| Act 54 requires performance at every level of K-12 public education to be based on student growth and take into account starting points and other variables that might influence actual performance outcomes.
For example, Louisiana’s highly praised value-added model for teachers who teach tested grades and subjects, currently being piloted in 20 districts, recognizes that not all students begin the school year at the same level. Instead of examining a teacher’s impact solely on the basis of end-of-year test scores, this method assesses the change in the achievement level of a teacher’s students from the end of one school year to the next.
While much attention has focused on educator evaluations, the new statute also calls on the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) to adopt and utilize value-added measurements to assess the performance of schools, school districts, the state as a whole, and even LDOE’s leadership team. The Accountability Commission, appointed by BESE, is currently considering how to incorporate value-added data into school, district and state performance scores and is expected to make a recommendation to BESE in the spring of 2011.
A statewide advisory panel of teachers, principals, parents, legislators, and representatives of education organizations, the Advisory Committee on Educator Evaluation (ACEE), has been formed to guide the other components of Act 54, which focus on educator evaluations. As required by the law, half of ACEE’s members are practicing teachers. |
