Administrators rate 98.4% of Idaho teachers ‘proficient’ or better

BOISE (IdahoEdNews.org) — Almost all Idaho teachers earned at least “proficient” grades on performance evaluations last school year.

Newly released data shows that educator evaluations are following a familiar trend: School administrators continue to give high performance grades to their teachers. And the evaluation system remains controversial yet consequential: Results affect teachers’ professional endorsements as well as each school district’s share of state funding.

For the 2023-24 school year, 98.4% of educators were rated proficient or better, according to the latest data from the Idaho Department of Education. And 74 of the state’s 182 school districts and charter schools with available data rated 100% of their teachers proficient or better.

Click here to see the full data report.

The Idaho Department of Education redacted proficiency data from seven small school districts. Department rules shield evaluation data from districts with fewer than five teachers.

Breaking down the ratings

The state department requires that school district and charter school administrators evaluate educators each year.

Teachers are graded on their instruction and student assessment techniques as well as their ability to plan and prepare, maintain their classroom environment and uphold their professional responsibilities.

Performance is rated through a four-tiered scale: distinguished, proficient, basic and unsatisfactory. The largest share of educators received proficient marks last year, and a large chunk were rated distinguished, the highest possible grade.

Here’s a percentage breakdown of the ratings from the 2023-24 school year:

BOISE
• Distinguished – 40.8%
• Proficient – 57.6%
• Basic – 1.4%
• Unsatisfactory – 0.2%

Among 182 school districts and charter schools, just five rated less than 80% of their educators proficient or better. All were charter schools:

• Pinecrest Academy of Idaho – 70%
• Chief Tahgee Elementary Academy – 66.7%
• Idaho STEM Academy – 62.5%
• Mountain Community School (formerly McCall Community School) – 60%
• North Valley Academy – 50%

The state’s largest school districts deemed the vast majority of their educators proficient. Here’s the proficient-or-better rate among Idaho’s five biggest districts by enrollment:

• West Ada – 99.4%
• Boise – 98.9%
• Bonneville – 98.9%
• Nampa – 98%
• Pocatello – 99.9%

History of controversy behind evaluations

The positive evaluations aren’t as rosy as they might seem.

Since 2015, when former Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter proposed tying the evaluations to the state’s career ladder teacher pay program, the ratings have been a point of contention among local school leaders and state officials, particularly when the grades are overwhelmingly positive.

Teachers’ ability to earn raises through the career ladder are tied to their performance  evaluations. That’s meant to reward good teachers, but it also gives school districts and charters an incentive to hand out good grades. More than $1.2 billion goes to schools through the career ladder.

In 2016, the Idaho Professional Standards Commission reprimanded two past superintendents for submitting inaccurate evaluation data.

Charlotte Danielson, author of “Framework for Teaching,” which inspired the state’s standards for evaluations, said in 2017 that Idaho’s ratings will likely be inflated as long as raises are tied to evaluations.

A 2022 investigation by Idaho Education News revealed some other hard truths about the evaluations — including that strong performance among teachers isn’t rewarded with raises when almost every teacher gets good marks.

The Department of Education annually conducts an audit of teacher evaluations. The review scrutinizes whether a randomly selected sample of school districts are complying with department rules that govern evaluations.

Idaho EdNews data analyst Randy Schrader contributed to this report.

Originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on September 4, 2024.