Utah State Board of Education’s (USBE) mission includes providing high quality instruction for all students as one of the key pillars of the essential promised work of public education.
Education research is very clear that effective instruction matters and teachers are the single most school-level influence on student achievement. Therefore, the foundational assumptions of the Utah Educator Effectiveness Project recognize that high quality instruction in all public schools in Utah requires:
- Measuring teaching and leadership with research-based performance standards.
- Aligning preparation programs to Utah Effective Teaching Standards and Utah Educational Leadership Standards.
- Evaluating the effectiveness of educators yearly using multiple measures.
- Recruiting, retaining, promoting, and rewarding the most effective educators.
- Providing appropriate professional development at all stages of the professional career continuum.
The five major components of the Educator Effectiveness Project are directly targeted at improving instruction and are all essential for improving educational outcomes for all students. The Utah State Board of Education adopted the Utah Effective Teaching Standards and Utah Educational Leadership Standards (R277-530), August 2011 as the first and most crucial step of the overall project.
These standards will serve as the basis for district educator evaluation systems as well as the model system being developed by the Utah Educator Evaluation Advisory Committee and subsequent work groups. The Utah State Board of Education then adopted R277-531 September 2011, outlining the educator evaluation components and processes required of all school districts in Utah.
Effectiveness Educator Evaluation
Utah Educator Effectiveness Model
Utah Educator Effectiveness Project: Theory of Action