APPR FAQs
NEW YORK STATE’S
ANNUAL PROFESSIONAL
PERFORMANCE REVIEW (APPR)
PARENT & GUARDIAN INFORMATIONAL GUIDE
The APPR is an evaluation of a classroom teacher’s or principal’s practice.
It is designed to measure teacher and principal effectiveness based
on performance, student achievement, and student growth. New York State classroom teachers and principals are evaluated and given a number grade at the end of every school year that is designed to represent their effectiveness rating. The Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) is a state governed process that determines the standards for these ratings and the process for assessing classroom teachers’ and principals’ effectiveness.
The details of the evaluation process are determined locally by each school district, but all K-12 classroom teachers and principals in the State of New York are evaluated in three areas:
(1)(a) For classroom teachers, classroom observations and evidence.
(1)(b) For principals, leadership and management observations.
(2) Student growth.
(3) Student achievement.
Classroom teachers are generally evaluated by their principal and/or supervisor. Principals are evaluated by the Superintendent of Schools.
A. Teachers: For classroom teachers, sixty percent (60%) of their total score is based on the extent to which they meet the New York State Teaching Standards. Evidence concerning the classroom teacher’s practice is gathered by a school administrator during classroom observations. In addition, other evidence of the classroom teacher’s professional activities from the school year is reviewed and, together with the classroom observation evidence, is used to determine the sixty percent (60%) portion.
B. Principals: For principals, evidence is collected through school visits rather than classroom observations. Evidence from these visits, as well as a review of other evidence of the principal’s professional activities, is compared against a set of leadership standards to determine the sixty percent (60%) portion.
IV. STUDENT GROWTH
Data from student learning through the course of a school year is used to determine twenty percent (20%) of the classroom teacher’s or principal’s total score. In some cases the State of New York provides this part of the score (when state test data is available). In other cases, this portion of the classroom teacher’s or principal’s score is based on local measures of student growth, measured from the beginning to the end of a school year. The number of points assigned to a classroom teacher’s or principal’s score depends on the extent to which students meet established learning targets.
V. STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
Another twenty percent (20%) of the total score awarded to a classroom teacher or principal is connected to student achievement measured by district selected assessments. For this portion of the total score, district rules determine how these points are awarded. These points are directly linked to measures of student learning.
VI. HOW ARE CLASSROOM TEACHER & PRINCIPAL RATINGS DETRMINED BASED ON THESE EVALUATIONS?
Every year each K-12 classroom teacher and principal in the state will receive a single composite score. Each score corresponds to one of the following rating bands: Highly Effective, Effective, Developing, or Ineffective.
Specific details of the rating systems vary by school district. All APPR Plans must, however, be approved by the New York State Education Department.
Classroom teachers and principals receive an overall score based upon a one hundred (100) point scale.
Final classroom teacher and principal quality ratings correlate to the overall numerical score received, as follows:
POINT SCORE RATING
91-100 Highly Effective
75-90 Effective
65-74 Developing
0-64 Ineffective
VII. WHAT IS THE GOAL OF THE APPR?
The evaluation system is part of the federal government’s “Race to the
Top” educational reform initiative. The goal is to provide standardized, objective evaluation results that can be used to guide the professional learning of classroom teachers and principals.
VIII. IS THIS THE FIRST TIME THAT TEACHERS AND PRINCIPALS HAVE BEEN EVALUATED?
No. Classroom teachers and principals have always been evaluated according to individual school district plans and requirements. Under the APPR system district evaluation plans must follow rules set forth by the State of New York. Under this system a portion of classroom teachers and principals evaluations are linked to student performance on state exams or other state approved learning measures.
IX. WHERE CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT THE APPR?
You may obtain additional information about the APPR process through the N.Y.S. Education Department’s Engage New York website (engageny.org)