COMPASS: LOUISIANA’S PATH
TO EDUCATOR EXCELLENCE
L O U I S I A N A
D E P A R T M E N T
O F
E D U C A T I O N
The Core Elements help us envision what Common Core
& Compass look like in everyday practice.
The implementation of Common Core & Compass will look different in every district and
school, but the Core Elements represent the foundation for successful, integrated
implementation of these two instructional priorities in everyday practice. We believe that
all five elements are central to achieving better student outcomes.
Five Core Elements
1. GOAL SETTING: Teachers in all subjects will set quantifiable achievement goals for students.
2. ASSESSMENT AND CONTENT: Teachers in all subjects will select assessments and curricular materials
that align with skills students are expected to demonstrate on new Common Core assessment items.
3. FEEDBACK: Principals and other instructional leaders will observe all teachers and will provide
feedback based on a Common Core-aligned rubric.
4. COLLABORATION: Teachers will work in teams to examine student work and to articulate specific
changes in instructional practice that will align student performance to Common Core standards.
5. IDENTIFYING LEADERS: Districts will use Compass effectiveness ratings to identify teacher leaders who
can take on new responsibilities to support these Core Elements in their schools.
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Compass focuses on supporting teachers, which will
promote effective instruction and student achievement.
Set Goals
-For Educators
-For Students
Observation
Feedback
Support
Evaluate
Performance
-Student Growth
-Prof. Practice
Use Data
to inform
decision
making
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Compass’s requirements are a foundation that districts
will build on to meet local needs and achieve their vision.
Professional Practice
Student Growth
• Student Learning Targets
• Value-added Score,
where available
50%
50%
1.00 – 4.00
1.00 – 4.00
• Measured using the
Compass Teacher Rubric
(or alternative)
• Minimum of TWO
observations
(one formal, announced;
one informal)
1.00 – 1.49
1.50 – 2.49
2.50 – 3.49
3.50 – 4.00
Ineffective
Effective:
Emerging
Effective:
Proficient
Highly
Effective
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COMPASS: LOUISIANA’S PATH
TO EDUCATOR EXCELLENCE
O B S E RVA T I O N RU B R I C
L O U I S I A N A
D E P A R T M E N T
O F
E D U C A T I O N
Louisiana’s Components of Effective Teaching reflect
the highest-impact instructional skills.
SETTING INSTRUCTIONAL OUTCOMES
MANAGING CLASSROOM PROCEDURES
USING QUESTIONING AND DISCUSSION TECHNIQUES
ENGAGING STUDENTS IN LEARNING
USING ASSESSMENT IN INSTRUCTION
o Based on feedback from the Compass pilot districts, the LDOE recommended and
BESE adopted a set of five instructional components that are the most likely to lead
to improved practice and student success.
o These components serve as the State’s definition of effective teaching and are
included in the Compass Teacher Rubric, an abridged version of Charlotte
Danielson’s Framework for Effective Teaching. Districts using alternative rubrics have
ensured that their observation rubrics align with these components.
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Each component in the Compass Teacher Rubric is
described generally via elements and indicators…
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…and more specifically via detailed descriptions,
attributes, and examples for each performance level.
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COMPASS: LOUISIANA’S PATH
TO EDUCATOR EXCELLENCE
S T U D E N T L E A R N I N G TA R G E T S
L O U I S I A N A
D E P A R T M E N T
O F
E D U C A T I O N
Determining the Correct Student Growth Measure
Do you teach one or more of the following
courses?
 3rd grade ELA and/or Math
 4th-8th grade ELA/Reading, Math,
Science, and/or Social Studies
 Algebra 1
 Geometry
YES
Do you meet the value-added
criteria?
 Teach at least 10 students who are
enrolled in your class for the
majority of the academic term.
 Students have at least one year of
prior achievement data
YES
Your impact on
student growth will
be measured by the
Value-Added Model.
NO
NO
Do you provide direct instruction or
instructional support to a specified group
of students to whom you are formally
assigned?
OR
Are you a librarian or school counselor?
YES
Your impact on student
growth will be
measured by Student
Learning Targets.
NO
You will not receive a
student growth score.
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Setting goals for students is essential instructional
practice, and nothing new for strong educators.
“Goal-setting” is the first of Louisiana’s Five Core Elements.
1. GOAL SETTING: Teachers in all subjects will set quantifiable
achievement goals for students.
 Goals provide the motivation, focus, and accountability necessary to promote
student achievement. They set a vision for what students should be able to
accomplish by the year’s end.
 The process itself promotes teachers’ thoughtful engagement with their
content and consideration of their students’ needs.
 There is no single way to engage in the goal setting process. With the support
of their school leaders, teachers must determine ambitious yet reasonable
goals for the students in their room.
 Checking in on goals throughout the school year gives administrators the
information they need to ensure that teachers and students are on track and
to intervene when they are not.
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SLTs: Definition
Student Growth
• Student Learning Targets
(1.0 -4.0)
• Value-added Score, where
available
(1.0 – 4.0)
Professional Practice
50%
1.00 – 4.00
50%
1.0 0– 4.00
• Measured using the
Louisiana Teacher Rubric
(or alternative)
• Minimum of TWO
observations
 An SLT is a measureable goal for student achievement over a
given period of time that reflects an ambitious, but reasonable,
expectation of growth.
 Strong SLTs:



Prioritize content that is aligned to Common Core State Standards or
other national, state, or local standards;
Articulate rigorous but reasonable expectations for student growth; and
Identify a high-quality assessment to measure student progress.
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An SLT represents what students should learn and have
learned. This is the heart of our work.
Clear, ambitious, measurable goals for students are nothing new in education.
Strong educators across the state already embrace goals, use them to guide
instruction, and hold themselves accountable for achieving goals.
SLTs provide a frame for goal setting that allows:
• Teachers, with the support of their school leaders and evaluators, to establish the
best and most appropriate aspirations for their students.
• Evaluators, teachers, students and stakeholders to have a shared understanding of
what will be accomplished during the year.
• All of us to use a common measure of and language for accountability.
By design, the process for setting SLTs is not prescriptive.
Teachers must use their vision, expertise, and professional judgment to
determine what their students can achieve.
School leaders and evaluators must support and inspire teachers throughout
this process.
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What is an SLT?
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How Does the Annual SLT Process Work?
Summer
• Districts
determine
strategy for
standardizing
targets and/or
assessments
Beginning
of Year
Mid-Year
End of Year
• Teachers set
• Teachers and
• Evaluators
at least two
evaluators
assign
targets and
monitor
teachers a
define what
progress
final rating
performance
toward targets
based on
will look like at
students’
• Teachers and
each level of
progress
evaluators
effectiveness
towards target
update
using the
• Evaluators
targets if
agreed upon
and teachers
assignment or
definitions of
agree on
student
effectiveness
targets based
population
from the
on three
changes
beginning of
characteristics
significantly
the year
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Four Steps to Writing Strong SLTs
Define the
Content
Identify
Assessment &
Collect Baseline
Identify the
Student Group
Set the Growth
Target &
Scoring Plan
 Step 1: Define the Content
 Step 2: Identify the Assessment & Collect Baseline Data
 Step 3: Identify the Student Group
 Step 4: Set the Growth Target & Aligned Scoring Plan
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Step One: Define the Content
Define the
Content
Identify
Assessment &
Collect Baseline
Identify the
Student Group
Set the Growth
Target &
Scoring Plan
 Teachers should define the content that is most
important for students to learn during their time in that
particular class or course.


Prioritize content that is aligned to the Common Core State
Standards whenever possible.
Look to other national, state, or local standards in identifying the
content that students should learn by the end of the course.
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Step Two: Identify the Assessment & Collect Baseline Data
Define the
Content
Identify
Assessment &
Collect Baseline
Identify the
Student Group
Set the Growth
Target &
Scoring Plan
 Teachers identify the most appropriate assessment to measure
students’ mastery of the identified content.


Refer to the LDOE Common Assessment List or specific district guidance.
If a common assessment is unavailable, teachers and evaluators agree on
the most appropriate assessment. When no or few common
assessments are available, consider collaboratively designing
assessments at the school- or district-level.
 Teachers gather baseline data about students’ starting points.
Data sources may include:



Pre-test aligned to the final assessment
Diagnostic exam designed to assess students’ readiness for new content
Analysis of data from the end of the previous course or year
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Step Three: Identify the Student Group
Define the
Content
Identify
Assessment &
Collect Baseline
Identify the
Student Group
Set the Growth
Target &
Scoring Plan
 SLTs may be set for:
 Entire classes of students
 Multiple sections of the same course
 Smaller groups, such as the lowest performing students
 Teachers should try to address the majority of their
students across their two or more SLTs
 Teachers should prioritize academic content areas most
aligned to the Common Core.
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Step Four: Set the Growth Target & Aligned Scoring Plan
Define the
Content
Identify
Assessment &
Collect Baseline
Identify the
Student Group
Set the Growth
Target &
Scoring Plan
 For each target, teachers will set the expectation for
student growth, a goal that is ambitious – a bit of a stretch
for students – but still attainable.
 Then, teachers and evaluators agree on a well-defined
scoring plan for the SLT, as exemplified below.
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Exemplary Growth Target for English II
Example: English II
I decided to develop a pre-test based on English II items from Eagle to determine how
many of my students are starting the year at grade level. When I gave this test:
 52 of 90 (58%) got at least half the questions right. Students need to get 60% of
items right to earn a score of Good, so all of these students should be able to
score Good or Excellent on the English II EOC.
 20 of 90 (22%) got about 40-50% of the questions right. Some of these students
should score Good or Excellent on the English II EOC.
 18 of 90 (20%) scored below 40%. These students will need more intensive
support to catch up to grade level, but a few of them should be able to score
Good or Excellent on the English II EOC with this support. I will set a separate
growth target for these students.
At my school last year, classrooms with similar baseline data had approximately 65% of
students score Good or Excellent. Given this data, I am setting a goal that
70% of students (63 of the 90 students) will score Good or Excellent on the
English II EOC.
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Scoring Plan for English II
Example: English II
 Target: 63 out of 90 students will score Good or Excellent on the English II EOC.
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Calculating the Student Growth Score
At the end of the instructional period, score each SLT according to the Scoring
Plan.
Average the scores to yield the final Student Growth Score.
 At the end of each SLT period (typically the end of school year), evaluators will
review student performance data to determine each SLT score (based on the
scoring plan).
 To combine SLT scores at the end of the year, average with equal weight.
SLT #1:
3
SLT #2:
2
Student Growth Score: 2.50
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Example: Calculating the Final Score
Professional Practice
COMPONENT
OBSERVATION 1
SCORE
OBSERVATION 2
SCORE
1
2
3
4
5
AVERAGE
1
3
2
3
2
2.2
3
3
3
4
2
3
FINAL SCORE
Student Growth
SLT
Score
1
3
Average
2
`
2
2.50
2.60
2.55 - Effective: Proficient
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Review: Calculating Final Scores
Student Growth Score
(SLT rating OR value-added score)
50%
50%
1.00 – 4.00
1.00 – 4.00
Professional Practice Score
(average of all observation scores,
from minimum two observations)
FINAL SCORE
(average of Student Growth and Professional Practice scores)
1.00 – 1.49
1.50 – 2.49
2.50 – 3.49
3.50 – 4.00
Ineffective
Effective:
Emerging
Effective:
Proficient
Highly Effective
A rating of Ineffective in either Student Growth or Professional
Practice will result in an overall rating of Ineffective.
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Naturally, teachers will be curious how evaluations affect
their job security.
Question: Are these evaluations just an excuse to get rid of teachers?
Potential responses:
 No. Evaluations are meant to be tools to help teachers and, therefore, help
their students succeed.
 All professionals need feedback in order to improve their performance.
 In the past, many teachers were not evaluated or received very minimal
information about their performance.
 Through Compass, observations will help us give you more useful feedback
and professional development that relates directly to your teaching practice.
 We are partners in this work. My job is to provide you with the feedback and
support you deserve as a professional.
 By law, however, teachers who are very low performing or who do not improve
will be dismissed. This is so that students have access to strong teachers who
help them meet rigorous learning goals.
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Louisiana believes that every child can achieve.
We believe that every
child can attain
a college degree
or pursue a
professional career.
To reach this goal
we must raise
our expectations
for every student and
every teacher.
If we believe in children, we also have to believe in
the educators closest to them.
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Questions?
Contact:
Compass@la.gov
or visit
http://www.louisianaschools.net/compass/
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