OKLAHOMA CITY (Oct. 6, 2011) — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Janet Barresi, on behalf of the Oklahoma Teacher and Leader Effectiveness Commission, is requesting public comment on the commission’s first set of preliminary evaluation recommendations.
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| Supt. Janet Barresi |
“It is extremely important for us to hear from the public as we move toward implementation of this new evaluation system,” Barresi said. “This is about giving teachers and leaders concrete, meaningful feedback on their performance as they work to improve the academic performance of their students.”
According to state statute (70 O.S. § 6-101.16), Oklahoma's State Board of Education will adopt rules for the new evaluation system by Dec. 15, 2011, based on recommendations from the commission.
Barresi serves as chair of the commission, which is made up of 19 members representing state legislators, teachers, school district administrators, the Parent Teacher Association and civic leaders. Staff support for the Commission is provided by the State Department of Education and the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation.
The law requires the new evaluation system be comprised of multiple measures of teacher and administrator effectiveness:
- 50% Qualitative Measures (observable characteristics of teacher and leader performance that are correlated to student achievement)
- 35% Quantitative Measures of Student Academic Growth
- 15% Quantitative Measures of Other Academic Factors
On Sept. 12, 2011, Members of the Commission passed two preliminary recommendations in order to receive public feedback.
The first is a recommendation that the state Board of Education name a default framework, with training and implementation paid by the state, to serve as a qualitative assessment component to comprise 50% of the total evaluation criteria as required by state law. A list of frameworks and the commission’s preliminary recommendation is available at http://sde.state.ok.us/Teacher/Commission/default.html.
The second recommendation is that any modifications to the default framework or other approved frameworks must be approved by the Oklahoma State Board of Education against a specific set of criteria, including all statutory requirements, based on impact to student learning.
Additional preliminary recommendations will be made available in coming weeks for public comment. Final recommendations of the TLE Commission will be submitted to the Oklahoma State Board of Education prior to Dec. 15, 2011, based on feedback received from a wide representation of stakeholders, including teachers, administrators, students, parents, community members, and policymakers.
Public comments may be submitted via: an online survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TLErecommendations1; email to: Kerri_White@sde.state.ok.us; or written communication to:
Kerri White, Assistant State Superintendent
Oklahoma State Department of Education
2500 North Lincoln Boulevard, Suite 315
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
These comments will be reviewed by the TLE Commission at their regularly scheduled meetings on Oct. 10, Nov, 7, and Dec. 5, 2011, as well as at any special meetings that might be called between Oct. 11 and Dec. 15, 2011. Public meetings are held in the State Board of Education boardroom on the first floor of the Oliver Hodge Building.
