Teacher Evaluations to be Overhauled in Bernards, All of NJ

Bernards schools may rate above average by many benchmarks — including the recent but township teachers can soon expect more scrutiny of their results here, as elsewhere in New Jersey, under new state requirements.

The big change, schools Director of Curriculum Sean Siet told the this week, is that by the 2013-14 school year, half of each teacher's evaluation will be based on how that teacher's students perform in testing.

The remaining 50 percent of teacher evaluations will continue to be based on classroom observations and evaluations, although the state is handing out more specific instructions for how those evaluations should be conducted, Siet said. For example, he said, teachers would be evaluated more frequently, and will receive a classroom visit by "double" observers, he said.

The evaluation for teachers' acheivements in student performance would be based on a "student growth percentile" that would track how much students have improved on standardized state tests such as the New Jersey ASK (Assessment of Skills and Knowledge) and partially on another test that can be chosen by the district, Siet said. Teacher evaluations based on some measure of student performance have been implemented in other states, including New York, Siet said.

With the new Excellent Educators for New Jersey (EE4NJ) evaluation system, the state "really wants to quantify what's happening in the classroom," Siet said. The state then expects to begin similar evaluations of school principals and other administrators on the heels of the teacher evaluations, he said.

Board Member Michael Byrne said that from what he could understand, the new system has "an awful lot of red tape and baloney." He asked if teachers rated as ineffective could be fired.

Although he said his answer is "speculative," Siet said he believes that EE4NJ is a first step in Governor Chris Christie's request for tenure reform.

Based on their evaluations, teachers would be categorized as highly effective, effective, partially effective, or ineffective, he told the board. Initially, the only consequence for teachers rated below par would be additional training, Siet said. "That may change [but] I'm not saying it is," he added.

Research and pilot programs in place have indicated that only about five percent of teachers can expect to be rated as "highly effective," he said.

The new mandate will be unfunded, unless the Bernards district is accepted as one of the school systems throughout New Jersey to serve as a second round of pilot school districts in which EE4NJ will be implemented early, Siet said.

In that case, the district could receive a grant of up to $187,000 — but also would need to get started on implementing the new program by next October, rather than later in the year, Siet said. The district should receive an answer on whether Bernards has been accepted into the pilot program in the coming weeks, Siet said.

Siet said the most expensive part of launching the new system will be the training of staff. The school district also will need to chose a specific program with software and other guidance in implementing the program, he said.

School Board President Susan Carlsson said she wonders how the district would come up with the funds if required to give additional merit pay or higher raises to teachers who are highly ranked.