Collecting Evidence
The educator(s) keeps track of the work that is done to attain the plan’s goals and to document evidence of work related to the Professional Practice standards. Logs might include information and evidence related to teaching and learning, instructional leadership, school/district management & operations, professional development, parent/family engagement, professional responsibilities, and community engagement.
There has been an enormous amount of misinformation about the evidence requirement:
- Evidence by Standards, Not By Indicators: Evidence must relate to the four standards (add a link to rubric standards) and/or the professional practice goal and student learning goal. It is not necessary – or required – that there be evidence for each indicator. It is important to remember that practice is judged on each standard, not on each indicator. The collection and organization of evidence are the responsibility of both the educator and the evaluator.
- A Single Piece of Evidence May Relate to Multiple Standards: One artifact may be used to demonstrate proficiency on multiple standards and may apply to multiple indicators. For example, one standards-based unit of instruction may be used as evidence for Standards 1-4.
- Evidence May Relate to Educator Plan Goals: Some evidence may be clearly related to professional practice and/or student learning goals.
- Evidence Is a Sampling: For the most part, evidence should be a sampling of the work that educators perform and the resulting student work. Evidence is not meant to be inclusive of all that educators do. Evaluators may identify common artifacts, something that most educators are expected to provide, such as lesson plans or unit plans.
- Evidence Should Demonstrate Profiency: In the educator’s professional judgment, once sufficient evidence has been identified and/or collected to demonstrate proficiency on one or more standard, there is no need to add more. It may be helpful to provide the evaluator with a brief rationale for the use of each piece of evidence.
- Evidence Collection Methods: There is no requirement that educators collect evidence in binders. Unfortunately, some districts have contracted to use electronic evaluation systems that are driving the implementation. This is the tail wagging the dog. Districts should reconsider software systems that make unnecessary work for either the educator or the evaluator.