Discussion Board 3
SC teacher evaluation system
South Carolina has adopted rigorous standards for students, teachers, and school leaders. These
standards will promote the most effective leadership practices among South Carolina's principals, and
the result will be an educational system in which all educators and students excel.
The purpose of the teacher evaluation is to improve teacher professional practice for the benefit of ALL
students. The intent is to shine a flashlight on where teachers' practice is effective and where teachers
can grow in their craft. The primary goal is to use evaluation as a tool that informs an educator's
professional growth and development, emphasizing the direct connection between teacher practices
and increased student learning by incorporating student academic growth measures into classroom-
based teachers' evaluation.
The purpose of ongoing assessment for principals is to improve performance and effectiveness. In
addition, the intention is for the process to be professional, supportive, collegial, transparent, and
developmental by enhancing the principal's professional practice, knowledge, and skills throughout their
careers.
"Within the Expanded ADEPT System, the South Carolina Teaching Standards (SCTS) 4.0 Rubric serves as
the observation instrument for classroom-based teacher evaluations. For the purpose of Expanded
ADEPT, the term classroom-based teacher refers to educators responsible for planning, delivering, and
assessing instruction to students over time. The SCTS 4.0 rubric is based on sets of performance
standards designed and validated by the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET) and
establishes the expectations for what classroom-based teachers are to know, be able to do, and carry out
as an integral part of their practice. These expectations, called the SCTS Indicators, are the foundation for
good teaching and are designed to grow classroom-based teachers throughout their career continuum,
beginning with teacher preparation and continuing through induction, high-stakes performance
evaluations, and ongoing professional growth and development. A classroom-based teacher's proficiency
in each of the standards is expected to occur developmentally and to increase continuously throughout
the entirety of the teaching career. There are twenty-three SCTS Indicators for classroom-based teachers.
These Indicators are grouped into four broad categories, or domains: Each of these Indicators contains a
set of Descriptors—the critical components of the Indicator. Together, the Indicators and Descriptors
establish the proficiency expectations for each Domain. The Descriptors are not intended to be used as a
checklist. Good teaching takes different forms, depending on the content, the students, and the
intended outcomes. Oftentimes, a variety of instructional and assessment methods and approaches are
equally viable. For this reason, a checklist is far too restrictive to be used for gauging teacher
effectiveness."
SC administrator evaluation system
The Expanded Program for Assisting, Developing, and Evaluating Principal Performance (PADEPP)
Standards and Criteria play an essential role in South Carolina's standards-based system. Current
research consistently indicates that effective principals communicate and distribute leadership to engage
all educators in realizing a vision for high quality teaching and improved student learning and growth.
Chris Minnich, Executive Director of the Council of Chief State School Offices (CCSSO), points out that
"The demands on school leaders have never been greater. To meet these new challenges, talented
principals are essential." With the adoption of the revised standards for principals, South Carolina has
clearly defined the traits and skills of effective leaders that are aligned to the Professional Standards for
Educational Leaders 2015 (formerly known as ISLLC Standards), the Every Student Succeeds Act 2015
(ESSA), and the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate. These standards will promote the most effective
leadership practices among South Carolina's principals, and the result will be an educational system in
which all educators and students excel.
"In many ways, the school principal is the most important and influential individual in any school. It is his
leadership that sets the tone of the school, the climate for learning, the level of professionalism and
morale of teachers and the degree of concern for what students may or may not become. If a school is a
vibrant, innovative, child-centered place; if it has a reputation for excellence in teaching; if students are
performing to the best of their ability, one can almost always point to the principal's leadership as the
key to success." United States Senate Report, 1972
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