Contact: Melissa Salmanowitz (DCPS) | 202-535-1096 | Contact Email

District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) Chancellor Kaya Henderson announced today that the school system will not use student test scores for teachers’ 2014-15 performance evaluations. This change – which will only apply to the 2014-2015 school year – is a result of the school system’s transition to a new state assessment, the PARCC, which is aligned to the rigorous Common Core State Standards.

DCPS uses what is known as a “value-added” measure to quantify the impact that a teacher has on student learning. For the past four years, DCPS has calculated value-added scores for teachers whose students take DC’s “state” assessment, the DC CAS. Though it is possible to do the same with the PARCC assessment, DCPS has decided to hold for one year, acknowledging that the data from the new test may not be available in time for the school system to generate final teacher ratings by mid-summer, when it traditionally informs educators of their scores. DCPS will return to using value-added measurements during the 2015-16 school year.

“We firmly believe that student learning is a key indicator of teacher performance – and value-added is one of the best ways to measure that. But we also know that new assessments always bring delays and unexpected complications,” said Henderson. “Our teachers want and deserve clarity about when they will receive their final evaluations. So we decided to hold on value-added for one year as we work out any potential wrinkles.”

For the past few years, teachers whose students take the DC CAS had 35 percent of their evaluations tied to value-added scores. For the 2014-15 school year, that 35 percent will be replaced by classroom observation data. DCPS will continue to offer bonuses up to $20,000 for top-performers working in low-income schools.

The PARCC is a new assessment aligned to the Common Core State Standards. DCPS implemented these rigorous, internationally-benchmarked standards beginning in the 2010-11 school year, and remains unequivocally committed to them. States and school districts across the country are in the process of using new state exams, such as the PARCC, that measure student performance aligned to these standards.