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By Lauren Roth Richmond -- Virginia's weak teacher accountability provisions are getting a fresh look. According to plans presented to the state Board of Education on Thursday, new guidelines would require evaluations to consider student growth as a "significant" factor. Current law only requires evaluations to be conducted every three years and does not tie them to pay. The state Department of Education plans to design new research-based evaluation models over the next few months. Officials hope to try out the models next year in school divisions with low-achieving and high-poverty schools. State Superintendent Patricia Wright said the models must be strong enough to allow schools to use evaluations to make performance pay decisions, if they so choose. "It is not a mandate," she said. "I've told our educators this is something we will do with them, not to them." The plans were part of Virginia's failed first round application for Race to the Top federal funding. The work will be funded from other federal sources. The state also won $17.5 million in May to develop data systems that will allow it to tie student and teacher performance. Virginia has been tracking student performance for 15 years with its Standards of Learning accountability program. James W. Lanham, the state's director of teacher licensure and school leadership, said his team will bring evaluation models to the Board in January or February. He said his goals are better professional development, lower teacher turnover and more equitable staffing. The department also is moving forward on new guidelines and accountability procedures for virtual schools serving multiple districts. The issue of how the entities that run them will be paid is being left up to the General Assembly. "We need to make sure, ultimately, that what is provided is good for the kids and is going to improve their learning and test scores," said Lan Neugent, assistant superintendent for technology. Several board members also said they hoped to improve on the structure that has been used for federally mandated tutoring services. They learned Thursday that tutoring has had little effect on student performance over the past few years. Schools that miss certain federal benchmarks, including one in Suffolk, must offer tutoring from approved vendors. Wright said Virginia's reform efforts on teacher evaluations and alternatives such as charter, lab and virtual schools should answer critics. "Are we standing on the sidelines? Not at all. We have the ball, and we're running with it." |
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