Gwinnett Schools May Soon Change Teacher Evaluation Policy

Officials in the school system say they will change the way they look at teacher performance as part of the Race to the Top program.

“There’s a great deal of work that being done at the state and county level,” says Glenn Pethel, Executive Director of Leadership Development for GCPS. He said it is all about finding a way to measure teachers by student performance. “It will be a significant change from the current system,” according to the official.

He says they are considering taking a wider view of what makes a teacher effective. “We know we want to a more balanced system in terms of scope,” says Pethel. He said among the considerations are parent and student perception surveys and “teacher portfolios.” 

The portfolios could let a teacher accumulate more “qualitative” data about their performance in the classroom. “It would definitely be qualitative instead of quantitative in nature,” says Pethel.

He says it is too early to know if the system would be more aggressive, like a D.C.-style “pay for performance” system. 

There are four core principals of the Race to the Top program, which has been championed by Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who has called it a “deep rethinking” of education in the country. The change in policy would fall under the “data systems” principal.

President Obama recently reaffirmed a financial commitment to the program, which would provide $1.35 billion in competitive funds to school systems across the country.

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