HISD s Effective Teacher in Every Classroom Initiative

Transcription

1 HISD s Effective Teacher in Every Classroom Initiative December 2010 HISD Executive Sponsors: Julie Baker, Chief Major Projects Officer Ann Best, Chief Human Resources Officer

2 Agenda The Stakes: Public Education Today Teachers Matter What We re Doing in HISD 2

3 The state of public education today: Racial achievement gaps are not narrowing Average Score on NAEP 4 th Grade Reading Test by Race Percent of Students With Scores on NAEP Reading Test by Age 100% 80% White 13 Year-Olds African American 17 Year-Olds Hispanic 17 Year-Olds 60% 40% 20% 0% Scale Score Notes: *Accommodations for students with disabilities and English language learners not permitted; Trends similar for Math. Source: Original analysis of the Education Trust based on Long-Term Trends NAEP ; National Center for Education Statistics, NAEP Data Explorer, NAEP 2004 Trends in Academic Progress 3

4 and the gap between the U.S. and other industrialized nations is widening with alarming speed. Percentage of Students Reaching the TIMSS Advanced International Benchmark in Mathematics, 2007 Source: Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). 4

5 Here in Texas, schools are failing to prepare far too many students to be successful adults. Texas HISD 10% Students not passing TAKS reading 13% 16% Students not passing TAKS math 19% 19% Students who fail to graduate in 4 years 30% 9% Students who drop out of school 16% 5

6 The Stakes: By sixth grade, we can begin to reliably predict which students won t ever graduate high school. A study that followed more than 12,000 Philadelphia 6 th graders found four simple predictive indicators identify those likely to drop out: 1 Failing math 2 Failing English 3 Attending less than 80% of the time 4 Receiving a poor final behavior grade Our evidence clearly indicates that, at least in high poverty schools, students who are missing 20% or more school, receiving poor behavior marks or failing math or English in 6th grade do not recover. On the contrary, they drop out. Source: Balfanz, Robert; Herzog, Liza; and Douglas J. Mac Iver (2007). Preventing Student Disengagement and Keeping Students on the Graduation Track in High-Poverty Middle-Grades Schools: Early Identification and Effective Interventions. Educational Psychologist, V42.4 ( ). 6

7 The consequences of dropping out are dire. 4x more likely than a college graduate to be jobless Source: Sum, Andrew, et al., (2009). 47x more likely than a college graduate to be jailed Source: Sum, Andrew, et al., (2009). 3x higher than that of an adult with more than a high school education Source: Woolf, Steven H., (2009). Poverty and crime are connected to a lack of educational achievement The majority of homicide victims in Cincinnati never graduated from high school. O'dell M. Owen, Hamilton County Coroner (Cincinnati Enquirer, July 2010) 7

8 The most common reasons students cite for dropping out and the most powerful antidotes are related to schools and teachers. Why High School Students Drop Out Reasons Given by 677 Dropouts (2004) What Would Have Helped? Reasons Given by 500 Dropouts (2006) 81% wanted better teachers 71% wanted more interesting classes 70% 66% 62% wanted more tutoring, summer school and extra time with teachers would have worked harder if more was demanded of them (higher standards and more homework) wanted more classroom discipline Source: Dalton, Ben; Glennie, Elizabeth; and Ingels, Steven J.(2009). Late High- School Dropouts. National Center for Education Statistics. Source: Bridgeland, John M.; DiIulio, Jr., John J.; and Karen Burke Morison (2006). The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts. Civic Enterprises, LLC. 8

9 Agenda The Stakes: Public Education Today Teachers Matter What We re Doing in HISD 9

10 Teachers matter. Having a top-quartile teacher rather than a bottom-quartile teacher four years in a row would be enough to close the black-white test score gap. (Gordon, Kane and Staiger, 2006) Having a high-quality teacher throughout elementary school can substantially offset or even eliminate the disadvantage of low socio-economic background. (Rivkin, Hanushek and Kain, 2002) A very good teacher as opposed to a very bad one can make as much as a full year s difference in learning growth for students. Indeed, the effect of increases in teacher quality swamps the impact of any other educational investment, such as reductions in class size. (Goldhaber, 2009) "The results of this study well document that the most important factor affecting student learning is the teacher. In addition, the results show wide variation in effectiveness among teachers. The immediate and clear implication of this finding is that seemingly more can be done to improve education by improving the effectiveness of teachers than by any other single factor. (Wright, Horn and Sanders, 1997) 10

11 Research has shown that effective teachers are critically important to student learning. Dallas students who start 3rd grade at about the same level of math achievement finish 5 th grade math at dramatically different levels depending on the quality of their teachers. Group 1 55 After 3 EFFECTIVE Teachers Group Group 2 57 After 3 INEFFECTIVE Teachers Group Average Percentile Rank Average Percentile Rank End of 5th Grade Original analysis by the Education Trust. Source: Heather Jordan, Robert Mendro, and Dash Weerasinghe, The Effects of Teachers on Longitudinal Student Achievement,

12 Teachers improve during their first years on the job, but the return on experience alone decreases rapidly after year one. Source: Gordon, Robert; Kane, Thomas and Staiger, Douglas (2006). Identifying Effective Teachers Using Performance on the Job. Brookings Institute. Working Paper

13 A teacher s certification route holds almost no power to predict effectiveness in the classroom. Source: Gordon, Robert; Kane, Thomas and Staiger, Douglas (2006). Identifying Effective Teachers Using Performance on the Job. Brookings Institute. Working Paper

14 But a teacher s effectiveness during years one and two tells us a great deal about how that teacher will perform in the future. Source: Gordon, Robert; Kane, Thomas and Staiger, Douglas (2006). Identifying Effective Teachers Using Performance on the Job. Brookings Institute. Working Paper

15 When searching for effective teachers, qualifications provide some insight but past performance is by far the best indicator. Effects of teacher characteristics on student performance * Not significant Source: Student Achievement Partners, LLC 15

16 Unfortunately, most teacher evaluation systems do a poor job distinguishing effective teachers from ineffective teachers. 16

17 HISD s teacher appraisal process is no exception. PDAS/MPDAS Domain Ratings, Through % Just 3.4% of teachers rated on PDAS/MPDAS between and had any domain rated below expectations or unsatisfactory. Source: HISD Human Resources Records. 17

18 The result: Teachers don t receive the support they need to do their best work in the classroom HISD Teachers Who Agree or Strongly Agree That 51% 45% 43% professional development adequately addresses my individual needs as an educator. professional development is tailored according to the needs of my students. the PDAS process helps me improve my instructional performance. Professional development needs to match the needs of teachers. We are expected to provide differentiated instruction The material is just not relevant to my needs. - Elementary Teacher Source: Survey of HISD teachers. 18

19 and ineffective teaching goes unaddressed. 0.6% 100% 56% Only 0.6% of all probationary teachers between and were nonrenewed for performance reasons. of principals say that a poorly performing probationary teacher at their school received a term contract in the last five years. Source: Survey of HISD principals, HISD Human Resources Data. Termination and nonrenewal data provided by HISD Professional Standards Office. 19

20 Agenda The Stakes: Public Education Today Teachers Matter What We re Doing in HISD 20

21 Core Initiative Vision: An effective teacher in every classroom, delivering high-quality instruction to all students. Improved Student Learning Outcomes Effective Instruction Smart recruitment Useful appraisals Individualized support New career pathways 21

22 Key Strategy: Strengthen Recruitment and Staffing Practices Vision: 1 Strengthen Recruitment and Staffing Practices HISD will attract the best new teachers from across the state and across the country. HISD will help principals make smart staffing decisions, ensuring a good match is made between teachers and schools. HISD will hire from programs that have a track record of producing consistently effective teachers, especially in high need grades or subjects. New teachers will have the best possible chance to be successful from the moment they set foot in the classroom and ensure all of our schools can build strong teaching teams. 22

23 Key Strategy: Teacher Appraisal Vision: 2 Establish a Rigorous, Fair Teacher Appraisal System HISD will help teachers set ambitious professional goals and track their progress towards meeting them. A better appraisal system that gives teachers accurate, useful feedback on their performance and allows HISD to retain its best teachers, develop all teachers to their full potential and remove teachers that are persistently ineffective. The new appraisal process will also help all of us focus on what matters most: ensuring that every student is learning and growing. 23

24 Key Strategy Vision: Teacher Support and Development Vision: 3 Provide Individualized Teacher Support and Development HISD will provide all teachers the support they need to do their best work. Professional development that revolves around one-size-fits-all workshops will become a thing of the past. Every teacher will have a development plan that s customized to fit his or her individual needs. HISD will connect teachers with more and better resources and evaluate whether each one actually helps teachers improve in the classroom. HISD will hold principals accountable for their teachers professional growth, because teachers deserve effective instructional leaders. 24

25 Key Strategy Vision: Career Pathways and Compensation Vision: 4 Offer New Career Pathways and Compensation HISD will recognize and retain its best teachers. Talented teachers won t have to leave the classroom entirely to participate in new career pathways. HISD s best teachers will have opportunities to take on leadership roles, like coordinating professional development for their grade or subject. 25

26 Timeline for Implementing the Core Initiative s Four Key Strategies Strategy Strengthen Recruitment and Staffing Practices Refine recruitment and staffing practices Implement Improved Recruitment and Staffing Practices (recruitment, screening, selection, onboarding) Establish a Rigorous, Fair Teacher Appraisal System Design new appraisal criteria, process, usage guidelines Implement (wave 1) Implement (wave 2) Implement (wave 3) Implement (wave 4) Provide Individualized Teacher Support and Development Design new support and development processes Implement New Support and Development Processes for Teachers Offer New Career Pathways and Compensation Develop career pathways and compensation Implement (wave 1) Implement (wave 2) Implement (wave 3) Implement (wave 4) 26

27 Early Progress: The Staff Review Initiative Strengthen Recruitment and Staffing Practices By assessing their current staff and their performance, principals are identifying hiring needs in order to inform recruitment efforts in the spring Establish a Rigorous, Fair Teacher Appraisal System Principals are differentiating teacher performance and informing their ratings with student learning measures including EVAAS With support from Human Resources, principals are identifying strategies to improve or exit consistently ineffective teachers Provide Individualized Teacher Support and Development Through their IPDPs, teachers and principals are identifying targeted and individualized development supports in order to continuously improve all teachers instruction Offer New Career Pathways and Compensation During Staff Review meetings with their SIOs, principals are developing and planning strategies on how to retain each school s most effective teachers and identify teachers for potential leadership development and principal pipeline. 27

28 The first round of the Staff Review process last spring resulted in greater differentiation of teacher performance. 28

29 Early Progress: Designing a Better Teacher Appraisal System We want an appraisal system that truly meets the needs of our schools, so the design process gives teachers, principals, parents and other school community members a powerful voice in shaping the new system. Recommendations from school-based committees are the bedrock of the new system. A dedicated website for the Effective Teachers Core Initiative lets anyone review the latest recommendations and submit feedback. Biweekly updates keep teachers, principals, and interested community members informed about the design process and ways they can get involved. A public comment period this winter will give stakeholders multiple opportunities to share their ideas on the proposed new system before it s finalized school-based Shared Decision Making Committees have participated in the design process, representing: Teachers 500+ School administrators 500+ Parents 700+ Other community members 29