2019 DPAS-II Biannual Evaluation Survey Opens in February
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The 2019 DPAS-II Biannual Survey is quickly approaching. As you know, an evaluation of the DPAS-II process is required by Delaware State Code (14 Del.C. §11.0) and is conducted bi-annually. The survey is one component of an independent evaluation of DPAS-II (including Alternate Evaluation Systems) conducted for the Delaware Department of Education by an independent non-profit educational research organization.
Your participation will help us better understand educator views and experiences with DPAS-II and will support continued improvement of the system
. Responses will be kept
confidential
, and all responses will be combined and reported to the Department of Education in the aggregate.
- When will the survey take place? DPAS-II evaluation survey will open towards the end of February and remain open three weeks.
- Who should take the survey? Teachers, specialists, and administrators.
- How long will it take to complete the survey? The survey should take less than 20 minutes.
- How will the survey be administered? Educators will receive an email with a link to the survey.
Districts will provide more information later in the month. Please feel free to email
Seher Ahmad
with any questions regarding the survey!
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Roster Verification System (RVS) Overview
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The Roster Verification System (RVS) is an online system (inside of IMS) that allows Delaware's Group 1 teachers and administrators the opportunity to complete an automated roster verification process to assist in the determination of one measure of their Component V educator evaluation rating ("Measure A" for teachers; "Part A" for administrators). Roster verification ensures that all students who should be considered for the educator's evaluation are present on his or her roster.
The RVS system is used in two phases: before/during the statewide student assessment and after student scores have been returned from the assessment vendor. In the first phase, educators review and/or build rosters and submit to evaluators for approval. In the second phase, educators review their Measure A or Part A reports.
Who needs to complete RVS?
While school leaders conduct some form of roster verification with all educators as part of Component V, only Group 1 teachers and administrators who receive a Part A: Statewide Student Growth Measures rating utilize the state's RVS system. A Group 1 teacher includes any educator who instructs ELA and/or mathematics for at least 10 students in grades four (4) through eight (8). Administrators receive a Part A rating if they are responsible for 20 or more students taking the state assessment.
Key Dates/Timeline
- February 11 - March 15, 2019 - Administrators review Group 1 educator counts ahead of official RVS opening (*new)
- March 16, 2019 - Rosters loaded into RVS from warehouse
- March 18, 2019 - RVS opens for Group 1 educators (teachers/administrators) and evaluators to verify rosters
- April 12, 2019 - RVS closes for teachers
- May 31, 2019 - RVS closes for administrators/evaluators
- September 30, 2019 - RVS closes (all appeals must be finalized).
The timeline will be finalized and technical assistance documents published
online
in first week of February 2019. Contact
Seher Ahmad
with questions.
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Check-In on the Teacher Evaluation Rubric Revision
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This fall, a steering committee of educators from across the state began the process of revising the teacher evaluation rubric for the State of Delaware. You can catch up on the committee’s work
here
. If you have questions about this work or ideas for the committee to consider, send an email to
DPASII.trrp@doe.k12.de.us
. While this work continues, Delaware will continue to use the DPAS-II framework to ensure you continue to focus on calibration and implementation.
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Digging Deeper: Questioning and Discussion Techniques (Criterion 3d)
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The DPAS-II framework describes what great teachers do to ensure student success in the classroom. While there are many, many strategies that a teacher may implement in the classroom, the framework specifies only two: questioning and discussion. The specifics of this strategy are articulated in Criterion 3d: Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques. At the effective level, the Criterion reads: “Teacher’s use of questioning and discussion techniques reflects high-level questions, true discussion, and full participation by most students.” Delaware recognizes that questioning and discussion are of central importance to teaching, and learning, in Delaware classrooms. The elements of Criterion 3d are:
- Quality of questions
- Discussion techniques
- Student participation
The framework doesn’t simply call for recitation from students, but instead for high-quality questions that support students to:
- Formulate hypotheses
- Make connections between past learning, current learning, and each others’ contributions
- Challenge their previously held views about the content
This does not just happen naturally. Effective teachers formulate questions intentionally to build students’ understanding and to engage them in the content. Teachers pose both divergent and convergent questions, and pose questions that are non-formulaic. Questions are high-level but also appropriate for students’ age groups and ability levels. Effective teachers also respond to students’ responses and build in those responses to the discussion in the classroom. At this level, classroom discussion engages all students, and supports students to use precise language to deepen and extend student thinking about the content.
It’s important to remember that discussion must not only be whole-class discussion; observers should consider small-group discussion as well. Students must be taught to engage in high-quality discussion, and to formulate high-level questions. Small group discussions provide a great opportunity to hear from more students and to assess questioning and discussion skills.
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Share This With Your Teachers!
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Deep Dive into Questioning and Discussion in the DPAS-II Rubric
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Click the links to the right to access a full training on Criterion 3d: Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques. Do you have ideas for future training topics?
Email
us!
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Profile in Leadership: Dr. Chad Carmack, Red Clay Consolidated School District Expert Evaluator Team
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In last month’s issue of ACCESS, we shared ideas for ensuring quality implementation of DPAS-II in your school or district. This month, we had a chance to speak with a Delaware leader who is doing great work with quality checks: Chad Carmack. Chad (third from the left in the photograph) is a Principal on Special Assignment in the Red Clay Consolidated School District, and leads the district’s efforts in implementing DPAS-II. One of Chad's many responsibilities is to facilitate a DPAS-II expert evaluator team. Chad and the team support leaders and teachers in all 26 district schools to ensure not only that DPAS-II observations are happening, but that observers are calibrated and that feedback is useful for teachers to help them grow.
We asked Chad to share more about some of the strategies leaders in Red Clay use to ensure quality implementation. Here are a few of the ideas he shared:
- Ongoing professional development. In his role, Chad is responsible for training any new teacher or administrator that comes to Red Clay, and for ensuring that those educators are not just knowledgeable of DPAS-II process and requirements but are clear on the expectations that the district has for their engagement in evaluations. “Professional development is ongoing for us,” said Chad. “Not only do we train people when they start with us, but we provide ongoing PD on key topics, especially when we see people drifting away from high-quality implementation.” Chad regularly checks-in on the DPAS-II process at schools to ensure that what is being presented at PD sessions is taking hold and to intervene when necessary.
- Calibration. “We complete calibration walks together,” said Chad. “We observe classrooms, and then discuss what we saw and the evidence we collected, to make sure that the team is aware of what really counts as evidence, and how to link it to the rubric.” Chad supports calibration with individual school leadership teams, and with groups across schools. He notes that in cases where teams aren’t calibrated, it’s typically only one team member that is off from the others. In those cases, Chad meets individually with that leader to review feedback and re-norm.
- Feedback on feedback. Chad facilitates an expert evaluator team in Red Clay. This team is made up of curriculum supervisors, Dr. Hugh Broomall, the Deputy Superintendent, and other directors. The expert evaluator team reviews formative feedback documents prepared by administrators, and provides feedback on administrators’ feedback to teachers. The team is able to share with administrators what the strengths are in the feedback they provide to teachers, and what could be improved. “Administrators in schools really appreciate hearing from a curriculum supervisor; that person can provide the administrator with a different perspective to best help teachers,” said Chad. This multi-disciplinary team helps administrators ensure that the feedback and support they are providing to teachers not only aligns to DPAS-II, but connects to the content priorities for the subject and grade.
- Alignment between DPAS-II ratings and student outcomes. Red Clay regularly recognizes teachers who receive a rating of Highly Effective on the DPAS-II rubric. This recognition not only allows Chad and other Red Clay leaders to celebrate excellence, but also gives the expert evaluator team a chance to examine trends in schools. “If there is a school that is struggling with academic achievement, and a large portion of the teachers are receiving Highly Effective certificates, that might make me examine implementation at that school for calibration,” Chad says. Administrators can consider doing so even without a recognition program; regular examination of DPAS-II rating data at a school compared with student outcomes can, at minimum, help a leadership team identify where to start when ensuring that all administrators are calibrated and implementing DPAS-II observations with fidelity.
Chad noted that, while these strategies work well for districts with more leadership capacity, districts and schools of any size can provide support to administrators. “Administrators put a lot of time and energy into the DPAS-II process, and not just to do it, but to have an effect on teachers,” Chad said. “Administrators really appreciate someone recognizing that effort and telling them they’re doing a nice job on behalf of kids.” Even if a full-quality control process isn’t feasible in your school, simply reviewing the work done by administrators, recognizing their efforts, and supporting them to do better can go a long way.
We asked Chad how he ensures that the evaluation process goes beyond simple compliance with DPAS-II requirements. “It’s all in our strategic plan. DPAS-II is not just something we’re doing until it goes away; instead it’s something we believe in. We all think that it will really help to grow our teachers to be more effective.” A strategic focus on teacher growth and development, and dedicated resources to support that focus, are key differentiators in successful DPAS-II implementation in Red Clay.
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What should be on your DPAS-II to-do list this month:
- Complete and discuss Professional Responsibility Forms with each educator (this may be completed and/or updated at any point over the course of the year)
- Complete all 3 observations for novice educators by the end of March
- Make sure you have a plan for completing observations during the second semester, and begin a schedule for fall target conferences and summative evaluations
- Find relevant resources and information you need at the Educator Evaluation homepage on the DDOE website
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Ensure a common understanding of what practice looks like at different performance levels
Offered monthly beginning in October, 2018 through May, 2019
PDMS Course #26995
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DPAS-II Review Camp
A one-day review of the framework to support calibration and re-credentialing requirements.
March 25, 8:30-3:30
Delaware State Troop 3, Camden
PDMS Course #27555
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