Excellent Teaching

Ensure students, especially low-income students, have well-trained and highly effective teachers with effective professional development opportunities.

Why This Recommendation Is Necessary

Because teachers are the single most important factor in a student’s academic success, we need to develop an education system that prepares and attracts highly skilled teachers, continually evaluates and professionally develops them, and acknowledges and compensates those who are highly effective.

Teachers are the single most important factor in a student’s academic success. That’s why we need highly skilled teachers who are continually evaluated, professionally developed, and appropriately compensated.

That’s why we have called for:

Improving teacher preparation programs so that candidates must demonstrate both content knowledge and instructional skills in order to earn teaching degrees;
Implementing a teacher evaluation system in which preponderant weight is given to growth in student achievement, in addition to other factors;
Compensating, supporting and developing teachers throughout their careers to keep effective teachers teaching;
Making effectiveness (demonstrated through evaluations) the heart of tenure decisions; and
Attracting highly effective teachers to the most challenged schools.

Interested in the details of building a system that fosters excellent teaching? It’s all there on pages 17-20 of our report!

2014 Policy Progress Report

Our 2014 Policy Progress Report uses a rubric, based on our policy recommendations, to track our state’s progress in effecting the changes needed to narrow Connecticut’s widest-in-the-nation achievement gap. While tremendous progress has been made over the last few years, comparatively little progress was made in 2014. You can read the entire 2014 Policy Progress Report here, or learn about our state’s progress in promoting Excellent Teaching below.

4(a) Improve the Process and Outcomes of Teacher Preparation Programs

Connecticut receives 0 out of 4 points for improving teacher preparation programs. Connecticut’s Educator Preparation Advisory Council (EPAC) is still working to prepare recommendations about educator preparation programs.70 One of the considerations in EPAC’s framework—the quality of prospective educators and the effectiveness of those candidates in the classroom—suggests that comprehensive reform is needed.71 In order to improve the process and outcomes of teacher preparation programs, the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) should develop clear coursework guidelines, and should link teacher effectiveness—based upon evaluation results—to teacher preparation programs. In addition, prospective teachers should have extensive in-classroom experiences, including at least one field experience in a high-poverty school. When preparation programs do not produce enough effective teachers, the CSDE should revoke approval of these programs. Finally, the CSDE should tie Alternate Route to Certification programs to effectiveness measures instead of using the standards of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.	4(a) IMPROVE THE PROCESS AND OUTCOMES OF TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAMS RUBRIC
	0 out of 4 Available Points
		The CSDE provides clear coursework guidelines for teacher preparation programs to produce effective teachers-including requiring all elementary and special education teachers to pass the Foundations of Reading and Math assessments.
		The CSDE requires teacher candidates to have more in-classroom field experiences, including at least one field experience in a high-poverty school with an effective teacher.
		The CSDE requires all teacher preparation programs to publicly report data on their students and graduates, and revokes approval of teacher preparation programs that do not produce enough effective teachers.
		The CSBE increases the growth of Alternate Route to Certification (ARC) programs by allowing effectiveness measures to be substituted for the standards of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.

70. Connecticut State Department of Education (n.d.). Educator Preparation Advisory Council (EPAC). Retrieved June 2014 at http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/cwp/view.asp?a=2760&Q=334636.
71. Connecticut State Department of Education (2013). Interim Report of the Educator Preparation Advisory Council (EPAC): Recommended Principles for Reforming Teacher Preparation in Connecticut. Retrieved June 2014 at http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/pdf/epac/attachment_a_epac_report_04_2013.pdf.

4(b) Weight Teacher Evaluation Towards Student Achievement

Connecticut receives 1 out of 4 points for tying teacher evaluation and support to student achievement. In 2012, the Performance Evaluation Advisory Council (PEAC) established that 45% of a teacher’s overall evaluation would be based on student growth indicators.72 Half of these student growth indicators were to be linked to statewide assessments. This new system was piloted in the 2012-2013 school year.73 74 However, Connecticut still needs to link evaluation results to teacher compensation and placement, and prioritize variables besides seniority in layoff decisions. Connecticut should also build a K-12 data system that links teacher evaluation results to student, course, and administrative data. In the fall of 2014, the state will be collecting data linking teacher, course, and student information.75 Although not sufficient to establish a larger K-12 data system, this collection of data will be an important precursor.	4(b) WEIGHT TEACHER EVALUATION TOWARDS STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT RUBRIC
	1 out of 4 Available Points
		Districts are required to use a teacher evaluation system that gives significant weight to student growth.
		The evaluation system is tied to compensation and placement, and protects against arbitrary dismissals.
		Connecticut institutes a K-12 data system that links student, teacher, course, and administrative data.
		Legislation requires variables besides seniority to be used in teacher layoff decisions.

72. Connecticut State Department of Education (n.d.). Connecticut Guidelines for Educator Evaluation and Support. Retrieved June 2014 at http://www.connecticutseed.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Connecticut_Guidelines_for_Educator_Evaluation_and_Support.pdf.
73. Neag School of Education (2014). An Evaluation of the Pilot Implementation of Connecticut’s System for Educator Evaluation and Development. Retrieved June 2014 at http://www.connecticutseed.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Neag_Final_SEED_Report_1-1-2014.pdf.
74. In 2014, concerns related to a new standardized assessment led PEAC to recommend that the assessment component should be delayed from teachers’ evaluations until 2015-2016. (Connecticut State Department of Education Press Release (2014). Educators Receive Flexibility and Support as Multiple Reforms Implemented Across State. Retrieved June 2014 at http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/pdf/pressroom/educators_receive_flexibility_and_support.pdf.) The remaining 22.5% of a teacher’s evaluation will still be based on other indicators of student growth. In addition, the assessment component is expected to be continued in the 2015-2016 school year.
75. Pryor, S. (2013). Data Collection Updates. Retrieved June 2014 at http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/DataCollectionUpdates2013-14_pdf.pdf.

4(c) Keep Effective Teachers Teaching

Connecticut receives 1 out of 3 points for practices to develop and retain effective teachers. Research indicates that professional development has the power to change the way teachers teach and how much their students learn.76 For that reason, Connecticut has made professional development a central focus of its reform efforts. As Connecticut enters its second year of implementing the new teacher evaluation and support system, school districts are being required to provide tailored professional development based upon the needs of individual teachers.77 After developing effective teachers, however, the state should do more to retain them by aligning teacher compensation with performance bonuses and a career ladder framework.	4(c) KEEP EFFECTIVE TEACHERS TEACHING RUBRIC
	1 out of 3 Available Points
		Legislation restructures teacher compensation by requiring it to be aligned with a tiered career ladder framework.
		Legislation restructures teacher compensation by requiring it to be aligned with performance bonuses.
		CT establishes a statewide system linking professional development to effectiveness so that teachers receive clear feedback about how to improve their instructional practices.

76. DeMonte, J. (Center for American Progress) (2013). High-Quality Professional Development for Teachers: Supporting Teacher Training to Improve Student Learning, p. 4-6. Retrieved August 2014 at http://www.doe.in.gov/sites/default/files/evaluations/professional-development-report.pdf.
77. C.G.S. 10-151b of the 2014 Supplement to the General Statutes.

4(d) Relate Teacher Tenure to Effectiveness

Connecticut receives 4 out of 4 points for tying teacher tenure to effectiveness. Legislation passed in 2012 incorporated the new teacher evaluation and support system—which measures effectiveness—into the determination of whether teachers will receive tenure protections.78 Teachers rated as “ineffective” in the new evaluation and support system will be given a year of individualized professional development, and should be terminated upon failure to improve.79 In addition, teachers who have tenure may also be removed for ineffectiveness.80	4(d) RELATE TEACHER TENURE TO EFFECTIVENESS RUBRIC
	4 out of 4 Available Points
		School districts are required to use teacher evaluations as the basis for imposing additional training requirements and termination of ineffective teachers.
		School districts are required to give ineffective teachers a specific period of time for improvement.
		The Teacher Tenure Act is modified so that tenure ceases to be a barrier to the timely removal of persistently ineffective teachers.
		The Teacher Tenure Act is modified so that tenure is only granted to teachers who have demonstrated teaching effectiveness.

78. C.G.S. 10-151.
79. Ibid.
80. Ibid.

4(e) Get Highly Effective Teachers to the Lowest-Performing Schools

Connecticut receives 0 out of 4 points for attracting and retaining highly effective teachers in the districts and schools that have the greatest need. In order to move effective teachers to the lowest-performing districts—where they are most needed—Connecticut should publicly report anonymous data on the distribution of effective teachers across districts. Philanthropic organizations also should be permitted to provide financial incentives for highly effective teachers to work in the districts with greatest need. Additionally, philanthropic organizations should be permitted to help develop effectiveness by supporting and funding mentoring for teachers already in these districts. Finally, Connecticut should require or provide incentives for teachers to give early notice of plans to leave their school districts. This will allow school districts to know about upcoming vacancies sooner, so that they can search for and hire effective teachers to fill them.	4(e) GET HIGHLY EFFECTIVE TEACHERS TO THE LOWEST-PERFORMING SCHOOLS RUBRIC
	0 out of 4 Available Points
		Legislation permits philanthropic assistance to be earmarked for financial incentives to attract and retain highly effective teachers in the lowest-performing districts.
		Legislation permits philanthropic assistance to be earmarked to fund additional support and mentoring for teachers in these districts.
		Legislation requires teachers to give notice of plans to leave their school districts by March.
		Legislation requires the state to publicly report anonymous data on the distribution of teachers by effectiveness.