Sen. Lindsey Tippins (R-Marietta), Chairman of the Education and Youth Committee, will present a bill during a committee hearing today that would change the teacher and leader evaluation system, and would decrease the number of tests students have to take.
Hearings on Tippins’ SB 364 are expected to continue Friday, although no vote is expected either day.
Tippins announced during a recent conference of Georgia educational leaders that he planned to introduce legislation that would change education in Georgia. He believes this bill will do just that.
“We have to cut the amount of teacher assessment that relies on student growth,” Tippins said.
This is one of two bills addressing the teacher/leader evaluation — SB 355 was also introduced by Sen. William Ligon (R-Brunswick) last week. However, the two bills differ in several ways.
Under Tippins bill, student growth would continue to account for 50 percent of the teacher assessment for teachers in districts that have not signed a flexibility contract. The amount would be decreased to 30 percent for teachers in districts that have signed a contract for strategic waivers or charter system. In contrast, Ligon’s bill would lower the amount to 10 percent for all teachers and administrators.
Also, under Tippins’ SB 364, at least 20% of the evaluation must be based on the assessment — however, 10% can be based on multiple measures .
As for leader assessments, student growth would account for 40 percent of a leader’s assessment — down from the current, for administrators in districts with a flexibility contract, according to Tippins’ legislation,
Both bills also address student attendance, and the required time a student must be in school for their assessments to count on the evaluations. Tippins’ SB 364 counts those students who were present 80% or more of the class time. However, Ligon’s SB 355 eliminates those who have missed 10 days or more of the class.
Tippins’ bill would also reduce the number of state tests from 32 to 24 for each student.
Both bills drew a crowd of supporters Tuesday at the State Capitol as a group of teachers and parents gathered to show their support. Many teachers met with Sen. Tippins earlier in the day to discuss the bill.
PAGE (Professional Association of Georgia Educators) has come out in support of both bills. Their analysis states that “SB 364 is more likely to pass the committee as it is sponsored by the committee chair and co- sponsored by other members of the committee. The bill’s chances to successfully become law are greater than those of SB 355 because SB 364’s educator evaluation reforms are not as aggressive as those proposed in SB 355.”
