1. Flexibility for Fairness: Crafting Business Rules for Student Learning Objectives. Ask the Team
- Author
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Center on Great Teachers and Leaders at American Institutes for Research and Potemski, Amy
- Abstract
Across the United States, a wide cross-section of administrators and teachers are learning the ins and outs of setting, assessing, and scoring student learning objectives (SLOs). An SLO is a set of goals that measures an educator's progress in achieving student growth targets. SLOs are particularly helpful for teachers in nontested subjects and grades because the goal can be set using any type of assessment. The SLO process varies from state to state, but a common set of questions often emerges during this process. For example, what happens to the SLO process if the following occur: (1) a teacher's roster changes drastically due to high student mobility rates; (2) a teacher's assignment changes significantly over the course of the year; or (3) a teacher serves as a pull-in/push-out teacher or coteaches? To address these common situations, states and districts are crafting business rules specifically for SLOs. Business rules typically list specific exceptions to any standard process, although states refer to these exceptions by different terms, such as operating rules or guidelines. In the case of SLOs, business rules outline exceptions that are designed to mitigate bias introduced in the SLO process by these particular situations. SLO business rules attempt to build flexibility into SLOs while sustaining a consistent process across all teachers and students. In response to questions from the field,a sample of SLO business rules from multiple states and districts that are currently implementing SLOs was gathered. The implementation of SLOs is still an emerging process in these states. Little information is available on the effectiveness of these rules in achieving their aims, so this overview functions only as starting point for discussion on this topic in your states or districts. Bonus resources are provided.
- Published
- 2013