Teacher Evaluations: Observations and SGO's

 

There is a lot going on in education today, and as an educational leader I believe that it is my responsibility to provide my staff with the greatest supports possible.  One way I try to support my staff is through modeling the expectation myself – demonstrating that I am not asking them to do anything I haven’t already done.  In the state of New Jersey, our new evaluation model is referred to as Achieve NJ.  Achieve NJ outlines the different evaluation models schools could have selected, changes in tenure law and minimum observations necessary for teachers, and the hottest topic right now (because they’re due on November 15^th) is the development of SGOs (Student Growth Objectives).   
 

Understanding the importance of being a reflective educator, I am always looking at these initiatives / changes and asking myself the purpose behind them.  Once I am able to identify that key component, I find I am able to support them much more willingly.  

Achieve NJ

Observations

The diagram below was presented to me by Dr. Campbell at Rowan University during an instructional supervision masters course.  He explained to the group that observations are reflected in the picture below.  Each block represents a teaching period (180 school days / 6 periods per day).  The red represents the minimum number of observations a tenured teacher received, whereas the blue represents the minimum required observations a non-tenured teacher received.   Achieve NJ has changed this requirement.  Teachers hired after August 2012, must now be employed for four years prior to earning tenure.  All teachers will be receiving a minimum of 3 observations (this varies between short observations – 20 min. and long observations– 40 min.). 

 

SGOs (Student Growth Objectives)

During this 2013-2014 school year, all teachers are required to create 1-2 Student Growth Objectives (those teachers who are in tested grades 4-8 are only required to complete 1).  The district I am in, has decided to require all staff members to create two student growth objectives to ensure that everyone is in compliance and understands the process during the first year.  The purpose of a student growth objective is to ensure that there is pre and post data based on what you are teaching to measure student growth.  What we are looking to accomplish is to see that all students show growth over the course of a school year / semester.  If John starts out the year with a 27% and then moves to a 67%, he is still failing.  Regardless of his grade, John has shown growth over the course of the school year.  If the teachers SGO was that all students in John’s category would show 30% increase from the pre to the post assessment, she achieved her objective.  

As I explained to my teachers, this is something most are already doing – we are simply putting it into writing.  The student growth objective can be basic where you might state that each student will increase by one reading level over the course of the school year, or more complex depending on the assessment you're using.

 

 

If you were creating a more detailed SGO - you would come up with different groups, based on student assessment, and what the expected growth would be for each individual group over the course of the school year.  The example that I gave to a group of teachers was if a student is already reading at the 7^th grade level (and they just entered 6^th grade), it might be difficult for that student to maintain or increase their score.  In this situation, the teacher would place this student and any other on grade level with a goal to maintain or increase in reading level.  The middle group would increase by one reading level, and the lowest group would increase by one and a half reading levels.  I would then measure my student progress throughout the course of the school year to ensure I am addressing the needs of my students. 

When completing your student growth objective, it is important to make sure that it is SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound.  The due date for SGO’s this year is November 15, 2013 (future years will be October 15, 2013).  Teachers will have the opportunity to change their SGO, should they need to, up until February 15, 2014 – this would be done between you and your school administrator. 

For more information, go to:

http://www.state.nj.us/education/AchieveNJ

HAPPY SGO WRITING!