SLOs in SC - Part III: When

The guidelines themselves do not specify a number of years, but Appendix A, referring to changes, refers to a 3 year rolling average (p. 3). (It refers to a three-year rolling average value-added measure (VAM) and to sanctioning licences, but the guidelines themselves do not limit the multiple year review only to VAM.) Assuming assessment results for SLOs will be available before the end of the school year, 3 years of data would first exist in SY 17-18 (year 1: SY 15-16; year 2: SY 16-17; year 3: SY 17-18). 

When will SC educators be required to implement SLOs?
When will the SLO student growth measure impact ratings?
When will SLOs need to be submitted, approved, and reviewed?

When will SC educators be required to implement SLOs?  Probably School Year (SY) 15-16. Assuming that the US Department of Education grants the SCDE an extension, SLOs will be implemented as part of the revised SC educator evaluation system in SY 15-16. (If an extension is not granted, then the ESEA/NCLB flexibility waiver requires implementation in SY 14-15 - this August.) 

When will the SLO student growth measure impact ratings? Probably SY 17-18. The amended evaluation guidelines adopted on June 11 state in the introduction to "Individual Student Growth": 

A teacher's impact on student growth will be determined by looking at student growth data over multiple academic years. 

(Page 20.) 


When will SLOs need to be submitted, approved, and reviewed? Districts will need to set timelines for SLO data collection, pre-assessment, writing, approval, and review. The Guidelines (p. 22) refer to three required phases: goal-setting conference, mid-year check-in, and end-of-year conference. 

Next - SLOs in SC - Part IV: Growth Targets