How Are Teacher Evaluation Data Used in Five Arizona Districts? REL 2016-142

• Published in: Regional Educational Laboratory West
• Main Authors: Makkonen, Reino, Tejwani, Jaclyn, Venkateswaran, Nitya
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: Regional Educational Laboratory West 01.05.2016
• Subjects: Administrator Attitudes; Administrator Surveys; Administrators; Arizona; Coaching (Performance); Data; Elementary School Teachers; Evaluation Utilization; Faculty Development; Feedback (Response); High Schools; Interviews; Merit Pay; Middle School Teachers; Observation; Online Systems; Principals; School Districts; Secondary School Teachers; Teacher Attitudes; Teacher Evaluation; Teacher Leadership; Teacher Placement; Teacher Surveys; Test Results; Arizona

Recent teacher evaluation reforms instituted across the country have sought to yield richer information about educators' strengths and limitations and guide decisions about targeted opportunities for professional growth. This study describes how results from new multiple-measure teacher evaluations were being used in 2014/15 in five school districts in Arizona (according to interviews with district leaders and instructional coaches and surveys of school principals and teachers), with each district administering its own local evaluation system developed to align with the overarching state evaluation regulations passed in 2011. Findings from a majority of the study districts indicated that online data platforms are facilitating observation-based feedback, with evaluation results reportedly influencing subsequent professional development for teachers--in particular shaping the work of instructional coaches and/or the support opportunities that are suggested for teachers within the district's online system. However, responding teachers in the five study districts expressed some skepticism about the relevance of school- and district-level professional development offerings, and viewed themselves as responsible for their own professional growth activities. In addition, respondents indicated that the timing of the release of standardized state test data renders those data less useful for professional development decisions than observation results. Meanwhile, teacher evaluation data are reportedly being less systematically used in talent management decisions, including to identify teacher leaders or to assign teachers to schools or classrooms. Regarding evaluation's impact, principals and teachers in a majority of study districts agreed that their new teacher evaluations have improved teachers' instructional practice, but teachers in all five study districts were less likely than principals to agree that evaluations have benefited students. Together, these findings are suggestive of positive benefits from organizational structures that support the review of data during the school year, such as standards-based observation frameworks, benchmark assessments, professional learning communities, and instructional coaching and feedback. However, skepticism among teachers (particularly high school teachers) suggests that they may not yet perceive their evaluations as entirely credible and relevant to their work. The following are appended: (1) Data sources and methodology; (2) Protocol and code book for district interviews; and (3) Case summaries.