SLOs Archives - Core Education, LLC

REL Study: How Have Alternative Measures of Student Growth been Implemented in Early-Adopting Districts?

School districts across the country are incorporating measures of student achievement growth in teacher evaluations—a task that is especially challenging for teachers of grades and subjects that lack standardized state assessments. Regional Educational Laboratory Mid-Atlantic (REL) studied eight districts that were early adopters of alternative student growth measures and had been Read more

By coreeducation, 11 yearsAugust 14, 2015 ago

Teacher Evaluation

Communication and Engagement Strategies for High-Quality Evaluation

State and district leaders need more than high-quality measures of teacher effectiveness to make their evaluation policies stick. They also need communications and engagement strategies, ongoing professional learning and support opportunities for teachers, and a plan to combine and use evaluation data to inform decisions at the school, district and Read more

By coreeducation, 11 yearsJune 10, 2015 ago

Teacher Evaluation

Five Factors that Affect Implementation of New Teacher Evaluation Systems

Studies have shown that new teacher evaluation systems are being implemented at record rates, but questions remain about how best to implement those systems. In collaboration with the Northeast Educator Effectiveness Research Alliance and the New Hampshire Department of Education, REL Northeast and Islands examined the implementation of new district Read more

By coreeducation, 12 yearsFebruary 10, 2015 ago

Professional Learning Teacher Evaluation

New SLO Resources from the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders

In today’s contentious education debates, Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) offer a compelling middle ground that provides rigor and concrete data yet in a way that accommodates student needs. The Center on Great Teachers and Leaders (GTL Center) has several new resources available for education leaders to use in order to Read more

By coreeducation, 12 yearsDecember 17, 2014 ago

Online Communities & Resources Teacher Evaluation

New Evaluation & Support Briefs from Education First

Teachers need ongoing, targeted supports to be effective. That’s why district and state leaders across the country are changing how they evaluate and support teachers. Over the past three years, 16 states have changed their teacher evaluation policies, with another 28 poised to do so in the next few years. Read more

By coreeducation, 12 yearsDecember 16, 2014 ago

School Reform & Leadership

Real Progress in Maryland: SLOs and Teacher and Principal Evaluation

The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) is making significant strides in guiding and supporting the implementation of Student Learning Objectives as part of a teacher and principal evaluation (TPE) system statewide. A new report from CTAC and WestEd prepared through the Mid-Atlantic Comprehensive Center (MACC at WestEd), examines frontline educators’ Read more

By coreeducation, 12 yearsOctober 27, 2014 ago

Teacher Evaluation

Alternative student outcomes in teacher evaluation systems

What do we know about using alternative student growth measures to evaluate teacher performance? The following three updates from The Institute of Education Sciences provide research-based answers to that question. States increasingly are interested in incorporating measures of student achievement growth in teacher evaluations. But the typical measure of student Read more

By coreeducation, 12 yearsAugust 27, 2014 ago

School Reform & Leadership

Landmark Partnership in Maryland

In a landmark agreement, leaders of eight Maryland education organizations are joining together to support the implementation of Student Learning Objectives (SLOs), a key component of the new teacher and principal evaluation system. This level of collaboration is unprecedented at the statewide level. All of the organizations have agreed to Read more

By coreeducation, 12 yearsAugust 21, 2014 ago

Teacher Evaluation

State Oversight of District-Designed Teacher-Evaluation Systems

In 2011, President Barack Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan provided states with flexibility from certain requirements under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, or ESEA, currently known as the No Child Left Behind Act. The flexibility process requires states to develop and implement new educator-evaluation systems to help Read more

By coreeducation, 12 years ago

Teacher Evaluation

Alternative Measures of Student Growth: What Can We Learn from Early Adopter Districts?

School districts across the country are incorporating measures of student achievement growth in teacher evaluations—but that’s a challenge in grades and subjects that lack standardized state assessments. In response, some districts have turned to alternative measures of student growth–that is, measures that rely on something other than state assessments in Read more

By coreeducation, 12 years ago

Professional Learning Teacher Evaluation

REL Northeast Explores SLO Implementation

How are states defining and applying Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) in their teacher evaluation systems? That is the question that a new report from Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Northeast and Islands answers. The report provides an overview of how states are using SLOs, based on a review of state education Read more

By coreeducation, 13 yearsMarch 25, 2014 ago

Teacher Evaluation

Alternatives to State Assessments for Measuring Teachers’ Contributions to Student Achievement Growth

Statistics show that an increasing number of school districts have adopted new teacher evaluation techniques. As opposed to what many have feared, districts have almost never used student test data alone to evaluate teachers. Even if they did, the typical measure of student growth—progress on state assessments from one school Read more

By coreeducation, 13 yearsNovember 7, 2013 ago

Online Communities & Resources

New Resources for Using Student Learning Objectives

Did you know that nearly half of U.S. states require, recommend, or have identified student learning objectives (SLOs) as a measure of student growth for evaluating educators? To support states and districts in developing and implementing SLOs, the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders (GTL Center) has developed two new Read more

By coreeducation, 13 yearsSeptember 1, 2013 ago

School Reform & Leadership

Building a Technology Infrastructure for Student Learning Objectives

As schools open for the 2013-2014 school year, one of the new acronyms on the lips of many education professionals is SLO. SLOs, or Student Learning Objectives, are an alternative to standardized testing that can demonstrate student, as well as teacher, growth and progress. SLOs have been mandated in many Read more

By coreeducation, 13 yearsAugust 27, 2013 ago

Teacher Evaluation

Rating Early Elementary Teachers: Where’s the Data?

A new report, “An Ocean of Unknowns”, from Laura Bornfreund at the New America Foundation describes the challenges involved with attempting to reform teacher evaluation systems to include student data for pre-k through grade 2 students. Following are portions from the executive summary of that report: What is the best Read more

By coreeducation, 13 years ago

Online Communities & Resources Teacher Evaluation

New Resources from the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders

The Center on Great Teachers and Leaders combines the efforts of three education organizations: American Institutes for Research (AIR), Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), and Public Impact. They are dedicated to supporting state education leaders in their efforts to grow, respect, and retain great teachers and leaders for all Read more

By coreeducation, 13 years ago

Kim Fleming has experience working at the school, district, state, and university levels. She earned her PhD in Teacher Education and Professional Development from the University of Maryland and her Masters in Teacher Leadership from Johns Hopkins University. She has worked with 24 school districts and 28 institutions of higher education as professional development schools facilitator and alternative teacher preparation program specialist. In addition, she has worked with four state education agencies, several school districts, and many nonprofit and for profit organizations as a consultant. Fleming is an accomplished grant writer and presenter. She has published numerous publications and book chapters.