Illinois Teacher Evaluation Student Growth Component: A Predecision-Making Policy Analysis

ILLINOIS TEACHER EVALUATION STUDENT GROWTH COMPONENT: A PREDECISION-MAKING POLICY ANALYSIS Joshua R. Olsen 122 Pages May 2015 Public school districts in Illinois are going to face massive changes to their evaluation systems in the coming years. Thanks to the adoption of the Performance Evaluation Reform Act of 2010 and Senate Bill 7 of 2011, teacher evaluation must contain student growth as a significant factor, beginning with the 2016-2017 school year. Not only must student performance on tests become part of the evaluation of teachers, but, moreover, teacher evaluation will play a greater role in the hiring, retention, and release of teachers. This study was organized as a pre-decision-making policy analysis. Its purpose was to provide a framework for evaluating teachers to maximize teacher performance and student achievement. This was accomplished by reviewing all of the major legal and legislative enactments dating back to the release of A Nation at Risk. The study also reviewed the relevant research on best practice in teacher evaluation to outline the possible elements that can be used to evaluate teachers. From these contexts, a process for building a local evaluation tool that meets the legal requirements while maximizing teacher performance was outlined. The teacher evaluation system in a school district affects many more areas within the organization than the personnel file of the teacher being evaluated. It has a broad-reaching effect on hiring practices, culture and climate, budgetary considerations, and many other human resource practices. These implications were addressed directly to provide the local school board member, administrator, and teacher a thorough understanding of what must happen to successfully navigate these critical changes in school law