CTAC's new SLO Support Center is generating much attention. In the near future, we will be adding FAQs, since many questions arise as more states and districts consider including SLOs in new evaluation systems. Among those questions the most pivotal is this:

Q: How critical is it for teachers to include learning content and instructional strategies in an SLO? Can't an SLO simply consist of student learning targets and the assessments teachers will use to measure whether students have reached those targets?

A: SLOs that identify targets but do not require that teachers think through the content and instructional strategies to reach those targets are missing a key ingredient for success--the analysis of practice.

CTAC's national experience has identified multiple reasons why that analysis is important, including that it:

• Identifies professional development needs by leading teachers and principals to engage in a collaborative process to examine instructional strengths and weaknesses. Districts can then provide the types of tailored support needed to improve teachers' pedagogical skills.
• Ensures both support and accountability by building in checkpoints for analyzing the effectiveness of instructional strategies and making adjustments where needed.
• Complements value-added scores. While scores from value-added measures are usually holistic and provide a numeric representation of a teacher's effectiveness, the content and instructional components of SLOs reveal more nuanced details about a teacher's depth of content knowledge and pedagogical expertise thus helping to enhance the value-added rating and provide a vehicle for improving effectiveness.
• Strengthens professionalism by requiring teachers and administrators to select and analyze specific learning content and instructional strategies. In contrast to a "top-down" approach, this practitioner-driven process respects and builds school- and classroom-level capacity.
• Provides a glue across initiatives. A successful SLO model that includes learning content and instructional strategies brings together features of key education initiatives such as Common Core State Standards, using data to improve instruction, teacher accountability, and professional learning communities.

If you would like assistance in including SLOs as part of your teacher evaluation system, please contact CTAC at (617) 423-1444 or [email protected].