Educator Evaluation
Massachusetts districts are working to implement new local evaluation systems. The state framework replaces the evaluator-centered system with an educator-centered system in which you have a role and responsibilities. This MTA Toolkit is designed to help you.
All educator evaluation systems in Massachusetts public schools must conform to the new regulations adopted by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. Race to the Top districts must do this for the 2012-13 school year and all other districts for 2013-14.
Evaluation is a mandatory subject of collective bargaining in Massachusetts. Each school district and the appropriate educator unit (union) must negotiate and reach agreement on an evaluation system that conforms to the regulatory requirements.
MTA has worked on this issue since the spring of 2010. Our members, leaders and staff served on the Educator Evaluation Task Force that made recommendations to the BESE. We issued our own policy brief defining our vision for a state evaluation framework. The work that MTA has done is found under the MTA in Action tab below.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has developed a model evaluation system for teachers, principals and superintendents. This was developed with assistance from the Massachusetts Teachers Association, the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, the Massachusetts Secondary School Administrators’ Association, and the Massachusetts Elementary School Principals’ Association. Links to all elements of this document are found below under the Department of Education tab.
MTA provides local leaders with guidance about collectively bargaining elements of the new system. Districts and associations may decide to:
- Adopt the model contract language.
- Adapt the model contract language.
- Revise their existing contract language.
This page will be updated as new information from DESE, school districts and local associations becomes available.
MTA MTA Educator Evaluation Guidance & Templates
MTA has developed guidance and templates for all elements of the new state evaluation framework. We suggest that local association and district leaders may want to adopt or adapt some or all of these forms as they implement their new educator evaluation system. The Guidance and Templates are the result of the MTA’s Center for Education Policy and Practice work with the Holyoke Public Schools on Level 4 evaluation implementation and the Everett Public Schools on Early Adopter evaluation implementation during the 2011-12 academic year.
These are “living” documents. As we learn more about the success and challenges of district implementation, we anticipate that some changes may be made to assist associations and districts in their work.
MTA Student Growth Percentiles Explained [video]
The Massachusetts Teachers Association Center for Education Policy and Practice created this video to provide a simple explanation of the Student Growth Percentile (SGP) statistic. The SGP will be part of the Massachusetts educator evaluation system for some educators and is used in accountability determinations.
Measures of Educator Practice
This chart explains the new Massachusetts Educator Evaluation Framework. Reading the chart from left to right, the educator and the evaluator collect and present Evidence about the four Standards of Practice and the two Educator Plan goals that inform the educator’s Performance Rating which then – in combination with the educator’s Impact on Student Learning – determines the type and duration of the Educator Plan.
District Evaluation Allocations
Each Race to the Top district reported to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education the amount of their RTTT funding that was allocated to implementation of the new educator evaluation system for FY 12 (2011-12), FY13 (2012-13), and FY 14 (2013-14). The list of all RTTT district and their proposed allocations is found here.
DESE Educator Evaluation website
The Massachusetts Model System for Educator Evaluation
An 8-part series including:
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Part I: District-Level Planning and Implementation Guide
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Part II: School-Level Planning and Implementation Guide
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Part III: Guide to Rubrics and Model Rubrics for Superintendent, Administrator and Teacher
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Part IV: Model Collective Bargaining Contract Language
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Part V: Implementation Guide for Principal Evaluation
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Part VI: Implementation Guide for Superintendent Evaluation
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Part VII: Rating Educator Impact on Student Learning Using District-Determined Measures of Student Learning (July 2012)
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Part VIII: Using Staff and Student Feedback in the Evaluation Process (May 2013)
During the regulatory drafting phase, the DESE acknowledged receiving an extraordinary level of comment from the field and prepared several documents showing what those comments were and how the DESE responded to them.
Final Regulations as Adopted
Educator Evaluation Summary, Massachusetts DESE
MTA Reinventing Educator Evaluation: Connecting Professional Practice with Student Learning
MTA Policy Brief
MTA Frequently Asked Questions
Implementation Support for Level 4 Schools
State board adopts new evaluation regulations
MTA President Paul Toner: This framework incorporates many of MTA’s recommendations and, if properly implemented, will lead to better evaluations and improved teaching, learning and leadership in our schools.
Member input helps shape evaluation regulations
More than 300 MTA members contacted the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education by e-mail during the public comment period, and more than 700 educators from across the state attended DESE forums to learn about the regulations, ask questions and express their views.
Proposed Policy Statement on Teacher Evaluation and Accountability