Legislators Re DPAS II 122811

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
The Townsend Building 401 Federal Street Suite 2 Dover, Delaware 19901-3639 DOE WEBSITE: http://www.doe.k12.de.us
Lillian M. Lowery, Ed.D.

Secretary of Education Voice: (302) 735-4000 FAX: (302) 739-4654
December 28, 2011 Delaware Legislators Legislative Hall P. O. Box 1401 Dover, DE 19903 Dear Senator/Representative: A number of you have recently been contacted regarding the work currently underway to develop the student achievement portion of the Delaware Performance Appraisal System II (DPAS II), our educator evaluation system. I thought it might be helpful to provide some background information and an update on the current status of our work in this regard. Delawares educator evaluation system requires that educators be evaluated based in part on student achievement, as measured by rigorous and comparable means of assessing student learning. Although the regulation requiring the use of student improvement information as part of educator evaluations has existed for some time, the regulation was amended two years ago to better define student achievement and to make it a key element of educator evaluations. That change was made with significant input from and the support of the Delaware State Education Association (DSEA). The revised regulatory provisions were included in our successful Race to the Top application which received the support of every local union in the State.
THE DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION IS AN EQUAL
EDUCATION INFO LINE (877) 838-3787
OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER. IT DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE ON THE BASIS OF RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, NATIONAL ORIGIN, SEX, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, MARITAL STATUS, DISABILITY, AGE OR VIETNAM ERA VETERANS STATUS IN EMPLOYMENT, OR ITS PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES.
TEACHER CERTIFICATION INFO: (888) 759-9133
Delaware Legislators December 28, 2011 Page 2
Since the adoption of that regulation, we have implemented a new statewide assessment that, for the first time, allows us to measure Fall-to-Spring student achievement in tested subjects. This ability to chart a students performance level from the beginning of a school year through the end of the same school year provides a fair measure of a students growth during their time in a teachers classroom. Additionally, we have been working with over 400 educators to develop fair, rigorous, and comparable growth measures for every subject and grade in order to provide a means of measuring student achievement in subjects not covered by the statewide assessment. Developing the means to follow student growth fairly is critical to our education reform efforts. To that end, we must continue to work with our teachers and others to ensure that the measurement system is sound from both a technical and policy perspective. That is why we submitted a Race to the Top amendment request to the United States Department of Education last Spring, postponing the implementation of the new evaluation system by one year, until Fall 2012. While the request to defer full-scale implementation for a year was a difficult request to make in light of the importance of the new educator evaluation system to all of our school improvement efforts, the request allowed us to continue the work of literally hundreds of teachers who are putting their time and expertise towards developing the necessary growth measures. National assessment experts are also reviewing the measures as they are being developed to ensure that
these measures provide a valid evaluation of student learning. Other states have not taken such a comprehensive approach. We believe that the extra year was important for the development of valid measures of learning that are based on the expertise of our teachers. It is essential to note that while our teachers are working hard to develop student growth measures, we continue to collaborate with DSEA leadership on the details regarding the appropriate calculations and use of the multiple measures. For example, we have already begun to revise which measures of success are most appropriate for educators depending on the subject area or job descriptions and in various settings such as our special schools. This is challenging work and we are committed to continuing to work with our stakeholders regarding its implementation. I am happy to provide you with continued updates as we work through those details. As someone who spent so many years in the classroom, I understand some of the hesitation about using student performance in a teachers evaluation. However, the ability to identify teachers who excel at teaching our students and those who need additional support is critical to better meeting the needs of our children. By September 2012, we will have implemented a statewide assessment that measures Fall-to-Spring student growth; developed student growth measures for virtually every educator in every graded subject area; received validation from assessment experts regarding those growth measures; identified means of measuring performance for non-graded educators, such as school nurses and counselors; and determined, with expert assistance, the amount of growth that can be considered
sufficient for a student in a particular subject and grade. At that time, we will have two years of implementation data from our statewide assessment. In short, we will be ready to implement an educator evaluation system that has an enormous amount of stakeholder input, is validated as providing fair and rigorous measures of student growth, and fulfills the promise we all made two years ago. As always, I thank you for your dedication to ensuring the best education opportunities for our students. I am happy to speak with you to answer any questions and hear your views. Sincerely,
Lillian Lowery, Ed. D. Secretary of Education

Legislators Re DPAS II 122811

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Lillian M. Lowery, Ed.D.

TEACHER CERTIFICATION INFO: (888) 759-9133

Delaware Legislators December 28, 2011 Page 2

Delaware Legislators December 28, 2011 Page 2

Delaware Legislators December 28, 2011 Page 2

Lillian Lowery, Ed. D. Secretary of Education

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