Yea for Delay

USED's Secretary Delisle is offering states the opportunity to postpone using new state assessments as part of "student growth" in teacher and principal evaluation systems. (Excerpted below.) Many have asked for this delay for many reasons, including that most states will be implementing new "college- and career-ready" assessments. There's also a hint that other flexibility might be available.

Dear Chief State School Officer:

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The 2014-15 school year is an important one as we continue an essential but complex transition period. Most States will be fully implementing new, rigorous academic standards while also transitioning to new State assessments and implementing educator evaluation and support systems. We continue to hear from educators– just as you do – about the importance of ensuring this transition occurs in a thoughtful and strategic manner. Thus, I am writing to inform you of an important new element of flexibility we will offer States based on your experiences in implementation.

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 However, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) also recognizes that building these systems is complex and that effectively implementing them can pose challenges. As this work has evolved, although they have the necessary authority to implement the systems fully, many SEAs have indicated a need for additional time to incorporate student growth based on State assessments into educator ratings for teachers and principals of tested grades and subjects during the transition to new assessments in 2014–2015.  Still, other SEAs have informed the Department that they need to modify their implementation plans in other ways due to lessons learned or challenges facing their LEAs.   The Department has heard those concerns, and will grant the following additional flexibilities to individual States that need them:

• SEAs that need flexibility to delay inclusion of student growth on State assessments in evaluation and support systems during the transition to new assessments aligned with college- and career- ready standards.  The Department is offering SEAs transitioning to new assessments the flexibility of additional time to incorporate student growth on State assessments for one year, during the transition to new assessments, which most States plan for 2014-2015.  This flexibility is available if the SEA provides two assurances:

1.   In addition to continuing to implement their educator evaluation systems using multiple measures of student growth, the SEA or its LEAs will calculate student growth data based on State assessments during the transition year for all teachers of tested grades and subjects, in order to ensure and improve SEA and/or LEA capacity to make these calculations in an accurate manner going forward; and

2.   Each teacher of a tested grade and subject and all principals will receive their student growth data based on State assessments for the 2014-2015 school year in order to provide educators with all available information and build a deeper understanding of the information and its uses. 

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Sincerely,

Deborah S. Delisle