Minnesota State Teacher Development, Evaluation and Peer Support Model Pilot: Initial Evaluation Report

Abstract

Minnesota Statute requires that districts begin evaluating teachers in the 2014-2015 school year. In response to the statute, during early winter 2011, the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) convened a work group to consult with the Commissioner to develop a state model for teacher growth and development. In winter 2013, MDE released the Minnesota State Teacher Development, Evaluation, and Peer Support Model (hereafter “Model”) and began planning for a pilot of the Model during the 2013- 2014 school year (hereafter “Pilot”).

The Model includes three components: 1) teacher practice, 2) student engagement, and 3) student learning and achievement. Sixteen school districts and one charter school across Minnesota agreed to participate in the Pilot. Six of the districts are implementing the full Model (all three components) and nine districts are implementing one or two components of the Model. The size of participating districts varies widely, ranging from 287 students to 7,356 students.

In August 2013, the Joyce Foundation funded the University of Minnesota’s Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI) to conduct an evaluation of the Pilot. This report summarizes results of surveys and interviews conducted during November and December 2013 with Pilot participants.

This status report is the first of three reports. The report for the entire Pilot year will be available in August 2014 and a final report, which will include information on the value-added assessments, an element of the student learning and achievement component, will be submitted to the Joyce Foundation in December 2014. The data in this report is preliminary and encompasses only the first three months of the school year; thus readers should not over-generalize the findings or conclusions presented here. The purpose of this interim report is to provide formative feedback to the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE).