Unsatisfactory Evaluations: Virginia

Exiting Ineffective Teachers Policy

Goal

The state should articulate consequences for teachers with unsatisfactory evaluations, including specifying that teachers with multiple unsatisfactory evaluations should be eligible for dismissal.

Meets a small part of goal
Suggested Citation:
National Council on Teacher Quality. (2011). Unsatisfactory Evaluations: Virginia results. State Teacher Policy Database. [Data set].
Retrieved from: https://www.nctq.org/yearbook/state/VA-Unsatisfactory-Evaluations-10

Analysis of Virginia's policies

Virginia requires that any probationary teacher who receives an unsatisfactory performance evaluation shall not be "reemployed" by the local district.

Virginia does not have a policy regarding non-probationary teachers who receive unsatisfactory evaluations, except that teachers receiving unsatisfactory evaluations must have an evaluation the following year.

Citation

Recommendations for Virginia

Require that all teachers who receive unsatisfactory evaluations be placed on improvement plans.
Virginia should adopt a policy requiring that all teachers who receive even one unsatisfactory evaluation be placed on structured improvement plans. These plans should focus on performance areas that directly connect to student learning and should list noted deficiencies, define specific action steps necessary to address these deficiencies and describe how and when progress will be measured.

Make eligibility for dismissal a consequence of unsatisfactory evaluations.
Teachers who receive two consecutive unsatisfactory evaluations or have two unsatisfactory evaluations within five years should be formally eligible for dismissal, regardless of whether they have tenure. Virginia should adopt a policy that ensures that all teachers who receive such unsatisfactory evaluations are eligible for dismissal.

State response to our analysis

Virginia recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis.

Research rationale

To review the process and types of personnel evaluations observed in other job sectors, including the problems inherent to some evaluation systems see, for example, Gliddon, David (October 2004). Effective Performance Management Systems, Current Criticisms and New Ideas for Employee Evaluation in Performance Improvement 43(9), 27-36.