Professional Development: Arkansas

Analysis of Arkansas's policies

Arkansas requires that a teacher's summative evaluation provide "feedback that the teacher can use to improve teaching skills and student learning." In addition, the teacher's professional learning plan is required to "clearly link" professional development activities and the teacher's individual professional learning needs as identified in the evaluation.  Teachers with Basic or Unsatisfactory ratings in one evaluation category or in a majority of descriptors in a category are placed in "intensive support status."  The evaluator and teacher develop goals cooperatively for the teacher's improvement plan.

Unfortunately, Arkansas only requires annual summative evaluations for new teachers, probationary teachers and teachers who have recently successfully completed intensive support status. All other teachers are evaluated at least once every three years. 

Citation

Arkansas Annotated Code § 6-17-2805, 6-17-2806 and 6-17-2807

Recommendations for Arkansas

Require that evaluation systems provide teachers with feedback about their performance. Arkansas is commended for ensuring that professional development is informed by teachers' evaluations. However, there is no assurance that teachers evaluated every three years will receive feedback in the evaluation off-years that could be useful for improving their practice. Arkansas should consider requiring that all teachers be evaluated and receive feedback about their performance annually (See Goal 3-C).

State response to our analysis

Arkansas asserted that the Teacher Excellence Support System (TESS) does require that teachers will receive feedback each year.  Teachers develop a professional growth plan (PGP) with their administrator to identify needs from both formal and informal evaluations. In addition, teachers will document progress on their PGP and update their evaluator during their mid-year progress review.  Areas identified on an educator's PGP will also be the focus of informal observations and feedback regarding performance. 

The state added that at any time the evaluator believes there is evidence to support several areas of growth not addressed on the PGP, the evaluator may place the teacher in a different evaluation track.

Arkansas continued that although a summative evaluation for teachers in the interim appraisal track is required only once every three years, nothing precludes a district from conducting a full summative evaluation more often. During the two years of interim, evaluators conduct multiple informal observations and provide feedback to teachers. Observations focus on identified components of the professional growth plan.  A midyear review is conducted with all teachers to analyze progress, and evaluators will make recommendations for continued work or revisions to goals. An end-of-year conference is also held to determine the extent to which goals were met and to revise plans for the next year. Feedback from informal observations and evidence from professional growth-plan progress is the focus of the annual evaluation feedback regarding performance.