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News Release

Last modified: Monday, November 14, 2011

IU center providing model and training for teacher evaluations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 14, 2011

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Center on Education and Lifelong Learning at Indiana University has designed a model for evaluating teacher effectiveness in compliance with a new state law, and it is working with an initial group of 12 Indiana school districts to implement the model.

Called the Indiana Teacher Appraisal and Support System, or IN-TASS, the model was developed in collaboration with Hardy Murphy, superintendent of Evanston/Skokie, Ill., School District 65, and the School of Education at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. The Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Professional Appraisal System was used as the framework in the development of IN-TASS.

The Evanston/Skokie model is one of five teacher evaluation models compared in a recent policy brief from the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy at Indiana University. The brief, "Revamping the Teacher Evaluation Process," offers information on Indiana's new teacher evaluation law and its implications. "Strengths of the District 65 model are its clear and simple synthesis of inputs and outputs, and its automatic due process procedures ..." the authors of the CEEP report write. "These elements are absent from many of the other models included in this brief."

The focus of IN-TASS is to facilitate the growth of all education professionals, enhance the quality of classroom instruction and school system supports, and improve student achievement. The initial 12 school districts have committed to implementing IN-TASS and will receive training and support to develop their appraisal plans.

IN-TASS has been approved by the Indiana Department of Education to support state school districts as they develop local systems for teacher appraisal. It will enable districts to comply with Senate Enrolled Act 1, which was approved this year and requires Indiana schools to implement teacher evaluation systems that make significant use of measures of student performance and growth, starting in 2012-13.

The districts will be supported by the IN-TASS Leadership Cadre, a diverse group of experienced educators that has developed a curriculum and training sequence to ensure that locally developed teacher appraisal systems meet quality standards and are aligned with SEA 1. In addition, a research team will assess training, implementation and outcomes of the effort. It is expected that the IN-TASS curriculum and process will be replicated in Indiana and beyond.

For more information on IN-TASS, contact Sandi Cole, director of the Center on Education and Lifelong Learning at Indiana University Bloomington, at cmcole@indiana.edu.

The Center on Education and Lifelong Learning is part of the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community at Indiana University Bloomington. Both receive support from the Office of the Vice Provost for Research, which is dedicated to supporting ongoing faculty research and creative activity, developing new multidisciplinary initiatives and maximizing the potential of faculty to accomplish path-breaking work.

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