General Requirements For Evaluation

(1) Local boards of education and charter schools shall implement annual evaluations for educators in accordance with T.C.A. § 49-1-302, these rules, and the State Board Educator Evaluation Policy 5.201. The Department of Education may issue additional guidance. (2) The annual evaluation model utilized by local boards of education and charter schools shall be comprised of multiple measures including student growth data, student achievement data, and qualitative data. Each educator’s student growth data, student achievement data, and qualitative data shall be combined into a Level of Overall Effectiveness (LOE) rating that differentiates educator performance. The five (5) LOE ratings are: (a) Significantly above expectations (level 5); (b) Above expectations (level 4); (c) At expectations (level 3); (d) Below expectations (level 2); and (e) Significantly below expectations (level 1). (3) Evaluations shall be conducted in accordance with the timelines published by the Department. (4) For teachers with individual growth data, sixty percent (60%) of the evaluation criteria shall be comprised of student achievement data. This sixty percent (60%) shall include thirty-five percent (35%) student growth data as represented by the Tennessee Value Added Assessment System (TVAAS) or some other comparable measure of student growth, if no such TVAAS data is available, and twenty-five percent (25%) based on other measures of student achievement as defined in State Board Policy 5.201. The remaining forty percent (40%) of the evaluation shall be comprised of qualitative data using the qualitative appraisal instrument contained in the approved evaluation model utilized by the local board of education or charter school. (a) If a teacher's individual student growth data reflects attainment of an achievement level of level 3, level 4, or level 5, then the student growth data shall comprise the full sixty percent (60%) student achievement data portion of the teacher's evaluation, if such use results in a higher evaluation score for the teacher. (b) Local boards of education may adopt a policy allowing teachers whose individual student growth data demonstrates an effectiveness level of 4 or 5 to use the individual student growth score as one hundred percent (100%) of the teacher's final evaluation score. (c) A teacher's most recent year's individual student growth data shall comprise the full thirty-five percent (35%) of the student growth data portion of the teacher's evaluation, if such use results in a higher evaluation score for the teacher. EVALUATIONS CHAPTER 0520-02-01 (d) Beginning in the 2022-23 school year, if a teacher for the current evaluation year does not have access to individual growth data due to changes in academic standards or assessment design requiring standards validation or standards setting in the teacher’s content or subject area, fifteen percent (15%) of the evaluation criteria shall be comprised of other measures of student achievement as defined in State Board Educator Evaluation Policy 5.201. The remaining eighty-five percent (85%) of the evaluation shall be comprised of qualitative data using the qualitative appraisal instrument contained in the approved evaluation model utilized by the local board of education or charter school, unless using the evaluation criteria specified in paragraph (5) of this rule results in a higher final evaluation score for the teacher. (5) For teachers and non-instructional licensed staff without individual student growth data, thirty percent (30%) of the evaluation criteria shall be comprised of student achievement data, including fifteen percent (15%) student growth data as evidenced by the school-level composite TVAAS score, and fifteen percent (15%) based on other measures of student achievement as defined in State Board Policy 5.201. The remaining seventy percent (70%) shall be comprised of qualitative data using the qualitative appraisal instrument contained in the approved evaluation model utilized by the local board of education or charter school. (a) For educators in state special schools without individual, school, or district growth data, fifteen percent (15%) of the evaluation criteria shall be comprised of other measures of student achievement as defined in State Board Policy 5.201. The remaining eighty-five percent (85%) of the evaluation shall be comprised of qualitative data. (6) For school administrators, the evaluation shall be comprised of thirty-five percent (35%) student growth data as evidenced by the school composite TVAAS score, fifteen percent (15%) shall be comprised of other measures of student achievement data as defined in State Board Policy 5.201, and the remaining fifty percent (50%) shall be comprised of qualitative data. (a) If a school administrator’s student growth data reflects attainment of an achievement level 3, level 4, or level 5, then the student growth data shall comprise fifty percent (50%) of the school administrator’s evaluation, if such use results in a higher evaluation score for the school administrator. (7) Evaluation scores shall be a factor in employment decisions, including, but not limited to, promotion, retention, termination, compensation, and the attainment of tenure status; however, nothing shall require an LEA to use student achievement data based on state assessments as the sole factor in employment decisions. (8) The Department of Education shall monitor observation scores each year and ensure consistent application of observation standards across districts. Districts and schools that fall outside the acceptable range of alignment between student achievement data and observation results as defined in Educator Evaluation Policy 5.201 may be subject to additional training and monitoring by the Department as further defined in Educator Evaluation Policy 5.201.