(EDITOR’S NOTE: Reporter Tim Ashley contributed to this article.)

The Indiana Department of Education released educator effectiveness data for the 2012-13 school year today. Today’s release marks the first time this type of data has been gathered or released in Indiana history.

On a state level, the data show that over 87 percent of public school educators (teachers and administrators combined) were rated as either effective or highly effective while only 3 percent were rated as either “needs improvement” or “ineffective.” The remaining 10 percent did not receive a final evaluation due to circumstances such as resignation or retirement.

Warsaw Community Schools reported a total of 500 staff members for the staff performance test. Of the 500 evaluated, 146 were listed as “highly effective,” 336 were listed as “effective,” four were listed as “improvement necessary,” three were reported as “ineffective” and 11 were unable to be evaluated.

Wawasee Community School Corporation evaluated a total of 235 staff members and reported that 19 were highly effective, 155 were effective, 10 required improvement and 51 were unavailable for evaluation. No staff was reported as ineffective.

Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation evaluated a total of 137 staff members finding that 25 were highly effective, 106 were effective, two required improvement and two were ineffective. Two staff members were unavailable for evaluation.

A total of 65 staff members at Triton School Corporation were evaluated. Of those, 21 were considered highly effective, 42 were considered effective and two required improvement. No staff was considered ineffective and all staff was evaluated.

Wa-Nee School Corporation evaluated a total of 200 staff members. Of those evaluated 15 were listed as highly effective, 85 were listed as effective and one was listed as needing improvement. A total of 11 staff members were unavailable for evaluation.

At Whitko School Corporation, 109 staff members were evaluated noting that 22 were highly effective, 85 were effective and two required improvement. All staff was evaluated and no one was listed as ineffective.

Locally, Joy Goshert, director of instruction and curriculum for the Wawasee Community School Corp., said administrators were told the data is being used by IDOE for looking at and evaluating teacher preparation programs. Goshert noted teacher evaluation systems vary among school districts and Wawasee’s data is based upon its first year of using the Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning, or McRel Teacher Evaluation System.

North Webster Elementary had 45 educators reported, with 12 being highly effective, 22 effective, one for improvement necessary, none ineffective and 10 in the NA category. Wawasee Middle School had 46 educators with two highly effective, 36 effective, one for improvement necessary, none ineffective and seven in the NA category. Milford School had 52 educators with one highly effective, 40 effective, two for improvement necessary, none ineffective and nine in the NA category.

Syracuse Elementary had 37 educators with one highly effective, 21 effective, four for improvement necessary, none ineffective and 11 in the NA category. And Wawasee High School had 69 educators with four highly effective, 47 effective, four for improvement necessary, none ineffective and 14 in the NA category.

Statewide, nearly 90 percent of educators were rated as highly effective or effective. Wawasee had fewer highly effective teachers than the state average, but when combined with the percentage of effective teachers, Wawasee was “in the ballpark of the statewide performance results as we are with teachers rated as improvement necessary,” Goshert said.

In the McRel system, the highest category is one in which teachers demonstrate leadership for other teachers on a regular basis in the various categories. “That may account for Wawasee having less teachers in the highly effective area than the statewide performance results,” Goshert noted. Teachers and principals are still adjusting to McRel and administrators are continuing to work on consistency in ratings within buildings and across the district, she added.

“I am encouraged by these numbers,” said Glenda Ritz, superintendent of Public Instruction in a press release provided by the IDOE. “For the most part, they confirm what we already knew: that public schools throughout Indiana are filled with effective and highly effective teachers. Research shows that highly effective educators are exactly the type of leaders that can turn schools around and increase school performance.  

“However, they also show us where we can improve. For example, when comparing the data by school performance grades A to F, there is an increase in the percentage of educators who fall within the improvement necessary and ineffective categories and the percentage that do not receive a final rating, indicating a retention concern in our lower performing schools.

“Finally, there is a marked decrease in the percentage of highly effective educators between schools that receive an A and those that receive an F. Thirty-two percent of teachers in A schools are rated as highly effective, in comparison to just 11 percent in schools that received an F.  Highly effective educators are vital to school turnaround and my Department will be working to address this gap moving forward.”

The data, including educator effectiveness broken down by school corporation and school can be found at http://doe.in.gov/evaluations. To view an excel sheet of local schools, including colleges, click here.