Federal Government Instructs Board to Collect Evaluation Data

The North Carolina State Board of Education approved the collection of the principal and teacher evaluation data this past week. State Board member, Shirley Harris, acknowledged the collection data has been a sensitive topic since the inception of the teacher evaluation instrument. The State Board has been thoughtfully contemplating this issue for over the past year.

“We have been deliberating the collection of data for some time now,” said Harris, “The Federal government has made the decision for us.”

The Race to the Top (RTTT) guidelines and other federal reports are requiring North Carolina to submit principal and teacher summative ratings. Based on the new federal guidelines, the State Board is required to collect this data to meet these requirements.

The Board agreed that anonymity and confidentiality is imperative when dealing with the evaluation data.

“I want to go on record in stating that this information needs to be anonymous,” said board member, Melissa Bartlett.

The approved policy outlines that each district shall submit all principal and teacher performance ratings to the Department of Public Instruction on an annual basis. Further implementation guidelines will have to be discussed. The North Carolina Principals & Assistant Principals’ Association and the North Carolina Association of School Administrators will express our recommendations to the Board regarding these instructions

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