Performance Evaluation
Overview
Pursuant to section 1012.34, Florida Statutes (F.S.), each district school superintendent must establish procedures for evaluating the performance of all instructional, administrative, and supervisory personnel employed by the school district, in order to increase student academic performance by improving the quality of services in Florida’s public schools. In support of this purpose:
- District evaluation systems must be based upon sound educational principles and contemporary research in effective educational practices and must support continuous improvement of effective instruction and student learning growth.
- A performance evaluation must be conducted for each instructional employee and school administrator at least once a year, except that newly hired classroom teachers must be observed and evaluated at least twice in their first year of teaching in the district.
- Each evaluation must include indicators of student performance; instructional practice (for instructional personnel) or instructional leadership (for school administrators); and any other indicators of performance, if applicable.
- The student performance component for instructional personnel and school administrators must be based on growth or achievement data of the students assigned to their classrooms or schools, as appropriate, over the course of at least three years. If less than three years of data are available, the years for which data are available must be used.
- Evaluation systems must differentiate among the following four levels of performance: highly effective; effective; needs improvement or, for instructional personnel in the first three years of employment, developing; and unsatisfactory.
Approved District Evaluation Systems
The Florida Department of Education reviews and approves each school district's instructional personnel and school administrator evaluation systems and any substantial revisions subsequent to initial approval. Use the links below to access the list of department-approved evaluation systems and their approval dates.
District Evaluation Ratings
In accordance with section 1012.34(1)(c), F.S., each school district’s performance evaluation results for the prior school year are published on the department’s website annually. Use the links below to access the most recent available results or archived results from past years.
2022-23 District Educator Evaluation Ratings (Excel)
Archived Prior Year District Educator Evaluation Results
Florida's Value-Added Models (VAM)
Section 1012.34, F.S., requires that school districts implement personnel evaluations that are based on several criteria, one of which is the performance of each educator's students. The law allows the commissioner to select a statewide model that is based on learning growth, so that educators can be credited with improving student learning regardless of how much the student knows when he/she first enters a teacher's classroom using a measure that is consistent across districts. There are a number of ways to measure learning growth. The Student Growth Implementation Committee recommended and the Commissioner of Education approved using a value-added model (VAM) to measure learning growth for purposes of teacher evaluation, in part because of the model's capacity to reflect an individual educator's contribution to that learning growth. VAM results, along with the other components in districts' personnel evaluation systems, provide a tool for districts to more accurately evaluate teacher and principal performance. Use of the VAM data as part of the performance of student’s component in a teacher’s evaluation is optional, and is a local district decision.
For questions regarding VAM calculations, please email Accountability@fldoe.org. For specific questions about a district’s evaluation system(s), please contact the school district directly.
2024-25 VAM Calendar (PDF)