What the Educator Effectiveness Law Means to Colorado Teachers

Becoming a law on May 21, 2010, the Educator Effectiveness Bill, or Senate Bill 10-191, has created the most sweeping overhaul of education in recent Colorado history. As Senate Bill 10-191 moved through the state legislature, reactions ranged from excitement to outrage. What the Educator Effectiveness Law does is redefine and restructure the way that Colorado teachers are evaluated, monitored, and assessed. It also removes the concept of "tenure" from Colorado teachers. Proponents of the law see it as a necessary step to improve student achievement in the classroom and as a way to eliminate ineffective teachers, while opponents are concerned that the law's focus on student achievement on the state assessment makes the law unbalanced.

The Educator Effectiveness Bill is chiefly aimed at redefining and restructuring the concept of teacher evaluations. Universally, teacher evaluation is the primary tool for rating teacher's effectiveness and maintaining and guiding employment decisions. Historically in Colorado, a teacher maintains a "probationary" status for three years, and then moves to a "professional" status after three years of positive evaluation. During the probationary period, a teacher can be "non-renewed" or not rehired for virtually any reason. After achieving professional status, an educator is subject to a "due process" before they can be terminated. Senate Bill 10-191 was introduced to fundamentally change this entire process.

Core Components of the Educator Effectiveness Law and What they Mean to You:

The following excerpts in bold are taken directly from SB 10-191:

"Evaluations are to "provide a basis for making decisions in the areas of hiring, compensation, promotion, assignment, professional development, earning and retaining non-probationary status, dismissal, and nonrenewal of contract." - While the concept of teacher evaluation is not a new concept, there is new vocabulary involved in this law that has significant impact on educators. Specifically, the concept of teacher evaluations will provide the bases for compensation, promotion, and hiring. Essentially, Senate Bill 10-191 and the Educator Effectiveness Bill opens the door for "pay-for-performance" contracts in school districts. The concept of teacher promotion is also new. Currently, teachers make more salary based on education and longevity, and there are no real ranks or levels in teaching. The concept of a teacher being promoted to a new level or position is very different than the current system.

Additionally, the law stipulates that "Evaluations will be done at least once a year," and "Performance standards shall include at least three levels, highly effective, effective and ineffective." Currently teachers are evaluated within their probationary status annually, but once an educator leaves probational status, they are evaluated tri-annually. The concept of annual evaluations for all teachers will dramatically increase the workload for administrators and evaluators. Additionally, the inclusion of performance standards and titles will be very new. Being labled as a highly-effective or ineffective teacher will change both a teacher's self-perception and the public perception of teachers.

"At least 50 percent of a teacher's evaluation must be based on the academic growth of students." - This is the most radical of the changes in education introduced by the Educator Effectiveness Law. Essentially, this means that half of a teacher's evaluation will be based on how a student performs, or doesn't perform, on the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP). Essentially, this change means that a teacher will be evaluated on how a student chooses to perform on a test. Critics of this cite the fact that students have zero accountability on the CSA