This study examined the impact of the Pennsylvania Educator Effectiveness System on instructional leadership. Thirty-eight teachers from four elementary schools within a single southeastern Pennsylvania school district participated in the study. Data collection instruments included an online survey, open-ended response questions, and teacher interviews. The qualitative study data revealed that the majority of teachers believed the Pennsylvania Educator Effectiveness System was an unfair model that failed to effectively reflect teacher job performance. Furthermore, data analysis revealed that the majority of teachers did not believe the value-added model positively impacted teacher effectiveness. Lastly, the researcher also found that the Pennsylvania Educator Effectiveness System had little positive impact on improving instructional leadership practices.

In acknowledgement of research related to the deficits of traditional teacher evaluation systems, the Pennsylvania Department of Education developed the Educator Effectiveness System (EES) as a comprehensive multiple measures teacher evaluation system (MMTES) requiring building administrators to evaluate teachers using evidence-based observations and a variety of measures indicating teacher contributions to student achievement (Pennsylvania Department of Education, 2014). The purpose of this qualitative research study was to examine the perceptions of building level administrators related to the impact of the implementation of Pennsylvania's EES on their supervision and evaluation of teachers. Qualitative data in the form of survey responses and personal interviews were collected from participating building administrators throughout 15 public school districts in southcentral Pennsylvania to determine the impact of evidence-based observations, the impact of using SLO, PVAAS and SPP data as measures of teacher effectiveness, and the need for additional supports and professional development for administrators working within the EES. The analysis of the data collected during this study indicated building administrators believed Pennsylvania's EES has helped them become more overall effective supervisors and evaluators, mainly due to positive impacts of using evidence-based observation methods. Building administrators reported positive and negative impacts of the use of SLO, PVAAS, and SPP data as measures of teacher effectiveness. Additional time to complete tasks associated with the EES and training related to the use of student growth and achievement data were identified as needed supports.

Recent state and national reforms in teacher supervision and evaluation have been implemented to increase student achievement and to improve instructional practices. This qualitative study examines the perceptions of elementary teachers in three suburban Pennsylvania school districts regarding the current teacher evaluation system, also known as the Pennsylvania Educator Effectiveness program, implemented in their district, as well as a new model of teacher supervision connected to Danielson’s Framework for Teaching standards. To fully evaluate this new system from the teachers’ perspective, this study incorporates a qualitative approach that relies on anonymous survey data and provides insights on strengths and limitations of the current evaluation process. The study includes a teacher questionnaire (n = 45) conducted online via Survey Monkey. This research uncovers evidence which supports the idea that the Framework for Teaching has a positive effect on instructional strategies, especially on student engagement and assessment strategies. The research conducted to answer two guiding research questions formulated by the author sheds light on the observation and subsequent feedback process, and provokes discussion about the strengths and areas for improvement to supervisors and administrators as they implement the Pennsylvania Educator Effectiveness system.

Act 82 of 2012 established new standards for Pennsylvania's teacher evaluation system, including the incorporation of student performance measures in ratings decisions. Since 2009, approximately 35 states have amended teacher evaluation systems, with student achievement playing an increasingly prominent role. This count includes neighboring states--such as New Jersey, New York, and Ohio--which base between 40 and 50 percent of teacher effectiveness ratings on student achievement. Changes to teacher evaluation policy have been motivated in large part by U.S. Department of Education's priorities, including the issuance of waivers from certain "No Child Left Behind" requirements. States receiving a waiver, including Pennsylvania, are required to "develop and implement teacher and principal evaluation and support systems that include student achievement growth as a factor." The nonpartisan Center on Education Policy reported that ten states amended their plans for a new teacher evaluation system due to the waiver policy alone.v Likewise, the Race to the Top (RTTT) competition emphasized teacher and principal evaluation systems based on student achievement. This policy brief provides a closer look at Pennsylvania's new teacher evaluation system and the efforts of the Pittsburgh Public Schools--the state's second-largest district and an early adopter of revised evaluation standards--to implement reforms. It concludes with implications for state policymakers, district leaders, and education stakeholders.

The purpose of this multi-site qualitative research study was to provide insight and information into the usefulness of the Pennsylvania Teacher Effectiveness System (PTES) on elevating the effectiveness of teacher instructional practice. One hundred teachers and 17 building administrators participated in this study. Individual interviews with 12 teacher participants and 12 building administrators provided additional insight to their personal perceptions. This study sought K-12 teacher and building administrator perceptions regarding the impact of the PTES on teacher planning and preparation, classroom environment, instruction, and the general impact and implementation of the evaluation model. Based on an overall assessment of the triangulated data, the study concluded that: (1) Teachers perceive the PTES as having limited impact on instructional practice and, in general, view it as an undesirable evaluation model, and (2) Building administrators perceive the PTES is positively impacting instructional practice but possesses, in general, a multitude of negative attributes that must be adjusted in order to render it a desirable evaluation model. This research is important, as the Pennsylvania Teacher Effectiveness System continues to be implemented throughout Pennsylvania and may add to the growing body of knowledge surrounding teacher effectiveness.

Many states are in the process of adopting rigorous, standards-based teacher evaluation systems in order to address and increase teacher accountability for student achievement. In the newly adopted Educator Effectiveness evaluation system, Pennsylvania classroom teachers were evaluated through one of two evaluation protocols, both aligned to Danielson's Framework for Teaching. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of the new Pennsylvania evaluation model on the use of classroom instructional practices by teacher participants. The study sample included 111 classroom teachers in grades K-12 in one school district: 35 teachers were assigned to the Formal Observation Model and 76 teachers to the Differentiated Supervision Model (which used portfolios to evaluate teacher performance). A two-group, pretest-posttest, quasi-experiment was used to compare the ratings of classroom instructional practices of all teachers. Using a paired-samples t-test, the average increase in the ratings of classroom instructional practices of Formal Observation participants was not significant, whereas the average increase in the ratings of Differentiated Supervision participants was significant. This study provides evidence that teachers' use of a carefully structured portfolio as a reflection tool may result in improved classroom instructional practices; however, the final Educator Effectiveness ratings of teachers in the Portfolio Mode lacked the discrimination necessary to meet the summative goals for teacher evaluation. These results are important considerations for PA district leaders who must choose among various options for the Differentiated Supervision evaluation of teachers.

The chief goal of the present study was to identify teachers' perceptions of the teacher effectiveness system in Pennsylvania. The purpose of this descriptive study was to investigate teachers' perceptions of the usefulness and effectiveness of the teacher evaluation process in southeastern Pennsylvania to determine if policymakers should consider making changes to the system. To support the decision-making process, it was necessary to obtain information from teachers about whether they believe the system is useful and effective. The researcher used an explanatory, sequential, mixed-methods research design. The qualitative design employed was a phenomenological approach, which is meant to explore the culture of a group of individuals. The methodology fit the researcher's mindset on the approach of the study. The researcher focused on individual teachers' perceptions and experiences within a public school district in Southeastern. The primary population and sample for participation in this study were teachers and teaching specialists. The responses identified common themes among teachers and teaching specialists. The study used a cross-sectional survey and face-to-face interviews. Because the researcher used the explanatory, sequential, mixed-methods model, the quantitative data preceded the qualitative data and established the framework for the creation of the interview questions. Surveys and interviews were then analyzed to find common topics and themes within the data. Based on the findings and results of the study, it was concluded that teachers perceive the teacher effectiveness system to be of good quality with strong components. However, changes could be made to the system's implementation to improve or enhance instructional practices within the classroom. Further study is required to determine how improvements could be made to the Teacher Evaluation System in Pennsylvania.