Including Students With Disabilities and English Learners in Measures of Educator Effectiveness

Abstract

The purpose of this essay is to provide an overview of the challenges of accounting for students with disabilities (SWDs) and English learners (ELs) in the evaluation of mainstream teachers. We focus on the two prominent indicators of teaching quality—classroom observations and value-added scores. We begin by describing each indicator and outlining the specific challenges related to the inclusion of SWDs and ELs in mainstream teacher evaluation. We then suggest recommendations for states and districts to ensure that teacher evaluation systems adequately and fairly account for these students. Finally, we provide researchers with a set of recommendations for improving the evidence base surrounding the validity of teacher evaluation measures with regard to SWDs and ELs.