Locally Developed Alternate Teacher Evaluation System
The goal of Pennsylvania's teacher evaluation system is to improve student achievement by focusing on teacher effectiveness. The system provides summative scores for accountability purposes, inform decisions about tenure or dismissal, identify teachers in need of remediation, and provide formative feedback to improve teachers' practice.
Act 13 of 2020, revised the Act 82 Educator Effectiveness (EE) process used to evaluate professional employees and temporary professional employees in PK-12 education across the commonwealth. Effective the 2021-2022 school year, the revised rating system applies to classroom teachers, non-teaching professionals, and principals as defined in Act 13.
24 P.S. §11-1138.6 provides school districts, intermediate units, and area career and technical schools with the opportunity to develop their own rating tool for use in evaluating professional employees and temporary professional employees who serve as classroom teachers, non-teaching professionals, or principals. At the request of a local education agency (LEA), the Department will review for approval an alternative rating tool that has been authorized by the LEA's governing board and that meets or exceeds the measures of effectiveness established by the Department and published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on March 27, 2021. The review process ensures Pennsylvania educators are held to similar standards across the state.
Pennsylvania's observation and practice component addresses the evaluation of the following four domains:
| Planning and Preparation | Planning and Preparation | Strategic/Cultural Leadership |
| Classroom Environment | Educational Environment | Systems Leadership |
| Instruction | Delivery of Service | Leadership for Learning |
| Professional Responsibilities | Professional Development | Professional and Community Leadership |
LEAs modifying the observation/practice component are required to submit prescribed descriptions and evidence as detailed in the
Classroom Teacher,
Principal, and/or
Non-Teaching Professional applications for approval. Approval by the Department is required before any modifications to the teacher observation/practice component may be implemented.
LEAs modifying Building Level Data, Teacher Specific Data (assessments, growth, IEP goals progress), or LEA Selected Measures must submit prescribed descriptions and evidence as detailed in the
application for approval. Approval by the Pennsylvania Department of Education is required before any modifications to the Building Level Data, Teacher Specific Data, or LEA Selected Measures may be implemented.
Completed application, with attachments, should be submitted to
RA-PDE-Evaluation@pa.gov.