IU develops public school teacher evaluation model

Indiana public school teachers will be evaluated in the coming year by a model developed at IU.

The Center on Education and Lifelong Learning at IU has designed a teacher evaluation model to assist Indiana public schools comply with a state education reform law that took effect in July.

This model will be implemented in an initial group of 12 school districts throughout Indiana. 

The law, Senate Enrolled Act 001, requires Indiana public schools to develop a new performance evaluation model for its teachers that focuses on specified metrics of teacher effectiveness, including “objective measures of student achievement and growth,” according to a report by the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy.

Schools may adopt one of several already developed models, or they can use another evaluation model that meets the law’s requirements. An approved model must be in place at all school districts by the start of the 2012-13 school year.

IN-TASS, the name of the model developed by the center, has been approved by the Indiana Department of Education for use in Indiana public schools and was based in part on a model already in use in District 65 of Evanston, Ill.

“I had done some consulting with the D65, Evanston, Ill., school district,” said Sandi Cole, director of the center. “During this time, I became aware of their model for teacher evaluations linked to student growth. I was impressed with their model. It appeared to be a fair and flexible system.”

Hardy Murphy, superintendent of District 65 and chief architect of the Evanston model, worked closely with Cole to help tailor the evaluation system to meet the law’s requirements after several Indiana school districts expressed interest in implementing the model.

To implement the model within the 12 districts, the center has created a leadership group of educators who will work with the schools “to provide technical assistance and support throughout this planning year,” Cole said.

“We believe that we have a fair, flexible and comprehensive model that will provide the necessary information for districts to make informed decisions about all aspects of their plans,” she said.

—David Cameli