In 2010, the New Jersey Department
of Education started its mission to improve educator evaluation and supports. A
two-year pilot program started as a result of this. In 2012, state legislators
and Governor Christie unanimously signed TEACHNJ, a tenure reformbill. On March
6, 2013, AchieveNJ was unanimously approved by state legislators and Governor
Christie with the support of the New Jersey Department of Education. The
premise behind AchieveNJ is that both educators and students deserve more than
what was previously in place. It recognizes what educators have done, rewards
them for their efforts, and provides them with tools and support for continued
success. A guiding principle of AchieveNJ is that educational effectiveness can
and should be measured to help ensure
that New Jersey students have the best teachers. Evaluations under AchieveNJ
will be based on multiple measures – learning outcomes and effective practice.
These observations will be conducted by appropriately trained observers. Professional
development will aim to help teachers improve their practice by being of
high-quality and tied to each teacher’s evaluation. AchieveNJ aimed to have
evaluation and support systems that were developed largely by educators. In
conjunction with TEACHNJ, AchieveNJ aims to tie tenure to teacher
effectiveness.
Every teacher’s summative rating
will be comprised from teacher practice and student achievement. The weighting
of each depends on the grade and subject matter taught. ELA and math teachers
for grades 4 through 8 will have the following breakdown for weighting of
teacher evaluation: 55% teacher practice and 45% student achievement (broken
down into 15% student growth objectives and 30% student growth percentile). Teachers
who do not teach ELA and math for grades 4-8 will have a rating 85% based on
teacher practice and 15% student achievement as measured with student growth
objectives. Teacher practice is measured by a minimum of three observations per
year. The length of each observation varies by whether or not the teacher has
tenure. Each teacher must have at least one unannounced observation and one
announced observation. Student achievement is measured using Student Growth
Objectives (SGOs) and Student Growth Percentile (SGP). SGOs are set by a teacher
with the help of his or her principal or supervisor at the beginning of the
school year (by November 15th for the 2013-14 school year). SGOs are
academic goals for groups of students. SGOs can be measured using NJASK,
national standardized tests, and district-made tests and portfolios. AchieveNJ
gives the following example of an SGO: “All students increase at least one
proficiency level on the Text Reading and Comprehension (TRC) assessment.” The
teacher receives a rating of one through four based on the percentage of
students who met this objective. SGOs should not be the same as IEP goals but
can be used in the development of SGOs. For co-teachers, the SGOs may be the
same. Adjustments to SGOs, as long as they are approved, can be made up until
February 15th for this school year. Teachers and supervisors must
meet at the end of the school year to discuss SGOs. SGP shows the growth of a
student’s NJASK scores from one year to the next. The SGP is compared to the
gains that the student’s academic peers, students with similar academic
history, achieve on the NJASK across the state. Teachers of tested grades and
subjects will have a median SGP, which falls between 0 and 99, for all of their
qualifying students and a four-level scale of effectiveness will be used. All
teachers must be trained on these new evaluation methods prior to beginning the
school year.
Principals, Vice Principals, and
Assistant Principals will be evaluated based on practice and student
achievement. Practice will be evaluated based on their principal practice and
evaluation leadership, making up 50% of their summative rating. Principal
practice makes up 30% of the summative rating and is based on the
superintendent’s observation of their on-the-job performance. Evaluation
leadership, measured by how well the administrator implements AchieveNJ based
on a state0developed rubric, makes up 20% of the summative rating. The
remaining 50% is made up of student achievement measures: SGO average,
administrator goals, and school SGP (if the school has SGP grades). Of this,
10% is based on the school’s SGO average. Schools that do not have SGP grades
or subjects have their remaining summative rating (40%) based on administrator goals
that are set by the principal and superintendent. Schools are then further
classified on whether they are a single-grade SGP school or multi-grade SGP
schools. Single-grade SGP principals are rated 20% on administrator goals and
20% on the School SGP. Multi-grade SGP principals have 10% of their rating
based on administrator goals and 30% based on School SGP. Examples of
administrator goals include college acceptance rates and graduation rates.
AchieveNJ calls for improved
professional development and educator support. Evaluations are improved and
rely on educator feedback meaning an increase in conferences and greater
opportunity to engage in high-quality professional conversations with fellow
educators. AchieveNJ is also deeply rooted in data and information. SGOs and
SGP will allow teachers to see their impact and allow them to work with
administrators to continue to improve. Professional development will be chosen
based on the areas of improvement needed. Individual professional development
plans will be created to help student achievement. School Improvement Panels (ScIP)
helps to ensure teacher’s effectiveness, oversees mentoring activities,
conducts evaluations, identifies professional development opportunities, and
mid-year evaluations of ineffective and partially ineffective teachers. The
ScIP is made of the principal (or designee), an assistant or vice principal,
and a teacher. All novice teachers are required to be mentored by an
experienced teacher. The mentor is there to share feedback, model strong
teacher practice, and provide support and guidance throughout the year. Like
under TEACHNJ, a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) will be created if an educator
receives a rating of ineffective or partially ineffective.
Educational services staff,
counselors, and other specialists are evaluated based on a practice score that
is derived from a district-adopted rubric. From there, growth objectives are
created. An example of which is “6th grade students will demonstrate
proficiency on a district-developed, age-appropriate assessment of knowledge in
utilizing the school’s media center and other information resources.” Rating
will be based on the number of students who meet the objective. The Department
of Education is still looking to see how districts evaluation these employees
and looks for their input.
This school year marks the first
year of its statewide implementation. Therefore, there are still some “kinks”
that need to be figured out. The Pros of AchieveNJ is better tenure laws to
ensure ineffective educators are not in NJ schools, feedback for evaluations,
and appropriate professional development. The cons of AchieveNJ are that it
ties student achievement and evaluations too heavily to standardized testing,
includes very vague descriptions for evaluations of educational services staff,
counselors, and other specialists, and could increase “teaching to the test.” In
the future, the Department of Education is looking to honor Highly Effective
educators through differentiated observation protocols, expanded career
pathways and leadership opportunities, and future awards and recognition
initiatives.
New Jersey Department of Education.
(2013). AchieveNJ: Educator evaluation and support in new jersey. Retrieved
from http://www.state.nj.us/education/AchieveNJ/intro/guide.pdf
New Jersey Department of Education.
(2013). AchieveNJ: Evaluating educational services staff, counselors, and other
specialists. Retrieved from http://www.state.nj.us/education/AchieveNJ/intro/SpecialistsandOthersOverview.pdf
New Jersey Department of Education.
(2013). AchieveNJ: Overview for special education teachers. Retrieved from http://www.state.nj.us/education/AchieveNJ/teacher/SpecialEducatorOverview.pdf
New Jersey Department of Education.
(2013). AchieveNJ: Teacher Practice in 2013-14. Retrieved from http://www.state.nj.us/education/AchieveNJ/teacher/TeacherPracticeOverview.pdf
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