Policies That Define Instruction: A Systematic Review of States’ and Districts’ Recommendations for Evaluating Special Educators

Abstract

Educational policies addressing instruction may fail to acknowledge that effective instruction is not the same for all learners. We reviewed teacher evaluation systems across all states and the 25 largest districts to determine how states and districts approach the evaluation of special education teachers, a policy aimed at improving teaching effectiveness. We found that most states and districts did not provide guidance to schools for adapting evaluation systems for these teachers. Some states provided guidance on technical aspects of special education teacher evaluation, such as incorporating student achievement into special education teachers’ scores. Districts were more likely to focus on instructional considerations. We discuss the implications of these findings for policies that aim to promote the use of effective instructional practices.

Using Classroom Observations in the Evaluation of Special Education Teachers

“…It is worth noting that Danielson provides scoring supports for observing special education instruction; however, these supports are not designed for special education teachers serving students with high-incidence disabilities (e.g., specific learning disabilities), which is the largest group of SWDs in schools. Furthermore, most states have taken steps to refine their observation systems for special educators or provide supplementation guidance to support the evaluation of these teachers (Gilmour & Jones, 2020).…”

Moderators of the Association Between Teaching Students With Disabilities and General Education Teacher Turnover

“…Unfortunately, most large datasets that include detailed student information linked to teachers and teachers to schools do not include this information. Instead, large datasets include information from evaluation systems, a potentially inappropriate measure as these scores tend to be inflated (Kraft & Gilmour, 2017), low scores could cause turnover (Rodriguez et al, 2020), and existing evaluations systems may not address instruction particularly relevant for SWD (Gilmour & Jones, 2020). Researchers should consider using surveys or low-stakes direct observation of teachers' instruction that could be combined with state datasets for conducting this research.…”

Public school principals’ opinions on the effectiveness of special education teacher evaluation processes in promoting professional development and job performance accountability in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

“…In their systematic review of teacher evaluation systems across the United States, Gilmour and Jones (2020) found, in general, that guidance was not provided to schools in most states and districts as regards the adaptation of evaluation systems for special education teachers. While some states placed emphasis on the technical facets of evaluation, the focus of most districts was instructional matters.…”