State moves to new evaluation system for teachers, principals

The state Board of Education voted Thursday to implement a new teacher and principal evaluation system this fall that relies more on student performance and less on observation.

Many districts in Georgia have been piloting the new evaluation system for the past two years, but, starting this fall, it will cover all of the state’s 109,000 teachers and all of its 10,000 administrators.

A student’s academic growth – measured by end-of-course tests and the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test – will account for half of how teachers and principals as evaluated. Observation will cover the remaining half of a teacher’s evaluation. Observation, closing the achievement gap between different groups of students and retaining effective teachers will make up the remaining portion of the evaluation system for principals.