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Georgia Legislature Week in Review
Week 7 of the 2016 session was dominated by Crossover Day on Monday, Feb. 29, and committee hearings and votes in both chambers. Included in this week's episode is commentary on SB 364, SB 388 and the importance of educator voices in shaping legislation that affects students, teachers and public education. Click on the video player above to watch "Georgia Legislature Week in Review" Anchor John Varner and PAGE Director of Legislative Affairs Margaret Ciccarelli review last week's action. |
Educator Evaluation and Testing
Expected SB 364 Vote on Wednesday - Contact House Members NOW!
PAGE expects the House Education committee will vote on SB 364 this Wednesday, March 9. This important testing and evaluation reform bill sponsored by Senate Education and Youth committee chairman Lindsey Tippins (R-Marietta) has PAGE'S full support, but we need your help. Contact House Education committee members NOW to ask committee members to support the bill and ensure that the emphasis on standardized testing in educator evaluations is not increased beyond the 30 percent proposed in the bill.
When contacting policymakers, always remember to use personal phone lines and email accounts outside of instructional time. Use PAGE'S summary of SB 364 provided below for points to support this important reform. Supplement this support with a brief description of how SB 364 will help your students and your school.
House Education Committee
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Dave
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Belton
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Tommy
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Benton
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Beth
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Beskin
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Wes
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Cantrell
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Amy
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Carter
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David
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Casas
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Joyce
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Chandler
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Valerie
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Clark
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Brooks
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Coleman
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Pam
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Dickerson
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Tom
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Dickson
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Mike
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Dudgeon
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Terry
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England
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Hugh
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Floyd
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Mike
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Glanton
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Wayne
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Howard
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Jan
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Jones
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Margaret
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Kaiser
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Howard
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Maxwell
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Rahn
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Mayo
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Randy
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Nix
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Ed
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Setzler
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Valencia
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Stovall
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Kevin
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Tanner
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Sam
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Teasley
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Updated Information about SB 364
PAGE has actively supported SB 364 throughout the 2016 legislative session as the bill addresses reform that is at the top of our 2016 Legislative Agenda.
CLICK HERE for an informational document for SB 364 that contains more information and PAGE'S updated position statements on SB 364, SB 355, and HB 1061. Use this document and the information below when crafting your message to legislators. You can also visit the "I Promise" website and share the link with others who support testing and educator evaluation reform.
SB 364 seeks to reform student standardized testing and educator evaluation in the following ways:
- Reduces the number of state-mandated student tests from 32 to 24.
- Allows for fewer observations of veteran, high-performing educators.
- Requires Georgia's student assessment program to include a comprehensive summative assessment program for grades three through 12. In addition, each local school district will administer, with state funding, a research-based formative assessment with a summative component that is tied to performance indicators in English and language arts/reading in grades one and two, subject to available state appropriations.
- Requires the State Board of Education to adopt a school readiness assessment for students entering first grade.
- Requires that state-required standardized tests comprise 30 percent of the evaluation of teachers of record. In charter districts and strategic waiver districts (currently 178 of 180 Georgia school districts), up to 10 percent of the 30 percent component may be based on multiple measures as determined by the local school district's flexibility contract. Thus, teachers of classes in which state assessments are administered may have the testing component reduced to a minimum of 20 percent if their local district allows.
- For teachers of record who teach in areas in which a state assessment is not mandated, growth in student achievement shall count for at least 30 percent of the teacher's evaluation. The student growth measure shall utilize at least one growth measure (e.g. SLOs), but may utilize multiple measures as determined by the local district's flexibility contract.
- For school leaders (principals and assistant principals), growth in student achievement shall count for at least 40 percent. The student growth measure shall be composed of a minimum of 30 percent state assessment with the remaining 10 percent utilizing multiple student growth measures as determined by the local school system's flexibility contract. An additional 10 percent shall be based on achievement gap closure; 10 percent on school climate; 10 percent on "Beat the Odds" or CCRPI data, as determined by flexibility contract; and 30 percent on leader evaluations, observations and standards of practice.
- The legislation would increase the percentage of the school year that a student must attend an educator's class before the student's test score count toward the educator's evaluation. (This is an increase from 65 percent to 80 percent.)
- Teachers of record, principals and assistant principals shall be evaluated using multiple, rigorous and transparent measures.
- "Strongly encourages" pushing the test administration to the last week of mid-year semesters for mid-year assessments and the last two weeks of the year for end-of-year assessments.
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Directs the State Board of Education to ensure that any alternate assessments for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities are in compliance with applicable federal law, but do not impose requirements in excess of such federal law in a manner that unduly burdens a local school system or the students.
Potential changes discussed by House Education Committee in last week's meeting include:
- Inclusion of Buford City Schools and Webster County Schools, the two "no waiver" school systems. Currently, these systems are not incorporated into SB 364.
- Increase the attendance requirement before a students' test scores count in a teacher's evaluation from 80 percent to 90 percent.
- The inclusion of an appeals process in the evaluation system.
- Increasing the student growth component of teacher evaluations from 30 percent to a higher percentage. PAGE will oppose this change should the committee increase the percentage. Please encourage House Education Committee members to keep the percentage at 30.
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PAGE provides the best coverage of education matters during each year's Georgia General Assembly. PAGE monitors all of the action under the Gold Dome from gavel to gavel. You can follow the PAGE daily Report from The Capitol by subscribing to our Legislative Reports. You'll get insightful coverage of legislation affecting Georgia's classrooms and K-12 Education. You will also receive reports from the different state agency meetings PAGE staff members attend throughout the year.
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