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Teacher Effectiveness Data Shows Improvement
Feb. 13, 2019 – The percentage of GCS teachers whose students exceeded growth is on the rise in the district’s lowest performing schools. The Board of Education heard a report Tuesday on teacher EVAAS growth scores in low-performing schools. EVAAS stands for Education Value-Added Assessment System and is used to evaluate the effectiveness of classroom teachers and schools.
The report pertains to Goal V of the Strategic Plan, which calls on the district to decrease the achievement gap between black and Latino students and their white peers by 7 percentage points by 2022. Currently, gaps range from 25-37 percent in reading and math.
The teacher EVAAS report looked at data from all schools, as well as at the lowest performing schools in the district. EVAAS growth declined between 2016-17 and 2017-18.
In response, the district reassigned teachers so that some teachers with higher EVAAS scores were placed in schools with lower performance, and expanded the number of schools using a restart model to implement change. Since that action in summer 2018, the teacher EVAAS data shows an increase in the number of teachers exceeding growth in our lowest performing schools, from 10.3 percent to 13.8 percent.
“We are encouraged by these numbers, because they show that our most effective teachers are in position to make a difference in the schools that need them the most,” said Brian Schultz, chief academic officer.
The district is continuing to invest in more professional development and implemented Performance Matters, a professional development platform and assessment tool that gives teachers real-time feedback on the subject areas where students need greater reinforcement. GCS also offers Opportunity Culture and other incentive programs for teachers in the highest-needs schools.