RCTA Asking About Teacher Evaluations

RCTA President asked for input from members, "What are your thoughts about beginning a dialogue with the district concerning the use of student achievement data in a responsible, fair, and accurate manner as one component of the teacher evaluation system?
I would hope that members that give input would keep in mind the following CTA Policy on teacher evaluations.
I encourage everyone to go to http://www.rcta.groupsite.com/ and give him input on what you think about evaluations.

CTA Policy on Teacher Evaluations
Evaluation and Due Process (Policy manual pages 144-145)
CTA believes evaluation is the key to excellence. Well-planned evaluation programs based on policies cooperatively developed by staff, administration, and board assure that evaluation will serve its primary purpose of benefiting bargaining unit members, students, and community.

These principles apply to all bargaining unit members, whether full-time or part-time, regardless of the age of their students. Their implementation should be bargained by the appropriate bargaining unit and should apply uniformly within the employing unit.
1. Evaluation and Due Process protects:
a. Children and society against incompetent or unfit professional staff members.
b. Bargaining unit members against disciplinary or dismissal proceedings without just cause related to the quality of instruction.
c. Bargaining unit members against disciplinary or dismissal proceedings for arbitrary, capricious, unsubstantial or unsubstantiated reasons.
d. Academic freedom.

2. Due Process for certificated employees provides:
a. For a procedure by which an individual subject to dismissal may obtain a fair and full hearing before a group of his/her professional peers.
b. For judicial recourse or appeal if a school board or a bargaining unit member feels aggrieved at dismissal or disciplinary actions.

3. The California Teachers Association recognizes:
a. Bargaining unit members are professionally competent and can be counted upon to initiate self-discipline within their own ranks,
b. An adequate probationary period is necessary and that no dismissal action should be initiated unless the bargaining unit member has been informed of his/her alleged deficiencies and given time and assistance for their correction.

Evaluation of instruction refers to those procedures in a school district which assess the effectiveness of the school in meeting the goals and expectations it has agreed upon for itself. This includes, but is not limited to, evaluation of the performance of individual certificated personnel. Effective evaluation of instruction requires that procedures be designed to focus on the improvement of educational services to pupils. CTA believes that the preparation and dissemination of observations, evaluations, or any data concerning unit members shall be confidential. Once a hard copy of the information has been generated and disseminated, the computer memory of the information shall be erased.

Basic Principles for certificated personnel
Evaluation of instruction is the key to a successful educational program. It provides:

1. For the improvement of instruction through interaction among all concerned parties.
2. For a planned program to keep certificated personnel informed of respective strengths and weaknesses and for appropriate professional growth activities to meet identified needs.
3. For the continued services of certificated personnel who strive to demonstrate professional competence.
4. For capable, qualified, certificated personnel to achieve and retain permanent status.


These principles are dependent upon the following guidelines relevant to both certificated and classified employees:

1. Bargaining unit members shall participate with their evaluators in the development of criteria for satisfactory performance. These criteria shall be mutually agreed upon by both bargaining unit members and evaluators and shall be subject to periodic review.
2. The criteria, procedures, and form relating to evaluation shall be fully publicized and available to all concerned.
3. Procedures for collecting, processing, and interpreting data shall be objective and uniform.
4. Evaluation shall include a conference between the evaluatee and the evaluator(s) at which time information relating to the individual's strength and weaknesses should be discussed openly and frankly with the individual being evaluated.
5. The availability of needed resources and other factors unique to the individual assignment which might affect the program of instruction shall be identified and considered in evaluation conferences.
6. Help and assistance to bargaining unit members in areas indicated as not meeting district standards shall be provided, and a record of such assistance shall be maintained for review in subsequent evaluation conferences.
7. Evaluations shall be recorded and signed by both evaluatee and evaluator(s), a copy provided to the evaluatee and a copy retained in the district files to provide a continuous record of the individual's service.
8. Provision for appeal on items of disagreement shall be available.
9. Provision shall be made for self-evaluation or other action programs for the benefit of all bargaining unit members to upgrade their professional performance.
10. Provision shall be made to remedy deficiencies in the conditions under which bargaining unit members perform their services.
11. No standardized test norms shall be used to assess teacher performance.
12. Certificated bargaining unit member assessment based on non-instructional duties shall be minimal. These duties shall be specified in advance of any utilization of for evaluation purposes.
13. Bargaining unit members shall evaluate administrative and support personnel and shall have the option of evaluation by their professional peers.
14. No student assessment shall be used in the evaluation of bargaining unit members.
15. A beginning bargaining unit member shall be evaluated as is every other member of the staff. Work with a mentor bargaining unit member shall not be within the realm of evaluation.
16. The findings of any practice evaluation shall not be made accessible to anyone outside the administrative training programs
17. Bargaining unit members shall be evaluated based on their individual performance. Teaching strategies such as team teaching, core groups, and others shall not be the basis for the evaluation of an individual bargaining unit member's performance.
18. District standards for evaluation purposes must be clearly stated and attainable by the evaluatee.