an increase in being able to address national trends and we are seeing improvement."
"We've seen an increase in being able to address national trends and we are seeing improvement."
One standout feature of the Evaluation system is its facilitation of 'inter-rater reliability' (IRR), a measure of how similarly different administrators rate the same performance. This ability to identify discrepancies in teacher assessments was a valuable source of insight.
Ericson remarked on this element, stating, "One of the things that I appreciated the most was also being able to see the inter-rater reliability. This is very challenging in this environment because you have to be very intentional when you walk around a digital classroom."
"One of the things that I appreciated the most was also being able to see the inter-rater reliability. This is very challenging in this environment because you have to be very intentional when you walk around a digital classroom."
With the insights from Evaluation, Stride observed some schools needed adjustments in their rating practices and provided the necessary training. Even in schools where scores initially dropped, there was excitement as the professional development helped level out scores and elevate teachers' performance to where they were initially perceived to be.
Moreover, Stride found immense value in the heat map feature of Evaluation, which offers a quick and clear visual summary of performance across teaching staff. It's not just about numbers, but also about color-coded indicators that provide immediate insights, allowing administrators to identify areas of focus.
“Some of the most positive things I hear are about the heat map. The administrators really love the heat map."
The results for Stride, therefore, have been a testament to the power of data-driven decision-making in education, validating Ericson's enthusiasm for the Evaluation system. The insights and benefits offered by the system have undoubtedly given the team at Stride what we fondly refer to as "data chills".
The Product
Evaluation is a tool built to increase the efficiency of the staff evaluation process and facilitate educator growth with data. With a collaborative, web-based performance portal that's tailored to meet each district's needs, school administrators can efficiently document every step of the staff evaluation process — including walk-throughs, self-evaluations, supporting evidence, reporting, and performance analytics.
In addition, school administrators can implement and host their own locally-created or state-approved rubrics including Danielson, 5D+, Thoughtful Classroom, and McREL. This enables the development of an actionable plan based on data that can be used to improve individual performance and overall trends to measure success — all while giving staff a single portal to record, document, and gather evidence and observations throughout the evaluation process.
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