15 Nov 2012
Report

Student Learning Objectives: Benefits, Challenges, and Solutions

Lisa Lachlan-Haché, Ellen Cushing, and Lauren Bivona

Not all student growth measures are alike, nor are they designed to be. But when student growth measures are used for educator evaluation, fairness and comparability become critical. This paper focuses on the benefits and challenges of student learning objectives (SLOs) and their use in educator effectiveness systems. To support educators in implementing fair and equitable SLOs, this paper highlights the work of leading states and districts as they develop innovative solutions to improve the quality of SLOs as a measure of student growth and, in turn, as a measure of educator effectiveness.

Related Work

15 Sep 2012
Report

Using Student Learning Objectives in Performance-Based Compensation Systems: A Guide for Successful Implementation

Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) have recently come to the forefront as a potential solution for measuring student growth, particularly for educators in subjects or grades not covered by a state standardized assessment. This paper discusses the steps for using SLOs as a measure of growth, identifies key considerations for successful implementation, and highlights two districts that have successfully integrated SLOs into their performance-based compensation programs.
Topic: 
Education, Teacher Preparation and Performance
1 Nov 2012
Report

Implementing Student Learning Objectives: Core Elements for Sustainability

To support the student learning objective (SLO) implementation and sustainability process, states and districts can provide resources for teachers, evaluators, and SLO leaders that improve the quality of SLOs, rigor of assessments, and consistency of scoring. This report outlines the importance of these resources while considering the variety of implementation supports that can be offered and the trade-offs for states and districts that have limited resources.
Topic: 
Education, Teacher Preparation and Performance
1 Nov 2012
Report

Student Learning Objectives as Measures of Educator Effectiveness: The Basics

Student learning objectives (SLOs) have emerged as a novel approach to measuring student growth, particularly for the majority of educators not covered by a state standardized assessment. This report offers some ideas for states and districts that are considering the use of SLOs to measure student growth, including a basic description of SLOs, highlights of the SLO development process, and a discussion of their function within the evaluation cycle.
Topic: 
Education, Teacher Preparation and Performance

Further Reading