PSI-PMI Makes It a Snap to Develop and Revise Student Growth Objectives

STATE OF NEW JERSEY USES PSI AS AN EXEMPLAR IN SGO DEVELOPMENT

Many states now require teachers to establish Student Growth Objectives (SGOs) both as the basis for their classroom instruction and as a measure of the efficacy of their practice. New Jersey is one example.

Starting this academic year, all teachers there are required to establish SGOs in consultation with their direct supervisors (usually their principals). Each teacher’s performance is evaluated In part based on their success in attaining their SGOs. This process requires teachers to select assessment measures, apply the assessment measures to a significant proportion of their current students, establish projected performance goals for their students as a group, and measure student performance against those goals at specific times.

While the original deadline for establishing SGO’s was November 15, 2013, the State of New Jersey Department of Education advises, “…it is not too late for districts to review the quality of their teachers’ SGOs and identify any that should be modified to ensure they are appropriate for use in an educator’s evaluation this year. According to state regulations, .”

For many teachers and their supervisors, establishing meaningful SGO’s is challenging. The New Jersey Department of Education has been in overdrive, providing technical assistance and a wide variety of training resources to assist educators in creating and applying effective SGOs. Among these resources are model SGOs. The models include two based on the Progressive Science Initiative’s® Algebra-based Physics. These models show any PSI or PMI teacher how easy it is to craft high-quality SGOs using assessments already built into their courseware. Educators can view those models listed under Exemplar SGOs and titled “algebra-based physics” at http://www.state.nj.us/education/AchieveNJ/teacher/objectives.shtml

PSI and PMI^® (Progressive Mathematics Initiative^®) courseware supports the SGO approach seamlessly because both systems are based on a combination of formative and summative assessment to guide teacher practice and monitor student learning. Teachers may find PSI and PMI courseware to be a helpful basis for refining their SGO’s prior to the February 15, 2014 deadline.

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