SEATTLE — Two years ago, a plan to change the way teachers are evaluated in Washington state became law. Now, lawmakers are debating several possible course adjustments for Washington’s teacher evaluation system.
There are a number of competing proposals. One is backed by the governor, one comes from the superintendent of public instruction, another has the support of the state teachers union and a fourth is backed by business leaders, The Seattle Times reported.
The proposals are all similar, but have some key differences, many concerning how the evaluations can be used in hiring and firing decisions.
At one end of the spectrum is a proposal that would insist that student test scores be part of teacher evaluations and that those ratings be used in teacher employment decisions.
All of the proposals involve moving from a two-level rating — satisfactory or unsatisfactory — to a four-level rating system that would give teachers more feedback and help them improve.
The current law leaves the specifics up to individual districts, while the bill supported by the union would fill in some details and provide training.
The proposals from Gregoire and Dorn are similar to the bill backed by the union but have not generated much discussion this session.
Seattle Public Schools took a different, middle ground, path with a new system that was negotiated during collective bargaining in the summer of 2010.
Seattle’s new system makes test scores a factor, although indirectly, and gives the new evaluations some teeth.
The law now on the books put the state on a path toward more rigorous evaluations but does not spell out many specifics. It leaves those specifics up to individual school districts. A handful of districts have been piloting the new system, which is supposed to go statewide by the 2013 school year.
The union-supported bill would give districts fewer choices, requiring them to adopt one of three different four-level rating systems. It would also provide money for evaluation training.
The bill sponsored by Rep. Eric Pettigrew, D-Seattle, and Sen. Rodney Tom, D-Bellevue, would shake things up the most.
It would require the use of student test scores as a factor in evaluations. The proposal also would require evaluations to be considered along with seniority in hiring and transfer decisions. Seniority now is the only factor.
It would give principals the power to refuse “forced placement” by the superintendent of bad teachers transferring from other schools. And it would allow for veteran teachers to lose their right to due process if they receive the lowest rating two years in a row.
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