Illinois State Board of Education Selects CEC and Teachscape to Train and Assess All Teacher Evaluators in State

Teachscape partners with Consortium for Educational Change to deliver teacher evaluation-training statewide

SAN FRANCISCO, March 22, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Illinois State Board of Education has chosen the Consortium for Educational Change (CEC) and Teachscape, the leader in delivering online professional learning content, innovative tools, and expert services to improve teaching practice, to provide an online system by which to train and assess all of Illinois' teacher evaluators. The teacher evaluator training is part of a statewide performance evaluation-training program that will enable school districts in Illinois to meet the requirements of the state's Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA).

More than 7,000 Illinois teacher evaluators will be trained and certified during the next year. Teachscape and CEC will train and assess teacher evaluators using Teachscape's Framework for Teaching Proficiency System, the core of the training. CEC is augmenting this training by creating additional online modules and in-person sessions that focus on student measures, professional conversations and the legal components of the new Illinois requirements.

"The Illinois State Board of Education required a scalable, rigorous, consistent, affordable training solution that could support the new statewide performance evaluation system," said Mary Jane Morris, executive director of the Consortium for Educational Change. "The Framework for Teaching Proficiency System is that solution. We could not have taken on this challenge without Teachscape's Framework for Teaching Proficiency System. It is a best-in-class evaluator training program."

The Framework for Teaching Proficiency System was developed by Teachscape in collaboration with Charlotte Danielson and Educational Testing Service (ETS) and was born out of the Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Proficiency System integrates observer training, scoring practice and a proficiency test into a complete system and includes more than 15 hours of self-paced online training and over 100 master-scored videos covering all proficiency ranges for grades K-12.  

"As the stakes around teacher evaluation heighten, there is a great need for states and districts to make sure their teacher evaluations are accurate, reliable and valid in order to improve teaching," said Charlotte Danielson. "Evaluators must be trained and certified to make this a reality. I share Illinois' confidence that the Framework for Teaching Proficiency System will help the state develop quality teachers who improve student learning."

Well-respected districts throughout the country, including Pittsburgh Public Schools and Syracuse City School District, have partnered with Teachscape for classroom observer and teacher evaluator training through its Proficiency System. "Our versatile observation and evaluation technologies are being used in many ways, including support for professional learning, licensure and teacher preparation programs. All of these tools have the goal of driving teacher improvement and effectiveness. Evaluator training is the foundation of these programs," said Kathy Yates, chief executive officer of Teachscape.

To learn more about the Framework for Teaching Proficiency System, visit http://www.teachscape.com/products/danielson-proficiency-system.

About Teachscape

Teachscape uniquely combines innovative technology, engaging content and expert services to develop great teachers. From its classroom observation training and technology to its powerful web-based content delivery platform, Teachscape's award-winning products and services have been inspired by its dedication to sparking transformative change in teaching practice.  Since 1999, Teachscape has worked with schools and school districts, charter networks, archdioceses, universities and state education departments to measurably and continuously improve the effectiveness of educators to produce gains in student achievement. Teachscape's partners include Charlotte Danielson, ETS, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Stanford University, and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching to help shape its vision, its products, and its strategies. To learn more about Teachscape and its complete collection of professional development offerings, go to http://www.teachscape.com.

SOURCE Teachscape