With the school year almost done, there are a few dates to keep in mind regarding teacher evaluation. Remember, this is the first and last year of this particular evaluation system. Our new contract makes many changes to evaluation starting next school year.

Here is some information on upcoming dates and Measures of Student Learning (MOSL). You can find more information at www.uft.org/evaluation. If you have any questions or need more information, please reach out to your borough office.

Upcoming dates

June 6: Last day for observations.

June 20: Last day for summative conferences. (Within 10 days after your summative conference, your principal must give you a final artifact form.)

June 26: Each school’s MOSL School Local Measures Committee for the 2014-15 year should hold an initial meeting by this date. In August and September, this committee will select local measures to use for your schools in 2014-15. Talk to your chapter leader for more information.

Measures of student learning (MOSL)

Image

As you know, part of your evaluation will come from measures of student learning based on state and local assessments that your students take and possibly on group measures. These measures are always based on student growth — in other words, they measure where each student ended compared to where the student began. To be as fair as possible, the measures compare each student’s growth to the growth of similar students.

In deciding whether students are similar, some of the factors that may be considered are the students’ academic histories, special education statuses, ELL statuses and whether they are economically disadvantaged.

Image

The state has set standards for student growth. If your students’ growth is average compared to similar students, then the state standard shows you as an effective teacher. Ultimately, teachers will be awarded points based upon the extent to which students have met these standards for growth, i.e., how far they’ve come compared to students just like them.