Florida Teachers' Knowledge and Perceptions about Student Learning Growth, Assessment, and the Florida Value-Added Model

The process of evaluating teachers has existed for many years and in a myriad of designs. Teacher evaluations are often a rating of instruction in a single observation. Teachers and other stakeholders strive to ensure that students are receiving instruction that promotes learning growth, so assessing those who provide instruction to students is essential. In the past few years, teacher evaluations are not only assessing classroom instruction, but are also measuring teachers' effects on student learning growth. In 2011, the Florida legislature passed the Student Success Act, which revised the requirements for teachers' annual evaluations. One component of the evaluation, the Florida value-added model (FL VAM), is a statistical model that computes a value-added score for teachers. This score represents the value added by a teacher to student learning. I investigated the new evaluation system from teachers' perspectives. Teachers from school districts across Florida completed a newly developed survey designed to gauge teachers' knowledge and perceptions about the new evaluation system. Evidence from my findings indicated that Florida teachers are willing to admit their lack of knowledge about FL VAM, and teachers, in general, feel negatively toward this assessment. As well, they lack confidence in the model to produce accurate value-added scores, and they are concerned that their scores may adversely impact their careers as teachers. Due to the rise in value-added assessment of teachers, research should continue to monitor the impact of this evaluation approach on teachers.