RHB/3/16
Sponsored by Benjamin Johnson, Kora Spain of Smyrna High School
This legislation was filed in the Education category
Presented as part of the YIG Volunteer 2024 conference
| 1 | BE IT ENACTED BY THE TENNESSEE YMCA YOUTH IN GOVERNMENT |
| 2 | |
| 3 | Section 1: Terms in this Act will be defined as follows: |
| 4 | Educator: Any teacher, principal, instructor, administrator, or any other individual required by law |
| 5 | to hold a valid license of qualification for employment in any school in Tennessee. |
| 6 | Student Achievement: A metric defined by how students score on state standardized tests. |
| 7 | Achievement can also be measured by other standardized tests or assessments. Student- |
| 8 | achievement reflects students' mastery of grade-level standards and only measures a student’s |
| 9 | performance at a specific point in time. |
| 10 | Student Growth: The progress of students in comparison to state projections on state-issued |
| 11 | standardized tests over several years. Student growth can also be measured by Universal Reading |
| 12 | Screeners (only for Pre-K to 2nd grade teachers) and Student Growth Portfolios. |
| 13 | Universal Reading Screeners: Assessments used to identify students who may need additional |
| 14 | support in reading at their grade level. These assessments are only for Pre-K to 2nd grade |
| 15 | teachers. |
| 16 | Student Growth Portfolios: Collections of student work in lieu of state assessments for non-tested |
| 17 | teachers (e.g. fine art teachers and physical education teachers for K-8th grade) that can be used |
| 18 | to measure student growth. |
| 19 | Value-Added Model (VAM): A statistical method used in education to estimate the impact of an |
| 20 | educator or program on student achievement. |
| 21 | TVAAS (Tennessee Value Added Assessment System): A model used to predict and measure |
| 22 | students’ growth and achievement. TVAAS is also utilized in evaluating teacher’s effectiveness on |
| 23 | students’ test scores. TVAAS compares students’ predicted scores and actual scores on state |
| 24 | assessments to determine teacher’s value-added scores. |
| 25 | Evaluation Composite Weightings: Specific categories with percentage weight for educator |
| 26 | evaluations. In Tennessee, observations, student growth, and student achievement are all |
| 27 | weighted into creating a teacher evaluation score (Level 1 to Level 5) |
| 28 | Statistical Analysis Systems Institue (SAS): A sole source contractor that calculates a value-added |
| 29 | model suited according to TVAAS. The Statistical Analysis Institute is responsible for Value-Added |
| 30 | Reporting and Export, Research and Development, Training, e-Learning courses, Training and |
| 31 | Consultation, and On-Site Sessions. |
| 32 | Observations: Direct observation of a teacher in a classroom environment where students are |
| 33 | learning. Observation frequency depends on the licensure status and a previous individual growth |
| 34 | or overall evaluation score. |
| 35 | Johnson-Spain Plan: Proposal designed to address concerns with current Education Evaluation |
| 36 | composite weightings by altering the percent weightings of observation, achievement, and student |
| 37 | growth. |
| 38 | |
| 39 | Section 2: Tested teachers who implement Student Growth Portfolios, and teachers who |
| 40 | implement State Board of Education Universal Reading Screeners, the new Evaluation Composite |
| 41 | Weightings will be as stated: |
| 42 | 45% Student Growth (Compared to 35%) |
| 43 | 5% Student Achievement (Compared to 25%) |
| 44 | 50% Observation (Compared to 40%) |
| 45 | For these educators, student growth would be greater than student achievement. The Johnson- |
| 46 | Spain Plan proposes this change to account for factors outside of the instructor’s control. |
| 47 | |
| 48 | Section 3: For Non-Tested Teachers, the new Evaluation Composite Weightings will be as stated: |
| 49 | 85% Observation (Compared to 70%) |
| 50 | 5% Student Achievement (Compared to 15%) |
| 51 | 10% Student Growth (Compared to 15%) |
| 52 | For these educators, student data would have a lesser weight. The Johnson-Spain Plan proposes |
| 53 | this change to ensure fair evaluations for teachers in subjects that are not counted as tested |
| 54 | teachers by the Tennessee Department of Education. |
| 55 | |
| 56 | Section 4: For Administrators, the new Evaluation Composite Weightings will be as stated: |
| 57 | 35% Student Growth (Compared to 35%) |
| 58 | 10% Student Achievement (Compared to 15%) |
| 59 | 55% Observation (Compared to 50%) |
| 60 | For these educators, student achievement would have a greater weight. The Johnson-Spain Plan |
| 61 | proposes this alteration to place more emphasis on school administration in the oversight and |
| 62 | edification of all teachers and educators. |
| 63 | |
| 64 | Section 5: This policy should have no additional fiscal impact on the State of Tennessee. Funding |
| 65 | for this policy will be paid out of the Tennessee Department of Education Budget for the 2025- |
| 66 | 2026 Fiscal Year (not currently established) when the contract with SAS is renewed. |
| 67 | |
| 68 | Section 6: All laws or parts of laws in conflict are hereby repealed. |
| 69 | |
| 70 | Section 7: This act shall take effect July 1st, 2025, the public welfare requiring it. |
| 71 |