All about audits (and more)
It was a busy week on Idaho’s education beat, starting with the latest on the teacher evaluations controversy.
Let’s catch up.
Evaluations audit. On Monday, our Clark Corbin broke the news about an audit of 2014-15 teacher evaluations — requested by state superintendent Sherri Ybarra’s office, and conducted by an outside consultant. Auditors reviewed 225 evaluations from 53 school districts, and found that 99 percent of the evaluations were completed incorrectly — and sometimes illegally.
Evaluations play a key role in determining teacher pay. Under the 2015 career ladder law, teacher pay raises are tied to evaluation results. Ybarra will seek $58 million to fund the career ladder in 2017-18. Details here: https://www.idahoednews.org/news/audit-finds-99-percent-teacher-evaluations-inaccurate-incomplete/
State Board steps in. Responding to the news on the 2014-15 audit, the State Board of Education wants to focus on training. The board wants to make sure school administrators know how to complete evaluations accurately. The State Board will audit 2015-16 evaluations and report to the 2017 Legislature. Details: https://www.idahoednews.org/news/whats-next-teacher-evaluations-quality-accuracy/
How we got here. Legislators mandated the audits in the first place, by inserting a requirement into the career ladder law. In response, Ybarra’s office assembled a team of teachers and principals to develop the audit guidelines. Details: https://www.idahoednews.org/news/idaho-educators-developed-teacher-evaluation-audit-standards/
Ybarra to educators: ‘Stand tall.’ Breaking her silence on the audit story, Ybarra sent out a memo to school administrators Thursday, urging them to “stand tall, stand proud and stand together.” Said Ybarra: “This audit was never intended to be an ‘I gotcha of Idaho educators.'” Ybarra also criticized Idaho Education News’ coverage of the audit. Details: https://www.idahoednews.org/news/ybarra-calls-schools-stand-tall-wake-teacher-evaluations-audit/
Record supplemental levy bill. In other news, Idaho set a record in 2016-17. School districts will collect $188.8 million in supplemental property tax levies, an all-time high. The voter-approved levies have become commonplace, especially in the wake of the Great Recession. Ninety-three of Idaho’s 115 districts have supplemental levies on the books. For details (and to see how your district stacks up): https://www.idahoednews.org/news/idaho-supplemental-tax-bill-hits-time-record/
Flat reading scores. The latest scores on the Idaho Reading Indicator tell a familiar story. About four in 10 kindergarten through third-grade students showed up for school this fall reading below grade level. The numbers outline the scope of the problem, as Idaho launches an $11.25 million effort to boost reading scores. (Next week, Idaho Education News and Idaho Public Television’s “Idaho Reports” will team up to take an in-depth look at the literacy initiative. Details: https://www.idahoednews.org/news/fall-iri-scores-nearly-35000-students-score-grade-level/
