Educator Evaluation
All educator evaluation systems in Massachusetts public schools must conform to the new regulations adopted by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. Race to the Top districts must do this for the 2012-13 school year and all other districts for 2013-14.
Evaluation is a mandatory subject of collective bargaining in Massachusetts. Each school district and the appropriate educator unit (union) must negotiate and reach agreement on an evaluation system that conforms to the regulatory requirements.
MTA has worked on this issue since the spring of 2010. Our members, leaders and staff served on the Educator Evaluation Task Force that made recommendations to the BESE. We issued our own policy brief defining our vision for a state evaluation framework. The work that MTA has done is found under the MTA in Action tab below.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has developed a model evaluation system for teachers, principals and superintendents. This was developed with assistance from the Massachusetts Teachers Association, the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, the Massachusetts Secondary School Administrators’ Association, and the Massachusetts Elementary School Principals’ Association. Links to all elements of this document are found below under the Department of Education tab.
MTA provides local leaders with guidance about collectively bargaining elements of the new system. Districts and associations may decide to:
- Adopt the model contract language.
- Adapt the model contract language.
- Revise their existing contract language.
This page will be updated as new information from DESE, school districts and local associations becomes available.
Measures of Educator Practice
This chart explains the new Massachusetts Educator Evaluation Framework. Reading the chart from left to right, the educator and the evaluator collect and present Evidence about the four Standards of Practice and the two Educator Plan goals that inform the educator’s Performance Rating which then – in combination with the educator’s Impact on Student Learning – determines the type and duration of the Educator Plan.
The Massachusetts Model System for Educator Evaluation
An 8-part series including:
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Part I: District-Level Planning and Implementation Guide
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Part II: School-Level Planning and Implementation Guide
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Part III: Guide to Rubrics and Model Rubrics for Superintendent, Administrator and Teacher
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Part IV: Model Collective Bargaining Contract Language
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Part V: Implementation Guide for Principal Evaluation
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Part VI: Implementation Guide for Superintendent Evaluation
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Part VII: Rating Educator Impact on Student Learning Using District-Determined Measures of Student Learning (July 2012)
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Part VIII: Using Staff and Student Feedback in the Evaluation Process (May 2013)
During the regulatory drafting phase, the DESE acknowledged receiving an extraordinary level of comment from the field and prepared several documents showing what those comments were and how the DESE responded to them.
Final Regulations as Adopted
Educator Evaluation Summary, Massachusetts DESE
MTA Reinventing Educator Evaluation: Connecting Professional Practice with Student Learning
MTA Policy Brief
MTA Frequently Asked Questions
Implementation Support for Level 4 Schools
State board adopts new evaluation regulations
MTA President Paul Toner: This framework incorporates many of MTA’s recommendations and, if properly implemented, will lead to better evaluations and improved teaching, learning and leadership in our schools.
Member input helps shape evaluation regulations
More than 300 MTA members contacted the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education by e-mail during the public comment period, and more than 700 educators from across the state attended DESE forums to learn about the regulations, ask questions and express their views.
Proposed Policy Statement on Teacher Evaluation and Accountability