While many state laws have been suspended in whole or in part during the pandemic, under Executive Order 2020-65 districts must still provide a final teacher evaluation for any teacher who has an individualized development plan (IDP). This includes all probationary teachers, as well as tenured teachers that were rated less than effective on their most recent end-of-year evaluation. That evaluation must include a summative rating and be based on the data that are available. So as Principals work to finalize those teacher's evaluations for the 2019-20 school year, there are a number of considerations to keep in mind, some specifically related to the current pandemic and others that would apply regardless. 

Strict Compliance

The EO also "waives strict compliance" with section 1249.  What it doesn't do is define what this means and what you must do versus what you may choose to do.  It leaves a great deal of discretion to local districts.  Given the likely reduction in state school aid and ramifications of ratings for layoff, tenure status, etc., evaluators should absolutely consult with legal counsel on the details of how best to proceed in their district.

Incomplete Observation Data

A teacher’s annual year-end performance evaluation must be determined based on the teacher’s performance at least through March 13, 2020, though the district may account for the teacher’s performance after March 13, 2020 through the end of the 2019–2020 school year, including efforts made by the teacher to prepare and provide remote student instruction. However, performance evaluations must give no consideration to criteria requiring data or other information unavailable as a result of the pandemic.  In other words, do not use student growth and assessment data that may have been collected between March 13 and June 30.

Depending on how many observations you were able to complete prior to March 13 and whether you were able to make any observations during the rest of the year, you may not have sufficient evidence to reliably rate/score a teacher on each indicator in your rubric. If this is the case for one or more teachers, consider scoring at the dimension/domain level using a holistic rubric for all teachers.  In other words, use the same approach for all teachers to mitigate liability and possible litigation for inconsistent practice.  In this case, consider the key ideas within each dimension/domain and preponderance of evidence across the dimension, and rate based on a holistic rubric.  

Student Growth

Beginning this school year, state law (section 1249) requires 40% of the evaluation be based on student growth and assessment data from the three most recent consecutive years, or whatever is available.  EO 2020-65 states that a performance evaluation must not give consideration to student growth data or other information unavailable as a result of the pandemic; it does not waive use of student growth and assessment data available prior to the pandemic (March 13). So if you have student growth data from the 2017-18, 2018-19 and/or  2019-20 school year, you likely must incorporate it into the evaluation.

Let's consider the prior years of data requirement in the context of a teacher who has no current year student growth data. For a first year teacher this may mean no growth data are available, so you cannot consider student growth under the EO and their evaluations would be based solely on observation data used to determine a final rating on the district adopted evaluation rubric. For second year teachers, you have last year's data. For third year teachers, you have the previous two years of data. For teachers with four or more years of experience you have the previous three years of data, though you may elect to only use the previous two years, if you choose to count this missing year as the third year of data. In all three of the latter cases, student growth and assessment data are available and state law requires you to count those as 40% of the overall evaluation, though exactly how you choose to combine the prior year data and what you consider to be sufficient growth are local decisions.

Given the likely reduction in state school aid and ramifications of ratings for layoff, tenure status, etc., evaluators should consult with district legal counsel on how to proceed, particularly if you have teachers in different places with regard to how much growth data they have available for you to incorporate.

Individualized Development Plans (IDPs)

Michigan's Teacher Tenure Act requires that the evaluation for any teacher with an IDP, including all probationary teachers and teacher’s rated less than effective on their most recent year-end evaluation, include a review of the teacher's progress toward IDP goal(s). Evaluators must also consult with the teacher regarding specific performance goals for the upcoming school year and prescribe any recommended training, instructional coaching, etc. that the teacher may need to improve their practice. Administrators are also required to provide a new IDP to any teacher still in their probationary period or rated less than effective prior to June 30.

Under EO 2020-65, districts may waive or extend the timelines in a teacher's IDP goals if the data required to evaluate that IDP goal are unavailable as a result of the pandemic. But nothing in the EO directly waives the requirement to provide teachers with a new IDP for next school year.

Probationary Period

In order to determine who in your district may need another IDP, it is important to understand the rules surrounding probationary periods. There are three scenarios under which a teacher can be considered to have successfully completed their probationary period:

  • Your district hires a teacher who was previously tenured in another Michigan public school. If that person completes a two-year probationary period with a rating of either effective or highly effective in both years they are automatically tenured at the end of their second year in your district.
  • Your district hires a teacher who was not previously tenured in another district. If that person is rated highly effective in years two, three, and four of their service in your district, they are automatically tenured at the end of their fourth year.
  • Your district hires a teacher who was not previously tenured in another district. If that person is rated effective or highly effective in years three, four, and five of their service in your district they are automatically tenured at the end of their fifth year.

Any probationary teacher that doesn’t meet these criteria likely needs to be non-renewed, as the Tenure Act limits probationary teachers to one probationary period within a district. 

Written by Colin Ripmaster, MASSP Associate Executive Director