Frequency of Evaluations : Connecticut

Identifying Effective Teachers Policy

Goal

The state should require annual evaluations of all teachers.

Meets goal in part
Suggested Citation:
National Council on Teacher Quality. (2011). Frequency of Evaluations : Connecticut results. State Teacher Policy Database. [Data set].
Retrieved from: https://www.nctq.org/yearbook/state/CT-Frequency-of-Evaluations--8

Analysis of Connecticut's policies

Commendably, all teachers in Connecticut must be evaluated annually. 

However, the state's policy does not include any guidelines on when evaluations for new teachers should occur, except that "the superintendent shall report the status of teacher evaluations to the local or regional board of education on or before June 1st of each year."

Citation

Recommendations for Connecticut

Base evaluations on multiple observations.
To guarantee that annual evaluations are based on an adequate collection of information, Connecticut should require multiple observations for all teachers, even those who have nonprobationary status. 

Ensure that new teachers are observed and receive feedback early in the school year.
It is critical that schools and districts closely monitor the performance of new teachers. Connecticut should ensure that its new teachers get the support they need and that supervisors know early on which new teachers may be struggling or at risk for unacceptable levels of performance.

State response to our analysis

Connecticut recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis.

Research rationale

For the frequency of evaluations in government and private industry, see survey results from Hudson Employment Index's report: "Pay and Performance in America: 2005 Compensation and Benefits Report" Hudson Highlands Group (2005).

For research emphasizing the importance of evaluation and observations for new teachers in predicting future success and providing support for teachers see, D. Staiger and J. Rockoff, "Searching for Effective Teachers with Imperfect Information." The Journal of Economic Perspectives. (24:3) American Economic Association (2010).