North Carolina Public School Teachers’ Perceptions of Value-Added Measures

North Carolina incorporated student growth data as the sixth standard of statewide teacher evaluations in 2012-2013. Do teachers feel they have been listened to in the creation and implementation of Standard 6? I administered an anonymous survey to NC public school teachers on NC’s Standard 6 that received more than 600 responses. The survey indicates that teachers think that they understand the value-added measures (VAM) component of the evaluations better than they actually do. Furthermore, teachers are very skeptical of Standard 6 and are unsure it will be a legitimate source of information on what to improve. Finally, teachers do not think other teachers were a part of the process to incorporate Standard 6 or that their own voices were heard once the new evaluation system was implemented. I argue that communication and trust are the root of the above issues. Clearer training on how Standard 6 works would address many of the issues linked to misunderstanding. Furthermore, involving key policymakers and stakeholders such as the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) and the North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE) to obtain teacher feedback would increase trust and legitimacy of administrators and policymakers.