Student Learning Outcomes: DRAFT Guidance
Step 1: Review the requirements for using student learning outcomes in educator evaluations
Step-by-Step Guide
Definition of student learning outcomes in an educator evaluation
context (student academic growth is a subset)
Fifty percent of an educator’s
evaluation in Colorado is required to be based on student academic
growth. Calculating student academic growth requires specific
conditions to exist. Because student academic growth is difficult
to calculate when such conditions do not exist, districts are
required to include multiple types of learning outcomes in an
educator’s body of evidence. Student learning outcomes may
include student academic growth as well as results from many types
of measures that districts may choose to use in educator
evaluation. Districts are encouraged to provide training and
support to their educators in how to differentiate goals taking into
consideration the individual needs of their students as they
progress towards mastery of the Colorado Academic Standards (CAS). A
year’s growth in a year’s time is the minimum expectation for
student growth, or student learning outcomes.
Required components for attributing student
learning outcomes
There are four requirements for
attributing student outcomes in educator evaluation listed below.
These requirements are not mutually exclusive (satisfying one
requirement might satisfy another).
1. One or more measures of individually attributed student learning outcomes
2. One or more measures of collectively attributed student learning outcomes
3. When available, statewide summative assessment results
4. When statewide summative assessments occur in consecutive years, Colorado Growth Model results
In the teacher evaluation illustration below, the left side
represents professional practices while the right side represents
individual and collective attribution of student learning outcomes,
the two main components that must be included in an educators’ body
of evidence. Districts may weight the collective and
individual components differently as long as they represent half of
the overall evaluation.
*For illustration purposes, this chart reflects sample weighting only.
Individual attribution refers to student learning outcomes
on a measure that are attributed to an individual licensed person
(e.g. reading student learning outcomes for a 1st grade teacher’s
students).
Collective attribution refers to student learning outcomes on
a measure that are attributed to two or more licensed persons (e.g.
10th grade math TCAP growth– all secondary math teachers in school).
Caution about collective attribution: A balanced amount of
collective attribution enhances the investment of teachers in the
success of students on a broader range of student learning outcomes,
thus contributing to improved student learning. This is especially
true when teachers share attribution with one or more teachers who
are on a teacher team with them. Collective attribution with
teacher teams not only promotes collaboration among teachers, but
also increases the element of evaluation fairness, since each
teacher on the team has a significant measure of influence on
student outcomes. However, an overly high percentage of collective
attribution will decrease the ability at the school or district
level to recognize high-performing teachers (who may be held back by
the average) and to identify struggling teachers (who may be
“propped up” by the average). Therefore, it is imperative that
districts understand the importance of finding the right balance
between collective and individual attribution.