Nearly 90 Percent Of Hoosier Teachers Rated 'Effective' Or 'Highly Effective'

INDIANAPOLIS – A two-year-old teacher evaluation system has led to “effective” or “highly effective” ratings for the vast majority of educators – again.

The number of teachers and administrators ranked in the top two categories rose slightly from nearly 88 percent last year to 89 percent this year. The overall state rankings showed that only a fraction of 1 percent of teachers are ranked ineffective, which is the lowest category.

The General Assembly created the evaluation system in 2011 and required public schools to establish a system to review their educators.

The law doesn’t mandate a specific evaluation system but does require student test results to play a “significant” role in determining the ratings. Classroom observations and school performance can be other factors. Districts were able to develop their own systems for determining teacher ratings or choose among several models.

The State Board of Education will review the ratings at a meeting Wednesday.

State law requires every public school district to evaluate its teachers and report the information to the state, although charter schools reported for the first time this year. However, several dozen districts settled their collective bargaining agreements before the law took effect on July 1, 2011 and were therefore not required to submit data. Those districts will be subject to the law when their contracts expire and new ones are established.

The ratings are based in part on student test scores, although other factors are considered and state law doesn’t mandate how large a factor student achievement must be.

House Education Chairman Robert Behning, R-Indianapolis, said Tuesday that teachers have shared concerns with him about changing the system and making sure that growth in student achievement – rather than raw test scores – “be the determinant factor.”

The State Board of Education has recommended that lawmakers set more specific guidelines or rules for the role that student achievement plays in teacher ratings. Behning said that “will be something we will be probably debate over the session”

He also said lawmakers will consider adding a parental component to the evaluation system.

“It gives (parents) more engagement and lets them see how well the teacher does in terms of engagement in the classroom,” Behning said. “I can’t say that I definitely know that we are going to move forward on changing it.”

Democrats, though, say the teacher evaluation results show that educators are doing a good job.

“One thing we’re starting to hear is that we shouldn’t be blaming our teachers for everything that we perceive is wrong with education,” said House Minority Leader Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City. “And I’m starting to hear that from my friends across the aisle.”

Erika Brock is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.