McREL gives North Carolina evaluation system a 21^st-century update

The Challenge

“Getting students ready for global society” was the goal of the State Board of Education in North Carolina when, in 2008, it adopted a new mission and goal statement. Focusing on 21^st century skills, the Board set “rigorous, conscientious goals” to improve school leadership and classroom instruction in order to prepare students for success in college and the workforce. An overhaul of its statewide system of evaluation for teachers, principals and superintendents was in order.

Strategic Solution

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) partnered with McREL to develop evaluation instruments for educators based on its Framework for 21^st Century Learning and North Carolina state standards. NCDPI also asked McREL to design a training program for future school leaders who are in education preparatory programs at colleges and universities around the state.

Results

The North Carolina Educator Evaluation System, the first of its kind in the country, aligns the state’s evaluation system with educator standards and will eventually impact 116 districts, 9,000 schools, 100,000 teachers, and 1.4 million students across North Carolina. The evaluation instruments McREL developed have been field-tested and analyzed for validity and reliability and are currently being used by all teachers and principals in 113 districts around the state.

Next Steps

The work between McREL and NCDPI continues, as the superintendent evaluation instrument is still in development. The teacher training program that McREL developed, in conjunction with NCDPI and the New Teacher Center at the University of California at Santa Cruz, was used in the pilot and field testing of the teacher and principal evaluation instruments, and now other agencies are using it to train remaining staff members in the districts.