Identifying Effective Teachers Policy
Commendably, Oklahoma requires that objective evidence of student learning be the preponderant criterion of its teacher evaluations.
The state requires that 50 percent of the ratings of teachers must be based on quantitative components: 35 percent based on student academic growth using multiple years of standardized test data, as available, and 15 percent based on other academic measurements.
Classroom observations are required, and teachers must be rated based on the following categories: superior, highly effective, effective, needs improvement and ineffective.
Clarify statutory language to ensure that objective measures are utilized.
Although it appears to be the intention of Oklahoma to make student achievement the preponderant criterion of teacher evaluations, the state should solidify its language regarding "other academic measurements" to guarantee the inclusion of objective measurements rather than subjective ones like teacher-assigned grades. While there is certainly a place for more subjective measures in the evaluation system, the state should ensure that evidence of student learning is in fact the most significant factor.
Oklahoma recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis.