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It is that time of the school year again. Spring break has come and gone. The semester is in full swing for teachers and students, and the end of the school year is only visible on the distant horizon. It is also time to think seriously about your annual appraisal. Our fall 2006 issue included an appraisal article designed to help you plan for and be aware of different issues that might impact your appraisal throughout the school year. This followup article is intended to answer some common questions that could impact your appraisal this spring.
[The following information is applicable to teacher evaluation in school districts utilizing the state-recommended appraisal process – the Professional Development and Appraisal System [PDAS]. Issues similar to those addressed below which arise under a locally developed appraisal process will require that teachers review their school district’s relevant local policies and procedures.]
Q: I have had several walk-throughs, but have not been provided any written documentation. When can I expect my formal observation?
Q: My principal has always provided me with a “window” for conducting my formal observation; can he/she now make unannounced observations?
Q: We have a new administrative team at my campus and our principal has already indicated that teacher appraisal scores will “drop” this year. Is this legal, and what can I do to protect myself from a bad appraisal?
Q: My appraiser makes unscheduled observations. What if I am simply having a bad day (or class), or the lesson or planned activities do not lend themselves to a PDAS-type of observation?
Q: What if the appraiser does not have the opportunity to score certain criteria, has to leave before I finish the lesson or, for example, I am not using technology that day. Am I scored “below expectations” for any related criteria?
Q: OK, but my problem is that it has also been 10 days since my observation report and I have not received my Observation Summary Report (OSR). Should I contact my appraiser and remind her?
Q: Eight working days passed since my formal observation and then I received my OSR. I am not happy with the scoring, now what do I do?
Q: How do I determine which remedy is best for my situation?
Q: Are appraisal changes ahead?
Q: I have had several walk-throughs, but have not been provided any written documentation. When can I expect my formal observation?
A: As obvious as it seems, you may simply wish to ask the administrator assigned as your primary appraiser this question. In addition, the PDAS rules require that school districts annually develop an appraisal calendar specifically noting days excluded for purposes of formal observation under the PDAS rules and local policy.
Also, while written documentation is not required for every walk-through, any documentation that will influence the teacher’s Summative Annual Appraisal Report must be shared in writing with the teacher within 10 working days of the appraiser’s knowledge of the occurrence. Otherwise, such documentation may not be used to negatively affect your Summative Annual Appraisal Report.
Q: My principal has always provided me with a “window” for conducting my formal observation; can he/she now make unannounced observations?
A: The Texas Education Code provides that advance notice of the date or time of an appraisal may be given, but is not required. This means that notice is a local district decision, and in some cases, the decision may be left up to the campus administrator. Scheduling of appraisals (including requested or required second appraisals) should be addressed by policy DNA [LOCAL].
Q: We have a new administrative team at my campus and our principal has already indicated that teacher appraisal scores will “drop” this year. Is this legal, and what can I do to protect myself from a bad appraisal?
A: While a teacher’s appraisal should not be influenced by personal feelings or bias of the appraiser or be in violation of the PDAS rules, the appraisal process has inherently subjective components. Obviously, some appraisers will score teachers differently than other appraisers, and appraisers will differ in their expectations despite the same training and appraisal framework. Scoring of Domains I – IV and the first three criteria in Domain V is based on classroom observations (formal and walk-throughs). Therefore, the scoring of these criteria will be based on the subjective judgment of the appraiser.
Still, you may be able to gain some understanding of your appraiser’s perspective and expectations. First, review your district’s policy DNA [LOCAL] for such things as observation schedules, days prohibited for observations, and whether the appraisal is scheduled by date and time, within a “window,” or is unscheduled. Next, take the opportunity to schedule a pre-observation conference (your right) with your appraiser to discuss what he/she expects to see and considers as qualities most indicative of a good teacher. [Remember: a “Proficient” score(s) should not be equated with “average.” TEA did not intend this interpretation. Proficient is synonymous with “accomplished,” “competent,” “adept,” “skilled” and “expert.”]
Your appraiser may also be willing to do a “practice run,” i.e., conducting an observation for formative purposes only. Your colleagues may be able to provide insight as well, especially if they have been formally observed and you are familiar with their teaching styles and ability. Finally, if you have some input in scheduling the appraisal, you may wish to consider individual classes, subjects that you are most comfortable with, and the time of the school day and how that affects both students and the teacher.
Q: My appraiser makes unscheduled observations. What if I am simply having a bad day (or class), or the lesson or planned activities do not lend themselves to a PDAS-type of observation?
A: Some districts do provide for “bad” days, classes or lessons. Again, your DNA [LOCAL] policy may provide you and/or your appraiser with the option of “waving off” an observation. In most cases, your appraiser may reschedule your observation as long as other state and local rules are observed.
Also, teachers are usually expected to have lesson plans done in advance. These should help you schedule the observation if you have input in the process. Otherwise, your appraiser will be able to review the plans and schedule around classroom activities not appropriate for conducting a formal observation or perhaps conduct a short walk-through visit instead.
Q: What if the appraiser does not have the opportunity to score certain criteria, has to leave before I finish the lesson or, for example, I am not using technology that day. Am I scored “below expectations” for any related criteria?
A: This question raises several good issues. First, and most importantly, the PDAS process does not contemplate an appraiser penalizing a teacher when there is not an opportunity to observe certain criteria. Additional observations may be necessary. Remember, the state PDAS rules provide for “at least one classroom observation of a minimum of 45 minutes.” And, there are absolutely no limits on walk-throughs under those rules.
Some school districts will actually provide for (under local appraisal policies) multiple observations and numerous walk-throughs. In the same way that districts may adopt local policies providing for waiver of annual appraisal for well-performing teachers, they may also adopt policies providing for additional observation requirements for teachers new to the district, employed under a probationary contract or experiencing difficulties in the classroom.
The good news is that under the PDAS an appraiser may use “inference” in the evaluation of classroom observable criteria. Inference may be applied in domains with a sufficient number of different criteria (Domains I – V and VIII). Specifically, if at least 80 percent of the criteria in a given domain are observed to be at the proficient level or above, the PDAS allows an appraiser to infer a rating of “proficient” for the remaining criteria (and the domain). This latitude could certainly take care of that technology issue for Domain II.
Q: OK, but my problem is that it has also been 10 days since my observation report and I have not received my Observation Summary Report (OSR). Should I contact my appraiser and remind her?
A: First, please note that the timeline for providing the OSR to teachers is 10 working days after the formal observation is conducted. Further, the teacher’s best strategy in this situation is to do nothing to alert the appraiser to a possible timeline issue. If the teacher receives her OSR after the timeline has run, the options belong to her. If the OSR is scored to the teacher’s satisfaction, she may waive the timeline defect and accept the report. On the other hand, a poorly scored OSR may be VOIDED by the teacher because of the failure of the appraiser to comply with mandatory PDAS rules. [NOTE: A line of decisions by the Commissioner of Education has upheld this remedy for teachers when appraisers fail to comply with mandatory PDAS rules. See Koehler v. La Grange ISD, Docket No. 092-R10-801 (Comm’r of Educ. 2002), a TCTA-litigated case where this remedy was again recognized.]
Q: Eight working days passed since my formal observation and then I received my OSR. I am not happy with the scoring, now what do I do?
A: There are three possible remedies available for a teacher receiving an unsatisfactory OSR – these apply to the later-issued Summative Annual Appraisal Report as well.
A teacher may submit a written rebuttal and/or a written request for a second appraisal by a different appraiser – both must be presented to the appraiser no later than 10 working days after receiving the unsatisfactory report. In addition, a teacher may file a grievance as provided for under district policy DGBA [LOCAL] within the required time, usually 15 calendar days or workdays, depending on your specific district’s policy.
Q: How do I determine which remedy is best for my situation?
A: THIS IS THE POINT AT WHICH YOU SHOULD IMMEDIATELY CONTACT THE TCTA LEGAL DEPARTMENT FOR ASSISTANCE (toll-free at 888-879-8282), FORWARDING YOUR OSR BY FAX (512-652-0048) OR OTHERWISE, IN ADVANCE IF POSSIBLE.
Three considerations are important to help a teacher arrive at the best possible remedy (or remedies): 1) the type of documentation related to the negative scoring; 2) the degree of the negative scoring; and 3) the specific domains affected. All three remedies may be utilized if appropriate.
Submitting a written rebuttal should be viewed as a tool intended to persuade your appraiser to reconsider objectionable scoring on the report. Therefore, the rebuttal should entail an objective point-by-point discussion of your disagreement with the observation report. This remedy should be strongly considered when only addressing a few, isolated criteria in an otherwise satisfactory observation report. When drafting a rebuttal, please keep in mind that this document will become a permanent part of your current appraisal record. Therefore, the “tone” of the document should be very professional in nature.
When requesting a second appraisal by another appraiser, several limitations and cautions should be kept in mind. The second appraisal results for Domains I - V will be derived from the second appraiser’s own formal observation, walk-throughs, and possibly cumulative data. This remedy should be considered if two or more domains are scored significantly below “proficient.” In order to evaluate Domains VI - VIII, your second appraiser will utilize your Teacher Self-Report as well as the cumulative data from the first appraisal. Therefore, a second appraisal will rarely be an appropriate remedy for negative scoring limited to the latter three domains, since the scoring of these domains is limited to consideration of cumulative data previously developed.
Other considerations include the relative weight assigned to the two appraisal results. This will be determined by local policy, however many school districts assign equal weight to the two evaluations and average scores by domain. In addition, many teachers will want to consider the “roster” and procedure used for assigning a second appraiser. In many cases, size of the district will dictate both the available alternate appraisers and the process. Therefore, your second appraisal may be performed by another campus administrator or central office personnel in a larger district, while a smaller district may seek properly trained appraisers from other campuses, districts or even the regional education service center.
Grievances concerning the scoring of Domains I-IV may be more difficult, absent a showing of undue bias or abuse of discretion, as such involve challenging a trained appraiser’s subjective judgment. A grievance addressing procedural and/or legal defects such as an appraiser failing to meet the applicable timeline or other violations of the PDAS rules has a better chance of being upheld.
A grievance may be required concerning the lack of proper documentation for negative scoring of PDAS Domains VI - VIII (and criteria 4-6 of Domain V). These domains are not based on classroom observation, but other, cumulative data. An oft-ignored PDAS requirement concerning these latter criteria is the mandate that any documentation that will influence the teacher’s Summative Annual Appraisal Report must be shared in writing with the teacher within 10 working days of the appraiser’s knowledge of the occurrence. Further, Domain VII is presumed “proficient,” absent documentation to the contrary. A timely grievance addressing violation of these rules should enable the teacher to VOID the negative scoring.
Last, but not least, are the requirements that 1) the written Summative Annual Appraisal Report shall be shared with the teacher no later than five working days before the summative conference and no later than 15 working days before the last day of instruction for students, and 2) (unless waived in writing) the summative conference shall be held within a time frame specified on the school district calendar and no later than 15 working days before the last day of instruction for students. In the case of a poorly scored summative report, this procedural tardiness will allow the teacher to VOID the appraisal document.
Your concerns in this area and other questions should be timely addressed with the TCTA Legal Department by calling toll-free at (888) 879-8282.
Q: Are appraisal changes ahead?
A: The appraisal system used by most school districts, the Professional Development and Appraisal System (PDAS), exists in the form of a Commissioner’s rule developed in 1997, when Dr. Mike Moses was serving as Commissioner of Education. That rule also provides authority for local districts to adopt an alternative appraisal system, to be developed by the school district-level planning and decision-making committee, though most districts have chosen to stay with the state-developed PDAS.
The PDAS, as is customary for Commissioner rules, is up for reauthorization this year. Unfortunately, the Governor’s Business Council (the folks who pushed so hard for incentive pay last session and who have no official standing with the Governor’s office, despite the organization’s name) is recommending a much greater student performance component in teacher assessment. Groundwork for possible changes to the PDAS to incorporate more student performance measures is being laid in GBC-backed bills that have already been filed, including HB 3423 and SB 1643.
TCTA will continue to make the points that student test scores measure student, not teacher, performance, and that no methods of measuring teacher impact on student performance growth have been validated. Tightening the thumbscrews further on teachers is not going to produce better test scores. We’ll keep you posted on both legislative and Commissioner developments regarding appraisal.
Web posted: 03/27/07, from The Classroom Teacher (Spring 2007)
