Date of Award

Summer 2017

Degree Type

Certificate of Advanced Study

Department

Educational Leadership

Advisor

Dr. Charles Britton

Abstract

Over the past several years, states across the country have been restructuring their teacher evaluation models due to changes in federal education policies. The focus of many of these models has become student achievement, and there are many ways states are measuring a teacher’s impact on student achievement. Connecticut, along with more than 20 other states, uses student learning objectives to measure a teacher’s impact on student learning. Unlike other states, Connecticut has not specified what assessment be used to measure student growth. This case study, of one school district in Connecticut, examines the type of assessments used as a part of student learning objectives. This study also examines teacher and administrator’s perceptions of the process, and finally, student learning objectives will be assessed to determine if student learning objectives meet the state criteria outlined by the Connecticut State Department of Education. Electronic surveys, including both open-ended and close-ended questions, were developed and distributed to teachers and administrators in the participating district. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics while qualitative was coded inductively. Findings suggest teachers have mixed feelings regarding the SLO process as it relates to teacher evaluation. Several types of assessments are being used to measure student growth, and many student learning objectives developed by teachers and administrators do not meet the SMART goal criteria set forth by the state.

Comments

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the coursework required for the post-masters' Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in Educational Leadership.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.


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