HOUSE RESEARCH ORGANIZATION Interim News Briefs

May 2014, Number 83-5

Judiciary and Jurisprudence Interim committee on judicial selection appointed

May 2 — Speaker of the House Joe Straus recently appointed were Reps. Nicole Collier, Abel Herrero, Geanie appointed six House members to a Joint Interim Committee Morrison, Justin Rodriguez, and Kenneth Sheets. House on Judicial Selection. Under HB 2772 by J. Rodriguez, members will serve with Sens. , , enacted in 2013 by the 83rd Legislature, the committee is Carlos Uresti, , and , in addition charged with studying and reviewing the ways appellate to Sen. Duncan. HB 2772 required that the committee be court, district court, and statutory and probate court judges are composed of three Republicans and three Democrats from the selected in Texas. Senate and three Republicans and three Democrats from the House. On April 25, Rep. Tryon Lewis was appointed to serve as the joint committee’s co-chair with Sen. Robert Duncan. Also — by Tom Howe

Public Education Legislature may consider new teacher evaluation system

May 16 — A new teacher evaluation system being tested Education Code, sec. 21.351, requires the commissioner to by the Texas Education Agency in the 2014-2015 school year adopt a recommended teacher appraisal process that includes was on the agenda at a May 14 meeting of the House Public among its criteria the performance of a teacher’s students. Education Committee. The education commissioner, in a letter to the committee, said the agency had been working to develop a new system even The piloting of the Teacher Evaluation and Support System before Texas applied for a waiver from certain provisions of announced on May 5 will include a student growth measure the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law but that the that counts for 20 percent of the evaluation. For teachers of state’s ability to maintain the waiver likely would depend on grades or subjects assessed by the State of Texas Assessments action by the . of Academic Readiness (STAAR), student growth measures will be based on performance on those exams. Teachers in Under the waiver, school districts have more flexibility in grades and subjects not tested by STAAR will have their how they spend 20 percent of their Title 1 federal dollars to student growth measure based on district-determined options, help students struggling to pass their STAAR exams. Grant of such as portfolios or district-level benchmark tests. For all the federal waiver was conditioned on Texas developing new teachers, the other 80 percent of the evaluation is designed guidelines that included student growth as a significant factor to measure planning, instruction, the learning environment, in determining a teacher’s or principal’s summative evaluation and professional responsibilities as measured by classroom rating. In a letter to the committee, the commissioner said the observations, teacher self-assessments, ongoing feedback state’s ability to maintain the NCLB waiver will likely depend from the school community, and other factors. on whether the Legislature requires all districts in the state (continued on page 2) Interim News Briefs May 2014 to use the evaluation system that the agency has developed Opponents of making student test scores a part of or a local option that matches or exceeds its requirements. teacher evaluations say STAAR tests were not designed The commissioner indicated that without legislative action he for this purpose and that it would raise the stakes of exams could not and would not try to require all districts to adopt the already criticized for causing too much stress and playing state system or one that exceeds its requirements. too dominant a role in Texas classrooms. They question the fairness of using different means of measuring student growth At the May 14 hearing, some committee members for different teachers, depending on whether their students are expressed concern that the results from districts participating in grades and courses subject to STAAR testing. in the pilot program would not be available before the end of the regular session of the 84th Legislature next year. — by Janet Elliott

Debate on any proposed legislative action likely would include the implications of including student test scores in teacher evaluations.

Supporters of making student test scores a part of teacher evaluations say it would help ensure that students – particularly those struggling to succeed — were being taught by highly qualified teachers. They say scores on standardized tests are a valid way to measure student growth and that most other states and some Texas school districts already include student achievement data in teacher evaluations.

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