By John Fensterwald

The author of a bill revising the law on teacher evaluations has pushed up the start date to two years from now, found a $60 million pot of money to jump-start the process in districts with the lowest-performing schools, and given parents and students a role advising teachers and districts on criteria to use in the evaluations.

Assemblymember Felipe Fuentes released the latest ­amendments on Wednesday, one day before his bill goes before the Senate Appropriations Committee for a crucial vote. In deciding whether to move the bill forward to the full Senate – or let it die – the committee will consider the impact of state-reimbursable costs that AB 5 will create for school districts.

via Fuentes finds possible $60 million for evaluation bill – by John Fensterwald.

By Liz Guillen and Rev. Dr. H. James Hopkins

On Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee will decide the fate of AB 5, a long overdue legislative proposal to reform California’s dysfunctional teacher evaluation system. Unless significant amendments are added to include the voices of students and parents in the development and implementation of this new system, the proposal risks losing the support of the critical constituency it is meant to benefit: students and families served by California’s teachers.

via Give parents and students a voice in teacher evaluations – by Liz Guillen and Rev. Dr. H. James Hopkins.

By Ellen Moir

Like school districts all across the country, California’s are figuring out the best way to evaluate teachers. The stark reality is that some districts will be successful in this, and others will not.

Whether a district’s teacher evaluation system works or not will depend on a few things: whether the system is correctly conceived of and designed, how well the system is implemented, and, after evaluation, the district’s level of commitment to ongoing teacher learning.

via Surefire way to know if a teacher evaluation system will succeed or fail – by Ellen Moir.

By John Fensterwald

The Senate Appropriations Committee has given Assemblymember Felipe Fuentes three days to figure out how to pay for and, if possible, mollify critics of his bill to redesign teacher evaluations.

On Thursday, the committee, chaired by Democratic Sen. Christine Kehoe of San Diego, will decide whether AB 5 moves forward with an as-yet imprecise price tag. Even critics who say the bill doesn’t go far enough – and they were out in force at the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing Monday ­– acknowledge that the bill would bring clarity and add substance to the vague, largely irrelevant current law known as the Stull Act. But in a year in which Gov. Jerry Brown has vowed to veto legislation costing more money, AB 5 would establish an expensive new state mandate by imposing substantial additional requirements on school districts.

via Thursday deadline for resolving teacher evaluation bill – by John Fensterwald.

Ellen Moir

Like school districts all across the country, California’s are figuring out the best way to evaluate teachers. The stark reality is that some districts will be successful in this, and others will not.

Whether a district’s teacher evaluation system works or not will depend on a few things: whether the system is correctly conceived of and designed, how well the system is implemented, and, after evaluation, the district’s level of commitment to ongoing teacher learning.

First and foremost, an evaluation system must be designed with the end goal in mind: to improve teacher effectiveness and student learning. If this sounds too obvious, take a look at the Center for American Progress’ explanation about how some states have viewed evaluation as a means for firing so-called “bad” teachers, as a silver-bullet-style quick fix to dramatically improve education in the nation. It is naive to view evaluation solely as a means to rank teachers and make hiring and firing decisions. Fortunately, the debate is changing.  It is rising up to meet those of us who have long advocated that the best way to improve student learning is to continuously focus on advancing the instructional practice of teachers. Evaluation systems conceived under this philosophy will be the most likely to succeed.

via Surefire way to know if a teacher evaluation system will succeed or fail – by Ellen Moir.