BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 430
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Date of Hearing: May 1, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
AB 430 (Olsen) - As Amended: March 11, 2013
SUBJECT : Teacher evaluation: Teacher Professional Growth Plan.
SUMMARY : Establishes the Teacher Professional Growth Plan, as
specified. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the Teacher Professional Growth Plan to commence with
the 2015-16 school year; requires the plan to be conducted at
all school districts; and, specifies this shall supersede
existing provisions governing the evaluation of certificated
employees that conflict.
2)Authorizes the governing board of a school district and the
exclusive representative of the certificated employees of the
school district to meet and confer regarding the establishment
of an alternative teacher evaluation system, specifies that if
the two parties reach an agreement by January 1, 2015, the
governing board of the school district shall adopt the
agreement by July 1, 2015; specifies that if the parties do
not reach an agreement, the governing board of the school
district shall conduct evaluations of certificated employees
pursuant to specified requirements; and, specifies that if the
parties agree upon an alternative teacher evaluation system,
the governing board of the school district shall use that
evaluation system.
3)Requires an alternative teacher evaluation system agreement
adopted to include the following:
a) Both value-added assessment measures and classroom
observation; and, specifies the value-added assessment
measures shall comprise at least one-third of the
alternative teacher evaluation system.
b) Teacher input, including, but not limited to, self
assessments and teacher portfolios.
4)Authorizes an alternative teacher evaluation system agreement
adopted to also include the following:
a) Student surveys.
b) Parent surveys.
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5)Requires, if the exclusive representative of the certificated
employees and the governing board of a school district do not
reach an agreement, the governing board of the school district
to conduct evaluations of certificated employees pursuant to
the following requirements:
a) All certificated employees, including those with
permanent status, shall be evaluated annually.
b) Fifty percent of an evaluation shall be based on the
academic growth experienced by pupils taught by the
certificated employee being evaluated, as measured by
assessments administered at the beginning and end of the
same school year.
c) Fifty percent of an evaluation shall be based on
classroom observations conducted by peers and the principal
of the school in which the evaluation takes place.
d) A certificated employee shall be evaluated as exemplary,
effective, developing, or needing improvement.
6)Requires, if it is determined after one year that a
certificated employee with permanent status needs improvement,
that employee to lose permanent status and be placed on
probation; and, specifies that while on probation, the
governing board of the school district shall provide that
employee with professional training and development, as the
governing board determines appropriate.
7)Requires the permanent status of a certificated employee
placed on probation to be renewed if it is determined in the
following year that the employee no longer needs improvement;
and, requires that if the employee continues to need
improvement the following year, the employee shall remain on
probation for a second year.
8)Requires the permanent status of a certificated employee who
remains on probation for a second year to be renewed if it is
determined at the end of the second year on probation that the
employee no longer needs improvement; requires that if the
employee continues to need improvement at the end of the
second year on probation, the school district to dismiss the
certificated employee; and, specifies that existing provisions
governing the dismissal of permanent certificated employees
shall apply.
EXISTING LAW :
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1)Establishes the Stull Act, enacted in 1971, which governs
certificated employee evaluations and requires school
districts to evaluate and assess teacher performance as it
reasonability relates to pupil performance on criterion
referenced tests, teacher technique and strategies, curricular
objectives, and the maintenance of a suitable learning
environment. Specifies that in the development and adoption
of evaluation guidelines and procedures, the governing board
shall avail itself of the advice of the certificated
instructional personnel in the district's organization of
certificated personnel pursuant to collective bargaining
statutes. Specifies that a school district may, by mutual
agreement between the exclusive representative of the
certificated employees of the school district and the
governing board of the school district, include any objective
standards from the National Board for Professional Teaching
Standards or any objective standards from the California
Standards for the Teaching Profession. Specifies that teacher
evaluations shall be made on a continuing basis at least once
each school year for probationary personnel; at least every
other year for personnel with permanent status; and, at least
every five years for personnel with permanent status who have
been employed at least 10 years with the school district, are
highly qualified, if those personnel occupy positions that are
required to be filled by a highly qualified professional, and
whose previous evaluation rated the employee as meeting or
exceeding standards, if the evaluator and certificated
employee being evaluated agree. Specifies that an employee
who receives an unsatisfactory rating in the area of teaching
methods or instruction may be required to participate in a
program designed to improve appropriate areas of the
employee's performance; and, requires if a school district
participates in the Peer Assistance and Review Program for
Teachers (PAR), employees who receive an unsatisfactory rating
shall participate in PAR. (Education Code 44660 et. seq.)
2)Establishes the Peer Assistance and Review Program for
Teachers (PAR) by authorizing school districts and the
exclusive representative of the certificated employees to
develop and implement the program locally. Specifies that
assistance and review shall include multiple observations of a
teacher during periods of classroom instruction. Specifies
the program shall expect and strongly encourage a cooperative
relationship between the consulting teacher and the principal
with respect to the process of peer assistance and review.
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Specifies the school district shall provide sufficient staff
development activities to assist a teacher to improve his or
her teaching skills and knowledge. Specifies the final
evaluation of a teacher's participation in the program shall
be made available for placement in the personnel file of the
teacher receiving assistance. (Education Code 44505)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : According to the author, California's education
system is in need of tremendous improvement. We are the 47th
lowest achieving state in K-12 public education. A contributing
factor is the lack of professional support for teachers. The
Stull Act formed the foundation of an evaluation process in
schools; however, it must be modernized to better meet the needs
of students and teachers to be truly effective. The Stull Act
does not provide a state standard for teacher assessment. It
simply outlines the need for evaluation measures in each school.
The Act is inefficient because it has few guidelines and no
power to ensure that schools comply with the law. How are we
supposed to expect teachers to be meeting specific standards of
success when we haven't outlined paths to achievement or
definitions of success. Existing law leaves empirical data
completely out of the performance evaluation. Much research has
established the need for value-added measures in any assessment
process, as most recently studied by the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation. AB 430 would truly modernize the Stull Act and
bring the assessment process into the 21st century.
Two Tiered Evaluation System : This bill proposes a two tiered
evaluation system. First, the bill authorizes a district and a
local bargaining unit to meet and confer to try to come to
agreement on an evaluation system by January 1, 2015, with the
requirement that the evaluation include value-added assessment
measures (comprising at least 1/3 of the evaluation), classroom
observations and teacher input including but not limited to
self-assessments and teacher portfolios. The bill further
authorizes this agreed upon evaluation to including student
surveys and parent surveys. The committee should note that the
requirement to "meet and confer" may not require the district
and the local bargaining unit to "mutually agree." The committee
should consider whether "meet and confer" or "mutual agreement"
would actually require the two parties to "negotiate" an
evaluation system.
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Second, the bill requires a school district that does not agree
upon an evaluation system with their local bargaining unit by
January 1, 2015 to implement an evaluation system with the
following requirements:
1) Annual evaluations of all certificated employees.
2) 50% of the evaluation based on academic growth
experienced by students as measured by assessments given at
the beginning of the year and the end of the year.
3) 50% of the evaluation based on classroom observations
conducted by peers and the principal.
4) Evaluation performance bands of "exemplary,"
"effective," "developing," and "needs improvement."
5) Permanent employees who receive a "needs improvement"
ranking on their evaluation shall lose permanent status,
shall be placed on probation and shall receive professional
training and development from the district, as appropriate.
In the following year, if the employee no longer needs
improvement they shall be renewed and if the employee
continues to need improvement they shall stay on probation
a second year. If the employee continues to need
improvement after the second year of professional training,
the district shall dismiss the employee.
The Use of Assessments in Evaluation : This bill requires
"value-added assessment measures" to be included in the locally
agreed upon evaluation system and instead requires "academic
growth experienced by students as measured by assessments given
at the beginning of the year and the end of the year" for the
state prescribed evaluation system. This raises several
questions that the committee should consider. First, the bill
does not provide a definition of "value-added assessment
measures" and that term does not appear elsewhere in the
education code. The term "value-added assessment" is a term of
art, generally used to describe tests that are designed to show
the amount of information a student learns during the year,
while being taught by a teacher. The idea is that the assessment
will measure how much "value" the teacher "added" to the
student's knowledge during that year. Because the term is not
defined in the bill and because the state does not have a
state-wide "value-added assessment" system, there could be a
wide range of assessments that are created and used at the local
district level that would be trying to meet this undefined
requirement. There could also be a large discrepancy among
districts in determining what would satisfy this requirement. In
addition to the different assessments that might be created and
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used, the way they are used for evaluation could be quite
different among districts. For example, a teacher could be found
to be "effective" in one district but the same criteria could
label someone "developing" in another district. Further there
could be significant cost pressure on districts to create
"value-added assessments."
Evaluation Frequency : This bill requires annual evaluation of
all certificated employees. The committee should consider
whether this will be possible given the fact that many schools
have a single principal. If the committee agrees that annual
evaluation is appropriate, the committee should further consider
whether it will be possible for principals to receive enough
support from the district to accomplish this starting year one,
while at the same time implementing a new evaluation system.
Professional Development : This bill specifies that for the
state prescribed evaluation system, teachers who receive a
"needs improvement" rating on their evaluation shall receive up
to two years of instructional support. The bill does not,
however, specify how such instructional support shall be
provided. Existing law specifies that if a school district has
a PAR program in place, they must refer teachers who receive an
unsatisfactory review to the PAR program for improvement;
however, the bill does not include this same requirement.
The Stull Act : This bill creates a new evaluation system, but
does not delete the existing evaluation system prescribed by the
Stull Act. The Stull Act requires certain student performance
data to be included in the evaluation. Specifically it states
that certificated employees shall be evaluated on the progress
of pupils toward the grade level standards and, if applicable,
the state adopted academic content standards as measured by
state adopted criterion referenced assessments. This bill
requires "value-added assessment measures" to be included in the
agreed upon evaluation system and instead requires "academic
growth experienced by students as measured by assessments given
at the beginning of the year and the end of the year" for the
state prescribed evaluation system. The committee should
consider whether this creates a conflict in code and whether it
will be clear to districts which code section they are to comply
with and which student assessments should be included in the
evaluation.
Performance Bands : This bill requires the state prescribed
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evaluation system to use four prescribed performance bands which
include: "exemplary," "effective," "developing," and "needs
improvement." The committee should consider whether four
performance levels would be the appropriate number, and whether
the four levels specified in the bill are the most effective
performance level descriptors that should be used state-wide.
Related Legislation : AB 135 (Buchanan), which is pending in the
Assembly Education Committee, specifies that certificated
employees with more than 10 years' experience shall be evaluated
at least every 3 years, instead of every 5 years, as specified.
Previous Legislation : AB 5 (Fuentes), which was held in the
Senate Rules Committee, would have repealed and replaced various
provisions of existing law governing the evaluation of
certificated employees and beginning July 1, 2014, required
school districts to implement a best practices teacher
evaluation system, as specified.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Manhattan Beach Council of PTAs
Opposition
California Federation of Teachers
California School Boards Association
California Teachers Association
Modesto Teachers Association
Public Advocates
Analysis Prepared by : Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087