FAQ

Michigan districts that implement the School ADvance administrator evaluation system with fidelity will be in compliance with the state’s 2010 requirements and the July, 2013 MCEE recommendations. The system addresses each of Michigan’s current requirements and those recommended for 2013-14 and beyond:

• Incorporates student growth and assessment data (Domain 1-Results)

• Employs rubrics with effectiveness ratings of highly effective, effective, minimally effective, and ineffective (ratings will be updated based on final statute).

School ADvance is designed to align with six characteristics of evaluation practice that support learning, growth and adaptation. It supports both district and building level improvement initiatives. It focuses on building capacity and provides a clear path for continuous growth for school leaders. Building and district administrators operate under an aligned and complementary set of performance expectations all of which are supported by observable behaviors.

In addition to the advantages stated above, the School ADvance system is developed and supported by Michigan based authors, researchers, trainers, and professional organizations. School ADvance is one of only two models recommended by the Michigan Council for Educator Effectiveness.

School ADvance is a comprehensive system for evaluating the performance of school administrators. The system includes building and district leader evaluation frameworks, summative and formative rubrics, implementation fidelity guide, observation tools, and growth plans.

School ADvance provides both summative and formative rubrics for building and district leaders. The summative rubrics provide a compact set of performance indicators for the summative evaluation. The formative rubrics provide descriptors of observable behaviors and traits (the “look for’s”) that support formative self assessment, observations, performance conversations, and growth plans. Both the summative and formative rubrics address key responsibilities and functions of building or district leadership.

Yes, during the basic training sessions, School ADvance will help guide districts in aligning the rubrics with each administrator position to be evaluated, depending on specific assignment and scope of responsibility. In addition, districts will learn how to weight various components in the rubric to reflect individual growth goals and building/district improvement priorities.

The School ADvance Domain 1 can be aligned with both building and district improvement targets utilizing a combination of student achievement, school process, student engagement, attendance, behavior, perception, and other relevant data to monitor progress and growth.

Teacher, student, parent, and community input are addressed throughout the School ADvance rubrics. Feedback can be used and uploaded as evidence pertaining to one or more evaluation characteristics. Districts can use any current or new survey tool (e.g., Survey Monkey, K12 Insight, Cobalt Community Research, etc.) to solicit feedback on specific school or district improvement targets within an administrator’s scope of responsibility. School ADvance also recommends the use of validated multi-rater instruments for direct feedback to administrators.

Michigan requires training for all persons contributing to an educator’s evaluation. School ADvance requires that all administrators who will either be evaluated or evaluate others must complete the School ADvance basic training. The basic training includes training on rater and inter-rater reliability for conducting observations, doing self-assessments, and demonstrating performance evidence.

In Domain 5, the School ADvance rubrics rate principals based on the quality of their teacher evaluation practices and adherence to both state and local teacher evaluation system requirements. In most cases, evaluators can randomly sample teacher evaluations for each principal through the local electronic management system.

MASA sponsored the development of School ADvance as a service to members. As a result, we can offer a low cost structure. Michigan districts may purchase School ADvance in one of three ways:

School ADvance rubrics only – Limited licensing agreements for the stand-alone School ADvance rubrics are available at a rate of $30 per school building for principal evaluation and $30 per central office administrator, including the superintendent, for MASA districts. For non-MASA districts, licensing is $75

School ADvance is currently included or under consideration for inclusion in other state evaluation models outside of Michigan. School ADvance is completely adaptable and available under the same three purchase options, but pricing may vary depending on travel and other logistical costs. Please contact us for a quote.

School ADvance provides basic training for districts who are implementing the Administrator Evaluation System.

School ADvance can be easily adopted—without changing the way they track, manage, store and communicate evaluation data—in districts that are using three of the four teacher evaluation systems recommended by the Michigan Council for Educator Effectiveness.

Contact Carrie Platner at cplatner@gomasa.org or 517-327-9266