Standard for Success: Moving Beyond Compliance

Web-based teacher evaluation platform simplifies the process by the edCircuit Staff

Standard For Success is a web-based employee evaluation platform that can help administrators not only simplify their teacher evaluation process, but also evaluate the results so they can integrate teacher growth plans and professional development into their long-term teacher retention goals.

As school corporations have transitioned into a system of yearly evaluations, plans have been implemented quickly to be compliant. And even though we’re talking about instructional practices in a much more intentional and detailed way, there’s a gaping hole that is becoming larger every year. We’re collecting data, but then we do nothing with it.

Unfortunately, many schools collect the data, submit the scores to the state and then simply stop. There’s no further action — most often due to time constraints and lack of knowledge of where to go next.

Whatever employee evaluation system schools are using, if they are only collecting and reporting data to be compliant with state requirements, then they are under-utilizing their investment in software and human capital. As a profession, education needs to move from data to development. The data should drive individual growth plans for teachers, buildings and districts. It can be used to create onboarding programs, mentoring and best practice programs to spur engagement and retention.

Schools should identify early challenges beginning teachers are facing and give them targeted professional development opportunities and support to be successful. They also need to develop less than effective teachers and support their growth locally; replacements are becoming increasingly hard to find.

Standard For Success is an online solution that not only simplifies the overly complex teacher evaluation process, but also provides reports to help schools make the data actionable.

Utilizing a real-time dashboard, Standard For Success provides collaboration and additional data to support every educator. With the integration of online professional development programs like ELN, it allows administrators and teachers to assign and complete growth opportunities aligned to identified areas of need.

With Standard For Success, both administrators and teachers are engaged in the process to develop plans for professional growth as they pursue goals associated with quality improvement initiatives, observed areas of strength and weaknesses, and teacher effectiveness initiatives.

The Standard For Success platform can help administrators not only simplify their teacher evaluation process, but also evaluate the results so they can integrate teacher growth plans and professional development into their long-term teacher retention goals.

Simply stated, Standard For Success simplifies the employee evaluation process. The web-based platform—designed by educators for educators—is a best in class tool to consistently and objectively document performance observations. It allows you to:

• Design, customize and track teacher and staff evaluations across a school or an entire district
• Record, document and gather observations from multiple evaluators in a single portal
• Provide meaningful, transparent feedback that can be acted upon immediately
• Establish a more collaborative feedback loop, better preparing teachers to impact classroom learning
• Standard For Success gives administrators and teachers a web-based tool that is easy to use, collaborative and customizable to each school’s particular needs.

For Administrators

• Simplifies the evaluation process
• Keeps documentation in a single online location
• Implements school/district framework
• Assists in evidence collection throughout the year
• Sends task and deadline reminders
• Provides extended reporting features, including comparisons, trend assessments, inter-rater reliability and more

For Teachers

• Correlates scripting and evidence against the rubric for meaningful and actionable feedback
• Provides meaningful feedback in a variety of forms, including notes, photos and videos
• Allows performance checks and additions to evidence collection at any point throughout the year
• Promotes collaborative communication with evaluators

Key Features

• Customization – From rubric metrics to your specific process, SFS can be adapted to the unique needs of any school or district.
• Collaboration – Feedback is shared transparently, creating dialogue and the opportunity to respond and adjust.
• Communication – With alerts and notifications, SFS prompts evaluators of needed actions and impending deadlines.
• Customer Responsiveness – The SFS staff will get to know your school or district so they can respond to your requests quickly and with familiarity.

Further Reading

1. Silicon Review – Standard For Success simplifies the employee evaluation process
2. EdWeek – Teacher Evaluation: An Issue Overview
3. Center For Public Education – Trends in Teacher Evaluation: At A Glance