Sec. 13a.07.09.04. Local Education Agency Evaluation System

A. An evaluation system for teachers and principals developed by a local education agency in mutual agreement with the exclusive employee representatives shall include performance evaluation criteria, at a minimum, based on multiple measures, and on the general standards set forth in §§B and C of this regulation.

B. General Standards: Teacher Evaluation System.

(1) An evaluation system shall be based on standards, such as the INTASC Model Core Teaching Standards or other Department-approved or nationally recognized standards for teaching, and those standards shall be explained to teachers and communicated to the school community. The selected standards shall be used to evaluate the teacher’s professional practice and student growth.

(2) A teacher’s evaluation shall include at least five components:

(a) Planning and preparation;

(b) Classroom environment;

(c) Instruction;

(d) Professional responsibility; and

(e) Student growth.

(3) An evaluation system shall provide, at a minimum, for an overall rating of highly effective, effective, or ineffective.

(4) Classroom observations shall play a role in the evaluation system, at a minimum, in the following ways:

(a) Classroom observations of teachers’ professional practice shall be conducted by certificated individuals who have completed training that includes identification of teaching behaviors that result in student growth and the use of the selected standards in the observation;

(b) An evaluation of a teacher’s professional practice, including planning and preparation, classroom environment, and instruction shall be based on at least two observations during the school year;

(c) An evaluation report that evaluates a teacher as ineffective shall include at least one observation by an individual other than the immediate supervisor;

(d) An observation, announced or unannounced, shall be conducted with full knowledge of the teacher;

(e) A written observation report shall be shared with the teacher and a copy provided to the teacher within a reasonable period of time;

(f) A teacher shall sign the observation report to acknowledge receipt;

(g) An observation shall provide for written comments and reactions by the teacher being observed, which shall be attached to the observation report; and

(h) An observation shall provide specific guidance in areas needing improvement and supports as well a reasonable timeline to demonstrate improvement in areas marked as ineffective.

(5) Claims and evidence of observed instruction that substantiate the observed behavior or behaviors in a classroom observation shall be a part of the teacher’s evaluation and may be identified by either the teacher or the evaluator or both and may include:

(a) Student work;

(b) Teacher-developed initiatives;

(c) Portfolios;

(d) Projects;

(e) Student test data;

(f) Artifacts; and

(g) Other statements.

(6) A local education agency’s evaluation system shall include rigor, which shall be demonstrated, in part, by:

(a) The establishment of student growth as a significant component of the evaluation;

(b) For the school years 2014-2015 and 2015-2016, the use of student learning objectives (SLOs) informed by the data resulting from the State assessments, which shall be represented on a teacher’s evaluation; and

(c) The Department shall review and approve mutually agreed-on evaluation systems to ensure compliance with the minimum general standards.

(7) The Department’s approval of an agreed-on evaluation system after the 2015-2016 school year will be based, in part, on the Department’s analysis of the evaluation data obtained in the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 school years, including an analysis of the use of State assessment data as a direct measure of student growth.

(8) The evaluation system shall provide focused professional development, resources, and a mentoring component for teachers who are evaluated as ineffective and for all nontenured teachers.

(9) Until school year 2016-2017, student growth data based on or derived from State assessments may not be used to make personnel decisions.

C. General Standards: Principal Evaluation System. A principal’s evaluation system shall be based on:

(1) The outcomes contained in the Maryland Instructional Leadership Framework, February 2005, and in the Interstate Leadership Licensure Consortium; and

(2) The standards set forth in §B(3), (6)(a)-(b), and (9) of this regulation.