November 2011 Dear Friends: In the midst of the national movement to reform teacher evaluation systems, many states are struggling to establish systems that are fair to teachers and can be responsibly and efficiently implemented by principals and other administrators. As discussed in our last letter, an immediate problem when including measures of student achievement is that state testing does not cover all subjects and grades. As we noted, Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) are gaining attention as a means of solving that problem; they are a proven mechanism for measuring the effectiveness of all teachers. But policymakers are discovering SLOs' additional advantages as well: Besides providing accountability, SLOs provide instructional support. Driven by teachers themselves, they help strengthen teaching and improve learning. CTAC's national experience has shown that school district and teacher leaders need to understand their critical, up-front role in setting district-wide policies and guidelines within which teachers can systematically develop and implement SLOs. Principals need clarity on the process they will follow in their role as teacher collaborator in SLO development, which entails knowing what a "quality" SLO looks like and being able to guide teachers in achieving quality. Administrators who will rate and score the SLOs for evaluation purposes similarly need the knowledge and tools to be systematic and fair. For each of these role groups, technical assistance provides the needed knowledge and tools. For policymakers, this involves delineating key quality questions to be addressed, including: How to customize the SLO process so that it "fits" with the evaluation approach the district is developing? What criteria to set for assessments used in SLOs to help ensure reliability, validity, and comparability? Would a menu of assessments be the best approach? What scoring approach to use, and how will scores feed into the evaluation system? How to systematically ensure that all district staff and stakeholders understand the SLO process and what it is intending to accomplish? How to provide needed professional development for teachers, principals, others? For principals and other administrators who will evaluate SLOs--formatively, to help teachers as they develop SLOs, and summatively, to help gauge teacher effectiveness--CTAC assistance involves addressing a further set of questions, including: What are the key ingredients of a "quality" SLO? How to set rigorous, meaningful student growth targets? How to develop SLO scoring rubrics, in keeping with the district's policy guidelines? How can different types of assessment (with varying levels of reliability and validity), be used to set meaningful student growth targets? CTAC works with state, district and site-level educators to provide step-by-step guidance in unraveling and thinking through such critical questions. Our technical assistance works in tandem with our array of tools and resources, including a set of guidebooks, to help ensure effective implementation. For example, the SLO Evaluator's Guide includes tools that help teachers develop SLOs; tools that help evaluators customize scoring rubrics; sample SLOs; and sample ratings by expert evaluators. If you would like assistance in examining and including SLOs as part of your teacher evaluation system, please contact CTAC at (617) 423-1444. Best Regards, William J. Slotnik, Executive Director Community Training and Assistance Center (CTAC) CTAC builds district, state and community capacity by providing technical assistance, conducting research and evaluation, and informing public policy. CTAC's major education initiatives focus on performance-based compensation, teacher and administrator evaluation, teacher preparation and development, school turnaround and district improvement, state-to-district assistance, and union-management collaboration. CTAC also provides assistance to community development organizations, heath and human service agencies, grassroots initiatives, and other institutions working, individually or collectively, to address root causes of poverty. For more information, please visit www.ctacusa.com.