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www.chalkboardproject.org I 1
 An effective teacher has the single
greatest influence on how well a
student learns.

• No other intervention can make the difference

that a knowledgeable, skillful teacher can
make in the learning process.
—Linda Darling-Hammond (National Commission on Teaching
and America’s Future)1

• Four consecutive years with a teacher from

the top 25% of the teaching pool can erase
the black-white testing gap.
—Robert Gordon, Thomas J. Kane and Douglas O. Staiger
(The Brookings Institution)2

• High-quality teachers cause a “spillover effect”

on an entire school: “Student achievement ris-
es across a grade when a high-quality teacher
comes on board.”
—C. Kirabo Jackson and Elias Bruegmann (National Bureau of
economic research)3

ject
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Ab out the Chalk ting pilot pro
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D es ig ni ng and implemen s; an d
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The C ha partisan,
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funds th e C LA
lkboard is • Providing th e to citizens,
anization, Cha pendent voic
non-profit org public edu- neutral, inde
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to the top 10 ed actices
catio n sy st em in
er s ar o un d educational pr
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Fo un Better Or-
O regonians’ va
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their ideas fo

Writing/Editorial: Education First Consulting

 Creative Leadership Achieves
Student Success
Getting serious about improving public education means making a strong
commitment to ensuring every student has an effective teacher.

Time and again, research shows that teachers are We want to demonstrate—for educators, for
the single most important factor in determining union leaders and for policymakers—what’s
whether and how well students learn. In fact, a possible and how efforts to improve teacher
teacher’s influence on student achievement is a effectiveness can boost both student achieve-
full 20 times greater than the effect of any other ment and the teaching profession. Today’s
variable, including class size and student poverty.4 challenge is to move beyond policy abstractions
and pronouncements to innovations that are
Maximizing teacher effectiveness has become grounded in the real work that happens in class-
an increasingly important nationwide education rooms and connected explicitly to improving
priority—fueled not just by growing awareness of student learning.
the compelling research, but also by a new federal
emphasis on the issue. In response, states and Oregon’s CLASS (Creative Leadership Achieves
school districts across the nation are beginning Student Success ) Project is one of the few
TM

to focus like never before on bolder solutions for initiatives in the country helping school districts
ensuring they are recruiting, retaining, supporting implement new and comprehensive models for
and promoting top tal- improving teacher effectiveness.
ent in every classroom.
CLASS provides both a framework for enhancing
Still, despite the prom- teacher effectiveness and seed funding to create
ise of this new focus innovative approaches for recruiting, retaining,
ATION:
RY OF EDUC
U.S. SECRETA on teacher effective- mentoring, developing, evaluating and com-
Arne Duncan ness, there are actually pensating educators that are linked to raising
few places that have student achievement. And it showcases the
ge is to make successfully imple- success that can result when key stakeholders
“Our challen a
ild in Americ mented comprehen- come together genuinely to tackle these chal-
sure every ch ve
om an effecti sive programs and lenging issues.
is learning fr h at it
matter w policies. Too many
teacher—no u at ion Begun in 2006 by the Chalkboard Project—a
acher eval efforts are polariz-
takes...Our te ), unique non-profit organization that aims to
deeply flawed ing and piecemeal,
systems (are improve public education in Oregon—CLASS cur-
rs are not just and too many have
and the lose rently works with 12 innovative Oregon school
When great stalled due to po-
the children. and districts (three that are implementing and nine
unrecognized litical wrangling or
teachers are lin g more in planning stages). The Oregon CLASS
when strugg poor planning and
unrewarded, , school districts are beginning to show
unsupported implementation.
teachers are h er s are remarkable results.
iling te ac
and when fa h in g
unaddressed
profession is
the teac
damaged.”
Here’s how.
 s
career path

al
evaluation profession t

Breaking the Mold d ev elo pm en

on
compensati
A New Model for Increasing
Teacher Effectiveness

At the core of CLASS are four bold design components that aim to recruit and
TM

retain the very best teachers and support all teachers in becoming their best.

1. Expand career paths to support highly ef- models include incentive grants and career-
fective teachers in taking on new leadership based pay tied to new roles, responsibilities and
roles and responsibilities, such as mentoring increasingly to improving student achievement.
and instructional coaching.

2. Develop effective performance evalua-

tions by setting clear goals for enhancing The CLASS Project’s overarching principle is
professional practice and increasing student that it is an integrated framework for increas-
achievement. Student learning gains includ- ing teacher effectiveness that provides teachers
ed in performance evaluations are based on with the support, information and motivation
multiple measures and are used to advance to do their best work. School systems need to
the quality of teaching ensure that teacher career paths, performance
and learning. evaluations, professional development resourc-
es and compensation models work together to
3. Provide targeted maximize the skills, knowledge and disposition
and relevant profes- of each and every teacher.
sional development to
give teachers the re- CLASS’s success starts with a high bar for dis-
sources and support that tricts that want to participate: they must commit
can help them improve to bringing together key representatives to de-
their teaching practices velop their plans, including the superintendent
and become more skilled and leaders from the teacher’s union and local
and effective by incorpo- board of education. Indeed, each of these key
rating such strategies as stakeholders must sign the CLASS application
mentoring and professional and agree to a joint planning process in order
learning communities. for the district’s application to be considered.

4. Implement new com- Just as important, these leaders also commit to

pensation models in order re-aligning career paths, performance evalua-
to create alternatives to tions, professional development activities and
seniority-based pay, reduce compensation plans in their districts toward the
attrition and reward effec- goal of raising student achievement.
tive teachers. Compensation

4 I the class project

 Orego
Clatsop n cla
Columbia ss dist
ricts

Designing CLASS Curry

Matching a Framework for Results

with Local Ingenuity

CLASS began with planning efforts during the 2007-08 school year in three
very different school districts: Sherwood, Forest Grove, and Tillamook.

Today, these three districts are in their second CLASS provides a framework, not directives.
year of implementation, and an additional nine While CLASS provides research and best practic-
districts are currently designing CLASS programs. es to draw upon in redesigning teacher devel-
opment systems, each CLASS district tailors its
In all, approximately 16% or almost one out of plans to meet the unique goals and needs of its
every six Oregon students (92,325 students) staff, students and community. Districts cre-
and 18% of Oregon teachers (5,221 teachers) ate CLASS designs that support their strategic
participate in districts that are engaged in the plans and school improvement goals.
CLASS Project.
For example, plans to support teacher effec-
Districts selected to participate in CLASS start by tiveness in the small coastal town of Tillamook
engaging in a one-year planning process, fol- do not look the same as those in the fastest-
lowed by a three-year implementation process growing district in the state, Sherwood. While
to test and refine their plans. Tillamook is focused on solutions for keeping
talented new teachers in the district, Sherwood
The Chalkboard Project provides significant
is focused on maintaining high-quality teach-
technical assistance and a grant ($30,000 on
ers in a growing workforce. Both plans aim to
average) to defray district expenses during the
improve teacher effectiveness, but they reflect
planning process, and it offers districts an aver-
the local needs.
age of $100 per student during the implementa-
tion phase to cover the The CLASS Project’s powerful combination of
costs of new compensa- a clear framework and district-specific plans
tion plans, performance tailored to meet student achievement goals en-
, evaluations, leadership ables the crucial grassroots buy-in—among edu-
D PRINCIPAL
TEACHER AN role development and
ICT: cators and union leaders in particular—that has
W O O D SC HOOL DISTR professional develop-
SHER proven elusive elsewhere. As a result, in each
Eric Bea sl e y ment. Districts provide district, CLASS is becoming the key vehicle for
matching funds and rethinking how professional development is
implem en ti ng are expected to as-
“Creating and ve sume the full costs of
offered, how new teachers are coached and
prehensi
a fair and com n CLASS initiatives after
mentored, how master teachers are identified
ev al uati o and deployed, and how all teachers are evalu-
performance the third year.
esse nt ia l ated and compensated.
system is an ri ct ’s
our di st
component to
im pr ovement.”
continuous
www.chalkboardproject.org I 5
 Teacher Development System
What needs to What does CLASS How have CLASS districts
improve in schools? ask districts to do? tackled this element?

preparing • Strengthen link to • Develop partnerships • Districts have created relationships with teacher
and hiring teacher preparation with teacher preparation preparation programs to ensure that all teachers are
programs programs prepared for work in the classroom.

• Create career • Provide new-teacher • In their first three years of teaching, all new teachers
paths for the most mentoring plus training in the CLASS districts receive ongoing guidance from
effective teachers for mentor teachers mentor teachers, who in turn are trained by research-
based teacher development programs.

evaluating • Evaluate • Conduct performance • Educator evaluations incorporate standards-based

performance evaluations that consider rubrics of professional practice, teaching effectiveness,
• Differentiate quality student learning results and multiple measures of student achievement.

developing • Provide targeted, • Re-design teacher • Districts offer ongoing, research-based, job-embedded
research-based professional professional development.
professional development to make
development it more collaborative • Professional development activities are embedded into
and relevant the teaching day or week (for example, early release or
late start days and professional learning communities),
rather than a disconnected add-on.

retaining • Create career • Identify highly effective • Districts adopted explicit definitions and ways of
paths for the most teachers and expanded recognizing professional career achievement (for
effective teachers career paths example: Novice, Emerging Professional, Accomplished
Professional, Master Teacher) or specialized roles (for
example: Mentor Teacher).

rewarding • Implement new • Develop incentive grants • Career-based pay and salary adders: Salary increases
compensation and progression pay are associated directly with career advancement and
models designed to reduce salary adders are offered for additional responsibilities
attrition and reward (such as serving as a mentor).
teachers for quality work
and new responsibilities • Alternative salary schedules: Alternatives to the
traditional compensation paths (20 to 30 steps, nine
to 12 lanes) get teachers to career high pay
faster, and are weighted towards rewarding
No one intervention
creates “an effective achievement.
teacher.”
A 21st century talent de • Performance-based awards (school or team
velopment system pa
element of the teacher ys relentless attention level): Additional pay (incentives) are granted
pipeline—including pre to every
ating, developing, retain paring, hiring, supportin to teachers (and sometimes administrators and
ing and rewarding. Th g, evalu-
school districts need to e Chalkboard Project classified employees, too) whose students meet
ensure these elements believes
are aligned. or exceed agreed-upon learning improvement
The CLASS Project pro
TM
goals tied to federal accountability rules or
vides districts with the
sential elements of the support to address the school improvement goals.
teacher pipeline. The se es-
evaluating, develop latter elements in partic
ing, retaining and rew ula r—
oftentimes, difficult to arding—can be conte
implement; these are ntious and,
approaches—and also the elements most in
are those that CLASS need of new
addresses most vigoro
usly.
6 I the oregon class project
What
Title Matters Most
Effective Teachers improve student learning

Better schools and higher student achievement depend on how well every
teacher is improving student learning.
Subhead

“The quality of an education system cannot Consider these examples from actual teacher
exceed the quality of its teachers,” concluded a professional growth plans in CLASS districts:
2007 study performed by McKinsey & Co. that
analyzed the world’s best-performing school • By May, among my 88 students, the 24
systems.5 students who nearly meet the eighth-grade
writing benchmark will meet it, and the 17
If we want better schools—and higher student who do not will improve by at least one level.
achievement—we need to more deliberately pay
attention to how well every teacher is improving • My three fifth-grade students with special
Copy
student learning and what we can do differently education plans will improve their achieve-
to support effective teaching. And for those who ment between pre- and post-test for each
aren’t effective and are struggling to get better, unit, scoring at least 80% on the post tests.
we need faster ways of finding out that informa-
• By May, 89% of my students will meet the
tion and acting on it.
third-grade benchmark in writing.
What’s different about the new national focus
on “teacher effectiveness” is the interest in mea-
suring outcomes—are students actually learning
more because of their teacher?—more than in-
puts such as what degree a teacher has earned DIREC
TO R ,
TILLA
or how long a teacher has taught. That’s a radi- MOOK
Ed Arm FOUN
cal change in emphasis, and it’s why CLASS has strong DATIO
N:
so few peers across the country.
“The C
LASS P
In partnership with the principal, every teacher is so in roject
line w in Tilla
comm ith the mook
in a CLASS district develops a specific, measur- unity t n eeds o
nesses hat ev f the
able goal for how he or she is going to increase are as en loc
help s k in a l b u si-
student learning—and how well these goals uppor g how
t this w they c
munit ork. O a n
are met becomes part of evaluating teaching y wan ur com
expert ts to in -
effectiveness, identifying both struggling and ise of vest in
teache our te t he
successful teachers, and targeting support and rs wan a c h ers an
ture o t to in d our
professional development. f the c vest in
ommu the fu
nity.” -

www.chalkboardproject.org I 7

www.chalkboardproject.org I 7
 Targets Met
Improving Student Achievement
in Tillamook, Sherwood, and
Forest Grove School Districts

The CLASS Project is improving teacher effectiveness by

encouraging teachers to set high, but attainable, goals for
student achievement and supporting them to meet those
goals. Here are examples of results in the project’s first
three implementation school districts:

• In Tillamook, a team of third-grade teachers deter-

mined to increase—from 14% to 70% by the end of the
year—the percentage of third-grade English-learning
students who could read at benchmark level in English,
as measured by the DIBELS test. The team adopted strat-
egies that included working together to communicate
about students’ progress and needs and using new cur-
riculum and technology targeted to student needs (such
as SMART boards and computers) to enhance instruction.
By June, 71% of the students were reading English at the
benchmark level for all third-graders.

• In Sherwood, a team of freshman teachers, high school

administrators, teachers involved in summer programs,
and counselors, set a goal to cut the percentage of fresh-
man failing one or more classes in half by the end of the
year. The team implemented new ways of encouraging
freshman success including: having teachers refer to the
middle school planner system, conducting parent trainings
on how to encourage success, linking the freshman teach-
ers together, and arranging for extra management sup-
port when students were struggling. By June, Sherwood
had seen the percentage of freshman failing one or more
classes drop from 14% to 7%.

• In Forest Grove, first-grade teachers and support staff at

Cornelius Elementary School aimed to increase first grad-
ers’ proficiency on a reading assessment that measures the
ability to make connections and discuss prior knowledge of
topics in informational texts—from 26% testing at proficien-
cy or higher at the beginning of the school year to a goal
of 87% at the end of the year. To achieve this goal, teach-
ers developed a strategy that included using learning logs,
observation charts and other specific teaching tools and
methods. The result: teachers actually exceeded their goal,
with a full 92% of students meeting or exceeding proficiency.

8 I the class project

 Clatsop

Charting Progress Curry

The Class Project’s promising early results

Although still a young initiative, results from CLASS’s first cohort of three
districts are encouraging.

The Chalkboard Project is closely tracking

TM
it is achievable with meaningful partnerships
the CLASS districts and has commissioned a
TM
and careful attention to the difficult issues that
rigorous evaluation to determine the impact can divide teachers and administrators. CLASS
of CLASS models on student learning and is catalyzing this change in participating districts
teacher effectiveness. because it:

Early student achievement results suggest par- • Makes measureable improvements in

ticipating CLASS districts are moving in the right student achievement the cornerstone of
direction. In most of the grade levels initially tar- district efforts;
geted by districts for CLASS innovations, there is
promising, continuing momentum in improved • Empowers local districts to meet their
student achievement—including spikes in both unique challenges;
state test scores and results of local diagnostic
• Emphasizes the development of expanded
assessments.
career paths for teachers so they see a clear
In addition to promising student achievement professional benefit and are recognized for
results, CLASS districts have shown additional their skills; and
evidence of success, including:
• Requires and carefully fosters union and
• Improved teacher retention; district leadership collaboration from the
beginning and throughout.
• Changes in teacher attitudes and beliefs and
increased opportunity for leadership and Just as significantly, by paying attention to
collaboration; and implementation details, CLASS is catalyzing a
movement in Oregon that—teacher by teacher,
• The emergence of new, progressive teacher school by school, and district by district—is
and union leaders passionate for reform. actually doing the tough work of transform-
ing a culture and a profession in the service of
School improvement experiences across the schoolchildren.
country show that implementation challenges
can cripple reform—and thus need to be ad- Through CLASS, the Chalkboard Project is build-
dressed early if such programs are to really take ing a track record of success—and aims to reach
hold. The promising results in Oregon CLASS a tipping point by engaging up to one-third of all
districts suggest that, while change is difficult, Oregon students by 2013.

www.chalkboardproject.org I 9
 Conclusion
1st Grade Teacher, Tillamook School District

Melissa Rose

“This year is my third year as a teacher

and South Prairie is the third school at
which I have worked. I have never felt, Ensuring students—especially those
even marginally, the level of support and from the neediest backgrounds—have
desire for collaboration that I have felt
the best possible teacher in their
here in Tillamook.
classroom is a pressing issue in every
Being able to discuss and share ideas state and school district in the nation.
with my team has made me more aware CLASS is forging a trail for how school
TM

of my own teaching, and given me

districts can engage school leaders,
ideas on how I can improve it as well.
teachers and other stakeholders to plan
I feel that having CLASS in Tillamook has made and implement real reforms, and it is
the biggest impact on the district through the creating innovative models for evaluat-
creation and use of data teams and the new
ing, retaining, supporting and rewarding
evaluation process.
teachers to help them grow the stron-
The information that is gathered and analyzed gest possible teaching force.
through the data teams is such a powerful
tool to use in the classroom. Through the
use of pre-testing, I know what my students CLASS is helping to change skeptical
know already and what they need to learn. As
attitudes and proving there are new
a result, I can tailor my instruction to them,
making our class time more effective. I use methods for maximizing teacher ef-
the post-test to ensure that they have made fectiveness that educators, administra-
gains and I can re-teach areas with which tors, local communities and reformers
students are struggling. can all support. As CLASS districts grow,
I’ve found the evaluation process here in refine their innovations and show sus-
tained success, the Chalkboard Project
TM
Tillamook more meaningful than in other
schools at which I have worked. It allows for expects these models will galvanize
both teacher and principal to reflect on the
other districts toward reform.
teacher’s strengths and weaknesses, which
I find important and useful. The criteria are
clearly defined and I never felt that any sec-
tion was particularly subjective. This makes
the evaluation even more valuable since I
can clearly see why I am scored the way I
am. I can look at my scores this year and
formulate goals for next year that will help
me continually grow as a teacher.”

10 I the class project

Additional Resources
Danielson, Charlotte. Enhancing Professional Practice: A Framework for Teaching, 2nd Edition.
(Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2007).

Danielson, Charlotte. Talk About Teaching! Leading Professional Conversations.

(Corwin Press, 2009).

Killion, Joellen and Patricia Roy. Becoming a Learning School. (National Staff Development
Council, 2009).

Moore Johnson, Susan and John P. Papay. Redesigning Teacher Pay: A System for the Next
Generation of Educators. (Economic Policy Institute, 2009).

Footnotes
1
Linda Darling-Hammond. Doing What Matters Most: Investing in Quality Teaching. (National Commission on Teach-
ing and America’s Future, 1997). See www.nctaf.org/resources/research_and_reports/nctaf_research_reports/rr_97_
what-matters-most.htm.

2
Robert Gordon, Thomas J. Kane and Douglas O. Staiger. “Identifying Effective Teachers Using Performance
on the Job.” Hamilton Project Discussion Paper (The Brookings Institution, 2006). See www.brookings.edu/
papers/2006/04education_gordon.aspx.

3
C. Kirabo Jackson and Elias Bruegmann. “Teaching Students and Teaching Each Other: The Importance of Peer
Learning for Teachers.” NBER Working Paper No. 15202. (National Bureau of Economic Research, August 2009). See
www.nber.org/papers/w15202.pdf.

4
Daniel Fallon. Case Study of a Paradigm Shift: The Value of Focusing on Instruction. (Education Research Summit,
December 4, 2003). See www.nctaf.org/resources/events/2004_summit-1/documents/Fallon_Case_Study.doc.

5
Michael Barber and Mona Mourshed. How the World’s Best-Performing School Systems Come Out on Top. (McKin-
sey & Co., September 2007). See www.mckinsey.com/clientservice/Social_Sector/our_practices/Education/Knowl-
edge_Highlights/Best_performing_school.aspx.

www.chalkboardproject.org I 11
221 NW Seco
nd Avenue, Su
Portland, OR ite 203
97209
1-877-YOURK
info@chalkboa 12
rdproject.org
ChalkboardP
roject.org