For many teachers, stress levels are at an all-time high this year, as they navigate remote lessons, socially distanced classrooms, or a combination of the two. And there鈥檚 yet another looming stressor: teacher evaluations.
鈥淵ou would think that given everything that鈥檚 changing and everything that鈥檚 brand new to teachers, that they would have figured out a way to skip a year,鈥� said Kristin Brown, a high school math and computer science teacher in Wisconsin. As a teacher, she added, you shouldn鈥檛 have to 鈥渄efend yourself and prove that you鈥檙e an effective educator in a pandemic.鈥�
In the spring, nearly half of states eased evaluation requirements or issued flexibility or guidance for school districts, and teachers鈥� unions are arguing for more of that as the coronavirus pandemic rages on.
So far, at least 17 states have released guidance on teacher evaluations this year, according to an analysis by the National Council on Teacher Quality. Most states are still requiring teacher evaluations in some capacity, although Mississippi has suspended the requirement for districts to submit annual employee performance data, and Illinois has told districts they will not be penalized if they don鈥檛 conduct summative evaluations this year.
While some administrators and other experts say evaluations and observations are crucial to providing valuable feedback and support, many teachers say it鈥檚 unfair to make potentially high-stakes job-performance decisions when they鈥檙e navigating new technologies, adjusting to different methods of teaching, and trying to reach students who might not have reliable internet access or stability at home. They worry that evaluations this year, particularly those that include student growth data, won鈥檛 be reflective of teachers鈥� abilities, since students鈥� lives and learning have been so disrupted.
Shannon Holston, the director for teacher policy at NCTQ, said she expects more states to release guidance in the coming weeks. For those that have already, 鈥渋t seems a number of states understand that this is not a normal year and have tried to adjust requirements for evaluations while still really focusing on the observation and feedback component,鈥� Holston said.
For example, Colorado and Ohio will not incorporate student growth data in teacher evaluations at all this school year. And districts in Connecticut and Oregon can use social and emotional learning or student engagement measures in evaluations this year instead of academic measures to show student growth.
Massachusetts has streamlined its evaluation rubric to focus on six priorities, and Washington state has reduced the number of criteria required for comprehensive evaluations from eight to two. The rest of the evaluation score will be based on the teacher鈥檚 previous score.
New Jersey and Hawaii, states where some districts are having students learn remotely some or all days of the school week, have offered an alternative to in-person classroom observations by allowing teachers to showcase their professional practice via a portfolio. Teachers who are teaching remotely can collect artifacts of instruction over a predetermined instructional period.
Student Test Scores
Many state teachers鈥� unions have been active in calling for increased flexibility this year with test scores and evaluations. Last year, every state received a waiver to skip federally mandated standardized tests, but U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has told states getting the same waivers this school year.
New Jersey had to tweak its student growth percentile formula because there were no statewide assessments last year from which to collect data. Instead, teachers and administrators this year are responsible for setting goals for students and assessing whether they鈥檝e met those goals by the end of the year. This objective will make up 15 percent of teachers鈥� evaluation rating, while the observations or the portfolio of practice will make up the remaining 85 percent.
Elisabeth Yucis, the associate director of professional development and instructional issues at the New Jersey Education Association, said she is concerned about the validity of using student growth measures to determine a teacher鈥檚 effectiveness, given the wide variability of students鈥� learning conditions at home as well as districts鈥� resources.
鈥淲e have some qualms about how feasible it is for teachers to really know where their students are right now [when] schools closed mid-March, and students have had a variety of different experiences in the spring in terms of their learning,鈥� she said.
A new law in Indiana says that schools are no longer required to use state test scores when evaluating teachers. But Indiana State Teachers Association President Keith Gambill said he has heard some districts are still planning to use test scores this year鈥攚hich the union is against. Gambill said local associations will be working with those districts to try to eliminate test scores from evaluations.
And he called for administrators to be understanding of the circumstances when they do observations. For instance, some evaluation frameworks prioritize students working together in small groups, which is difficult to do while maintaining social distance.
鈥淓ven if you鈥檙e instructing face-to-face, it isn鈥檛 the same as it was last February when we were very much about engagement and students moving about the classroom and 鈥榩air and share鈥� and all of those techniques that we know help enrich the work we鈥檙e doing,鈥� Gambill said. 鈥淭hose all have to be thought through differently now.鈥�
Meanwhile, the Illinois Education Association and the Illinois Federation of Teachers issued a joint statement along with state administrators鈥� associations warning that 鈥渢eachers are not primarily trained to provide remote instruction and qualified evaluators are not trained to evaluate remote instruction.鈥� Districts should focus on evaluations on 鈥渇ormative feedback and support鈥� instead of summative ratings, the groups said.
Carmen Ayala, the Illinois state superintendent of education, then that they will have the flexibility this year to not conduct summative teacher evaluations. But administrators should still observe teachers, she wrote, because that allows them to 鈥減rovide extra support to teachers who are struggling and reveal the heroic efforts of teachers who are creating strategies that work.鈥�
Even so, teachers say observing virtual classrooms should be done with grace. Brown, the Wisconsin teacher, said her district does not require students . The result is a very different classroom than she would have in person.
鈥淚t鈥檚 basically teaching to 25 names on a screen and trying to engage kids in any way we can,鈥� she said. 鈥淭o then have your administrator pop in and see that鈥攊t brings up so much anxiety. It鈥檚 not normal.鈥�
And there鈥檚 no widely accepted list of best practices for teaching remotely, said Monise Seward, a special education teacher in Georgia.
鈥淓ven though we had the summer to regroup and reflect on what we did in March, April, and May, we still have not really had any 鈥榦fficial鈥� quality training on what they expect our online environment to look like,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou can have a list all you want of things to check off, but if I look at a list, I might do it this way, and someone else might do it another way.鈥�
Seward has been teaching remotely all semester. Her district is planning to start bringing students back one day a week early next month, but she expects her observations will be done during remote classes.
There are so many challenges to a remote lesson that are beyond her control, she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e working against bad internet, outdated devices. We鈥檙e trying to serve kids whose parents might be at work, or kids who鈥攍et鈥檚 just be honest鈥攄on鈥檛 want to do this,鈥� Seward said.
Her own internet can be unreliable, and she鈥檚 using her school-issued laptop, which has its problems. Seward said some teachers have bought two monitors, ring lights, and microphones to make remote teaching easier鈥攂ut she can鈥檛 afford a set-up like that.
Teachers are limited with how they can react to unexpected challenges during remote classes, said Gambill, of the Indiana state teachers鈥� union.
鈥淚f technology freezes or there鈥檚 an issue with connectivity, that鈥檚 not something you can course-correct for in the same way you could if everyone is in person,鈥� he said.
鈥楢s Painless as We Can Make It鈥�
Yet administrators say that, if done with empathy and compassion, evaluations this year can be an opportunity for feedback and support.
鈥淭his is all new for everyone鈥攅veryone鈥檚 a first-year teacher again in a lot of ways,鈥� said Randy Squier, the superintendent of Coxsackie-Athens Central school district, located along the Hudson River of New York.
The district is open for in-person instruction, which 80 percent of students are doing, but it鈥檚 still not a normal school year. Middle and high school teachers are simultaneously teaching the students in front of them and the students watching from home via livestream. One teacher in each elementary grade is teaching a remote-only class. And even though most students are back in person, teachers still have to adjust their instructional practices to ensure social distancing.
Squier said he will make the evaluation process, which is required by the state, 鈥渁s painless as we can make it, but at the same time useful鈥� by taking the opportunity to do some coaching. Principals will ask teachers what they want to work on, conduct a preliminary observation, provide targeted feedback on the instructional practice in question, and then conduct a second observation to see if the teacher improved. Principals won鈥檛 be looking at the full observation rubric this year, Squier said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really about, 鈥榃hat do you want feedback on?鈥� Especially with everything [being] new, that鈥檚 the approach I鈥檇 like to take,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 more important that we ease the anxiety that our teachers may have. They have enough going on.鈥�
One way to put less pressure on teachers is conducting shorter, more frequent, and informal observations, NCTQ鈥檚 Holston said. Research shows that those 鈥渟horter bites of feedback鈥� can be more helpful in improving teachers鈥� practice, she said.
鈥淚f we鈥檙e not observing and having these conversations, then we don鈥檛 know as much as we possibly can to support those teachers,鈥� Holston said, adding that it鈥檚 still important to evaluate remote teaching because 鈥渁lthough we hope this to be a short-lived experience, 鈥� we really don鈥檛 know.鈥�
Teachers say they welcome coaching and feedback. Seward said she鈥檇 find it more helpful to have another teacher observe her class, so she can get feedback from someone who鈥檚 currently in the trenches with remote instruction. Mostly, Brown said, teachers want to be afforded professional trust that they鈥檙e doing their best possible work under challenging circumstances.
鈥淭he sentiment out there is that teachers are drowning, and day to day we might have our heads above water for a little bit of time, but the next minute we鈥檙e gasping for air,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hat can I give up, and what can I do differently, so that I鈥檓 always above water? Once we鈥檙e in this for a while, we鈥檒l get a routine going. Just let us get our feet under us before jumping in.鈥�
