ESEA FLEXIBILITY RENEWAL PROCESS: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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ESEA FLEXIBILITY RENEWAL PROCESSFREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS
January29, 2015
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Principle 3 Supporting Effective Instruction
and Leadership
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Principle 3 in renewal

• Principle 3 requirements - All Systems Must

• Inform continual improvement of instruction
• Meaningfully differentiate performance using at
  least three performance levels
• Use multiple valid measures in determining
  performance levels, including, as a significant
  factor, data on student growth for all students
  (including English Learners and students with
  disabilities) and other measures of professional
  practice
• Evaluate teachers and principals on a regular
  basis
• Provide clear, timely, and useful feedback,
  including feedback that identifies needs and
  guides professional development and
• Inform personnel decisions.

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Principle 3 in renewal

• Timeline for full implementation of teacher and
  leader evaluation and support systems (Question
  F-1)

• WINDOW 12 STATES
• PILOT 2013-2014 SCHOOL YEAR
• FULL IMPLEMENTATION 2014-2015 SCHOOL YEAR
• Results from 15-16 used to inform personnel
  decisions
• WINDOW 34 STATES
• PILOT 2014-2015 SCHOOL YEAR
• FULL IMPLEMENTATION 2015-2016 SCHOOL YEAR
• Results from 16-17used to inform personnel
  decisions

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Principle 3 in renewal

• Additional flexibility Previously Offered (
  Question f-1)

• Flexibility ED Offered on Timing of
  Implementation of Teacher and Principal
  Evaluation and Support Systems
• June 18, 2013 - Flexibility to delay use of
  results of new evaluation systems to inform
  personnel decisions until 2016-17 for window 1 2
  States.
• In Renewal
• Flexibility to defer incorporating student growth
  based on statewide assessments into evaluation
  system results until 2015-16 due to transition to
  new assessments aligned to college- and
  career-ready standards.
• Flexibility to make other adjustments to
  timelines and sequencing of implementation steps
  in order to reach full implementation of systems
  aligned with all Principle 3 requirements.

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Principle 3 in renewal

• Multiple valid measures (Question F-7)

• Ratings based on multiple measures of
  performance.
• Examples Include
• Growth on state tests where available
• Student Surveys
• Student learning such as student learning
  objectives and portfolios of student work.
• Artifacts demonstrating planning and preparation
  (such as lesson plans and descriptions of
  instructional strategies used for students with
  diverse needs).

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Principle 3 in renewal

• Student growth as a significant factor (Question
  F-6)

• Student growth must be included as a significant
  factor in teacher and principal evaluation and
  support systems.
• The use of student growth should ensure that
  teachers and principals with very different
  levels of student growth but similar ratings on
  other measures receive a different summative
  ratings.

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Principle 3 in renewal

• Ways to include student growth (Question F-6)

• 3 Ways to Incorporate Student Growth
• Mathematical Model evaluate performance in which
  student growth is given a specified, significant
  percentage weight along with other components.
• Matrix Model Places student growth on one axis
  and other measures on the other axis.
• Overarching rules Business rules that require
  certain results for specific levels of student
  growth - i.e. cant be effective overall unless
  student growth is x

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Principle 3 in renewal

• Student growth as a significant factor (Question
  F-6)

• Alternative An SEA may choose to demonstrate
  that its systems include student growth as a
  significant factor by submitting an analysis of
  either
• actual teacher and leader performance data or
• simulations of teacher and leader performance
  data.
• Actual or simulated data analysis must
  demonstrate that teachers or principals who make
  significantly different contributions to student
  growth receive different summative performance
  ratings

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Principle 3 in renewal Principle 3 assurances
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Principle 3 in renewal

• Principle 3 Assurances (Question F-2)

• Option A
• 15.a. An SEA is fully implementing its Teacher
  and Principal Evaluation and Support System
  in the 2014-2015 school year should check
  Assurance 15.a under option A of the
  Principle 3 assurances.

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Principle 3 in renewal

• Principle 3 Assurances (Question F-2)

• Option A Continued
• SEAs are NOT required to update their ESEA
  flexibility request for Principle 3.
• SEAs may choose to submit any amendments to their
  Principle 3 that are consistent with Principle 3
  of ESEA flexibility
• Example
• A change in the minimum number of performance
  levels from 3 to 4

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Principle 3 in renewal

• Principle 3 Assurances (Question F-2)

• Option B
• An SEA that is administering new State
  assessments during the 2014?2015 school year and
  is requesting one additional year to incorporate
  student growth based on these assessments will
  
• 15.b.i. Continue to ensure that its LEAs
  implement teacher and principal evaluation
  systems using multiple measures, and that the SEA
  or its LEAs will calculate student growth data
  based on State assessments administered during
  the 2014?2015 school year for all teachers of
  tested grades and subjects and principals and
• 15.b.ii. Ensure that each teacher of a
  tested grade and subject and all principals will
  receive their student growth data based on State
  assessments administered during the 2014?2015
  school year.

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Principle 3 in renewal

• Principle 3 Assurances (Question F-2)

• Option B continued
• This applies to SEAs that are
• Administering new State assessments this school
  year.
• Requesting only 1 additional year to incorporate
  growth on new State assessments into educator
  ratings.
• Option B SEAs must
• Check both assurances (15.b.i and 15.b.ii)
• Include in redlined request updates to Principle
  3 reflecting the timeline change
• Include in redlined request any other amendments
  to their Principle 3 that are consistent with
  Principle 3 of ESEA flexibility

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Principle 3 in renewal

• Principle 3 Assurances (Question F-3)

• Option C
• If the SEA is requesting modifications to its
  teacher and principal evaluation and support
  system guidelines or implementation timeline
  other than those described in Option B, which
  require additional flexibility from the guidance
  in the document titled ESEA Flexibility as well
  as the documents related to the additional
  flexibility offered by the Assistant Secretary in
  a letter dated August 2, 2013, it will
• 15.c. Provide a narrative response in its
  redlined ESEA flexibility request as described in
  Section II of the ESEA flexibility renewal
  guidance.

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Principle 3 in renewal

• Principle 3 Assurances (Question F-3)

• All Option C States must
• Describe progress to date in ensuring each LEA is
  on track
• Include clear descriptions of actions taken to
  date
• Include a clear description of a timeline for
  future action
• Examples
• Description of system pilots
• Description of how educator ratings are (or will
  be used) to inform improvement plans and
  professional development.
• Description of training provided (or planned for)
  evaluators to prepare and ensure inter-rater
  reliability.
• A timeline of when educator ratings and feedback
  has been (or will be) provided to all teachers
  and principals.

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Principle 3 in renewal

• Principle 3 Assurances (Question F-4)

• Option C States with approved guidelines must
• Describe how any proposed changes will lead to
  successful implementation that will still meet
  the required components of Principle 3
• Option C SEAs without approved guidelines must
• Describe how its proposed updates to Principle 3
  address the issue(s) that have thus far precluded
  guideline approval.
• Describe how the updated guidelines will lead to
  a successful implementation that meets the
  required components of Principle 3.

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Principle 3 in renewal

• Principle 3 Assurances (Question F-5)

• All Option C States will describe
• How they will ensure continuous improvement of
  evaluation and support systems that result in
  instructional improvement and increased student
  learning.
• How the SEA and its LEAs determine or will
  determine if the implementation of the evaluation
  system is high quality and meets the six required
  components of Principle 3.
• The States authority to ensure that any LEA
  systems not meeting requirements of Principle 3
  are improved.
• How the SEA and its LEAs monitor or will monitor
  implementation of evaluation systems.

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Support with renewal requests

• Resources, support and Key contact information

• For technical assistance or resources regarding
  teacher and principal evaluation and support
  systems, reference F-8 in your FAQs.
• If you have questions and the ESEA flexibility
  Renewal Process, please contact your current ESEA
  flexibility state lead.
• You may also submit questions to
  ESEAflexibility_at_ed.gov.
• If you do not know who your current ESEA
  flexibility contact is, please use the e-mail
  address above to contact the Department.

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• Questions

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Principle 3 in renewal Example timeline
Fall 2014 Spring 2015 School year (SY) 2014-2015 observations
Spring 2015 SY 14-15 State assessments
Spring Fall 2015 Teachers receive ratings based on SY 2014-15 performance, including data on student growth as significant factor
Fall 2015 Develop improvement plans based on SY 14-15 ratings
Fall 2015-Spring 2016 Professional development based on 14-15 improvement plans. SY 15-16 observations
Spring 2016 SY 15-16 State assessments
Spring-Fall 2016 Teachers receive ratings based on SY 15-16 performance, including data on student growth as significant factor
Fall 2016 Develop improvement plans based on SY 15-16 ratings
Fall 2016-Spring 2017 Professional development based on 15-16 ratings
Winter-Spring 2017 Personnel decisions informed by 15-16 ratings
Spring 2017 Hiring informed by 15-16 ratings