Frequency of Evaluations : Idaho

Identifying Effective Teachers Policy

Goal

The state should require annual evaluations of all teachers.

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

Analysis of Idaho's policies

Commendably, all teachers in Idaho must be evaluated at least annually. The first portion must be completed by February 1 and must include input from parents and guardians of students as a factor. The second portion, based on objective measures of student growth, must be included for all evaluations conducted after June 30, 2012.

Citation

Recommendations for Idaho

Base evaluations on multiple observations.
To guarantee that annual evaluations are based on an adequate collection of information, Idaho should require multiple observations for all teachers, even those who have nonprobationary status. Further, as evaluation instruments become more data driven, it may not be feasible to issue multiple formal evaluation ratings during a single year. Applicable student data will likely not be available to support multiple ratings.  

State response to our analysis

Idaho was helpful in providing NCTQ with facts that enhanced 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).