The Colorado Education Association supports House Bill-1324 that would give districts more tools to fairly evaluate teachers, especially those who do not teach in subjects covered by state standardized tests. The bill starts a pilot program allowing participating districts the use of Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) as a measure of student academic growth in the state’s educator evaluation system. Established by educators or educator teams, SLOs are measurable learning goals that align with specific standards taught and measure student progress toward those goals.   “School districts across the state are struggling with implementing the 50% student growth side of educator evaluations, and that’s why most districts chose not to use student growth in evaluations this school year when the legislature offered that flexibility in the 2014 session,” said CEA President Kerrie Dallman, a high school social studies teacher. “The Student Learning Objectives offered in this bill won’t take away that apprehension, but will provide some districts a viable tool they can use to make the evaluation process as fair and meaningful as possible for teachers who work in many different content areas.”   Dallman said CEA voiced concerns during the initial passage of the state’s educator effectiveness evaluation system in 2010 that state assessments do not include all content areas and grade levels. Only about 30 to 40 percent of teachers work with students in the tested grades and subjects.   “The current evaluation law leaves many teachers disenfranchised who don’t teach English or math, but help deliver a well-rounded education to students in subjects such as art, music, or foreign language. How do we evaluate these teachers on their important contributions to student learning? That question has gone unanswered,” said Dallman. “Our teachers yearn to have more autonomy in their classrooms, and to have a professional voice in this evaluation process. It makes sense to use Student Learning Objects in evaluations so teachers can become more engaged in their professional development.”   With SLOs, teachers set goals for students, use data to assess student progress, and adjust instruction based on that progress. SLOs provide actionable data to help educators determine student progress and interventions, leading to improved student learning. For teachers, SLOs encourage reflective and collaborative teaching practices and provide an additional way for educators to demonstrate their effectiveness through student progress.