The State of Teacher Evaluation in Indiana

A recent study conducted by Education Advanced on the state of teacher evaluation shows a case for providing clear, actionable feedback to employees. We collected data from 60 participating school districts and ran a quantitative analysis comparing schools that utilized the teacher evaluation software system for three years to schools who had utilized the system for less than three years. Researchers also conducted an analysis of trend data from schools who have used our Evaluation product consistently for a three-year period.

While the overall results showed significant improvement of teachers utilizing the Evaluation software, perhaps the more informative piece to researchers was the ability to analyze rating category data. For example, we were able to investigate trends of strengths and weaknesses among sets of teachers, such as how many teachers were marked as highly effective, effective, etc. within a specific cohort or non-cohort group. Our goal is that this data will serve as a driving force to our school administrators as they plan their professional development and content for professional learning communities.

Less than Proficient Markings

In addition to this deep dive of teacher evaluation data, the team also gathered percentages from specific indicators within the instructional domain. This gave us holistic percentages of participating teachers marked less than proficient in specific indicators within the instructional domain, such as student engagement, maximizing instructional time, etc. Again, the hope is to guide the schools to target specific indicators for professional growth.

In the past, the goal of teacher evaluation was often teacher dismissal, which is counterproductive in light of the teacher shortage facing our state. Educational leaders are now striving to guide improvement of instructional practices and create plans for individualized professional growth plans. A system that includes regular feedback may encourage teachers to remain in the field of education (Survey Data, 2016). With professional development funds in danger of reduction at the federal level, targeted, integrated professional development may be difficult for schools to fund and implement locally. This requires school administrators to become more selective when choosing professional development activities and professional learning community topics for their schools.

Teacher Evaluation Support

Analysis of quantitative teacher evaluation data could be used to drive conversations on teacher strengths and weaknesses, provide professional development specific to the needs of individual teachers, and impact educator preparation programming. However, without the appropriate teacher evaluation software management system, this analysis of data is overwhelming. Education Advanced not only provides the platform for managing this teacher evaluation data, but can offer assistance with data analysis, professional growth plans for teachers, integrated professional development, and mentoring and coaching for teachers.