Same Debate, New Opportunity: Designing Teacher Evaluation Systems That Promote and Support Educators in Practices That Advance All Students' Learning

Redesigning teacher and leader evaluation systems has the potential to transform the teaching profession by ensuring that the highest quality of instruction is occurring in every classroom. However, as states and districts have rolled out new models of educator evaluation, questions have emerged concerning how best to fairly include all school personnel in these systems. Just more than 5 years ago, the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality (TQ Center) initiated the discussion about the design of educator evaluation models for special education personnel. Throughout the years, states and districts have adopted a number of different strategies for evaluating special educators: using one model system for all teachers, having a differentiated model that is augmented with special considerations and examples for special educators and specialized instructional support personnel, and having separate models entirely (Holdheide, 2013; Holdheide, Hayes, & Goe, 2014). To date, limited research on the models has guided the field in one direction or another. The focus of this article is to provide a review of emerging state and district strategies adopted to address the unique roles and responsibilities of special educators and specialized instructional support personnel. This review highlights practices in several states (Colorado, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Ohio) and in one large urban district (Bartholomew County School Corporation in Columbus, Indiana) identified as embodying practices deemed critical by stakeholders during facilitated discussions nationally.