Education reform in Delaware is in full swing, and keeping everyone on the same page can be a challenge when an element as crucial as teacher evaluations changes… and then changes again.
Most people know teachers in Delaware are evaluated on an annual basis. However, many are less familiar that the state initiated a new system three years ago to evaluate teachers, and this year the standards have once again changed.
The Delaware Performance Appraisal System (DPAS) measures teachers’ effectiveness. In 2005, a new system (DPAS II) was piloted for three years before going statewide. The evaluation is based on a “Framework of Teaching” by education consultant Charlotte Danielson. The four components of the framework are planning and preparation, classroom environment, instruction, and professional responsibilities.
“Student growth” was added as the fifth component of the DPAS II by the Delaware Department of Education (DDOE), meant to track student performance as part of teacher evaluations. When Delaware received Race to the Top funding, the U.S. Department of Education approved linking student growth to the Delaware Comprehensive Assessment System (DCAS) test scores.
Specifically, half of Component 5 depends upon DCAS. While portions of Component 5 are being set and revised, schools are implementing DCAS for only the second year, as well as implementing additional Race to the Top district programs. The result of so much change at once is confusion and mistrust.
Explaining teacher concerns over “Component 5″
“It’s too much too fast,” said Debbie Stevens, Director of Instructional Advocacy for Delaware State Education Association (DSEA). “We need to focus on not just getting it done, but getting it done right.” She says The entire education system in Delaware is changing and rushing to implement Race to the Top initiatives in the four-year grant timeline and is scattering focus.
While other “multiple measures” for Component 5 are researched and recommended, the DDOE has told state school staffers Component 5 will not be used to apply negative consequences this year. However, teachers who are deemed “highly effective” through DPAS II Revised will still be eligible for incentives, including attraction and retention bonuses.
“There’s a lot of misinformation out there (about what will and will not be in place this year),” Stevens said. “The communication system has not been as comprehensive and careful as it needs to be. There are messages conveyed to superintendents and to us, but to get to the teachers and specialists, it becomes almost a ‘Whisper Down the Lane’ kind of thing.”
She said messages she gets back from the building-level in the districts are sometimes panicked and can be “light years” away from information released by the DDOE.
Stevens stated that since DDOE has comprehensive coverage of DPAS II Revised on its website, she constantly tells teachers to go there to get the full story. In addition, DSEA has taken an hour-long presentation on the DPAS II Revised, specifically on Component 5, to local affiliates, talking to hundreds of district staffers across the state and posting FAQs on its own website.
Yvonne Johnson, president of the Delaware Parent Teachers Association, said she’s skeptical of the weight given to standardized tests and that the changes have confused both teachers and parents.
“It’s changed around so much,” Johnson said. “I don’t know that people even know how teachers are being evaluated at all at this point. It feels like it’s changing every five minutes.”
New method for grading teachers gets an “incomplete”
More on issues surrounding the effort to implement DPAS II Revised.
Joseph Jones, principal of Delcastle Technical High School in Wilmington, was at a recent training session at the Delaware Academy for School Leadership. He said he gets feedback from fellow administrators at the school in addition to hearing from teachers.
“Most schools believe in using student achievement and data to reflect that what you are doing is working,” Jones said. “I know from the standpoint of Delcastle that what we are doing should be working and that it’s OK to be measured and we’re OK with measuring it.”
Jones said clearly communicating and dispelling rumors about DPAS II Revised, and specifically about Component 5, is vital to getting support for the evaluation.
“A lot of time there’s a lot of myth and lore around things and that’s hard to control,” Jones said. “There are still a lot of questions that need answers. I think a lot more people would be on-board (if those questions were answered).”
Deb Denson is one of nine Development Coaches working for the Delaware Academy for School Leadership (DASL) in conjunction with DDOE. She trains school administrators in the new system.
“There is still difficulty in area of Component 5,” Denson said. “This whole thing is a work in progress. We want to be sure we’re doing it right for everyone.”
She said Component 5 has been the focus of many training sessions, but with so much still to be decided, she prefers to pull back and look at the first four components of the evaluation and make sure those are clear and thorough for implementation.
“It’s difficult for people to let go and trust us,” Denson said. “We understand the trepidation and we will address it.”
Stevens said because the DDOE remains open to DSEA feedback, the union remains in discussion about DPAS II Revised, even if they don’t approve of Component 5.
“We are still in communication with the department and the governor’s office and will continue to communicate,” she said. “We have anecdotal and factual information to pass along for changes.”
“It is the highest-stake issue we have going on around our ed-reform in the state right now,” said Daniel Cruce, DDOE Deputy Secretary/Chief of Staff of DPAS. “Keeping everyone at the table is critical.”
From Cruce’s perspective, Component 5 is about recognizing that all teachers and specialists in a school influence students, not just those in “critical” subjects tested by DCAS. Finding a balance in Component 5 is about not excluding departments like Career and Technical Instruction or world languages. This balance is tricky, but necessary, and Cruce said it needs to be done in order to move forward.
“We could pilot this thing to the next decade and never have it perfect.”
While recommendations for Component 5 are ongoing, it is unclear when it will be completed and fully implemented as a part of DPAS II Revised.
