The Indiana House of Representatives voted unanimously in support of a bill co-authored by State Rep. Stephen Bartels (R-Eckerty) that would decouple teacher performance evaluations from student test scores.
House Bill 1002 removes a state mandate for school districts to use students’ standardized test scores to assess teachers’ overall performance. Bartels said local schools could determine how to use those exam results in educators’ annual evaluations.
“After meeting educators from Crawford, Perry and Spencer counties to discuss ways lawmakers can better support them, it is clear improvements need to be made to the performance evaluation process,” Bartels said. “Decoupling teacher performance evaluations from standardized test scores will help our hardworking educators to teach and focus their energy on their students.”
He said these standardized exams make up a significant portion of teachers’ annual evaluations, which determine where an educator falls on the highly effective to ineffective scale and influences teacher pay.
“Because we all value education, there needs to be accountability, and this policy gives authority to local districts,” Bartels said. “They know the educators in their schools, and are well-suited to determine the weight of test results in annual evaluations.”
House Bill 1002 now moves to the Indiana Senate for further consideration. Visit iga.in.gov for more information about this legislation.
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State Rep. Stephen Bartels (R-Eckerty) represents House District 74,
which includes all of Crawford and Perry counties and portions of Dubois, Orange and Spencer counties.
Click here to download a high-resolution photo.
