Small Group Intervention and Grades 1–2 Teacher LEAP Leaders

2017

2018

IMPACT

The District of Columbia Public Schools Effectiveness

Assessment System for School-Based Personnel

Small Group Intervention and

Grades 1–2 Teacher LEAP Leaders

GROUP

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Letter from the Chancellor

Putting Growth First

Overview

IMPACT Components

Supporting Your Success

Putting It All Together

IMPACTplus

Concluding Message

TABLE OF CONTENTS

IMPACT: THE DCPS EFFECTIVENESS ASSESSMENT SYSTEM FOR SCHOOL-BASED PERSONNEL

LETTER FROM THE CHANCELLOR

Dear Teachers,

During my ﬁrst months as Chancellor, I visited all DCPS schools and was incredibly impressed with the remarkable teaching I saw

in classrooms across the city. DCPS’ status as the fastest improving urban district in the nation is only possible because of the

extraordinary passion, skill, joy, and talent you bring to the classroom each day.

One of many ways that DCPS promotes great teaching is through IMPACT. The DCPS Essential Practices, along with other IMPACT

measures, provide a common vision for great instruction and describe the key teaching actions we believe lead to increased student

achievement. By clearly outlining what excellence looks like and by recognizing and rewarding those who are successful, especially

in our highest need schools, we advance equity for all students.

DCPS supports improvements in teacher practice through LEAP, our job-embedded and content-aligned professional development

system. Because LEAP is so critical to our district’s continued success, we have updated IMPACT structures for LEAP Leaders this

year to ensure they serve as a roadmap for successful LEAP leadership. Teachers will also see LEAP connections to their work

through LEAP-aligned content examples in the Essential Practices rubric.

To both build on our past success and accelerate our efforts to close the achievement gap, we must continue to concentrate our

work on ensuring all students feel loved, challenged, and prepared to positively inﬂuence society and thrive in life. I am honored to

partner with you in this critical work and thank you for all you will do for our students this year.

Every student, every school, every day!

Respectfully,

Antwan Wilson

Chancellor, DC Public Schools

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

IMPACT: THE DCPS EFFECTIVENESS ASSESSMENT SYSTEM FOR SCHOOL-BASED PERSONNEL

PUTTING GROWTH FIRST

How does IMPACT promote reﬂection and support my growth?

The primary purpose of IMPACT is to help you become more effective in your work. Our commitment to continuous learning

applies not only to our students, but to you as well. IMPACT supports your growth by:

■

Clarifying Expectations — IMPACT outlines clear performance expectations for all school-based employees. We have worked

to ensure that the performance metrics and supporting rubrics are clear and aligned to your speciﬁc responsibilities.

■

Providing Feedback — Quality feedback is a key element in reﬂecting on your practice. This is why you will receive feedback

on your strengths as well as your growth areas. You can also view written comments about your performance by logging into

your IMPACT dashboard at http://impactdcps.dc.gov.

■

Facilitating Collaboration — By providing a common language to discuss performance, IMPACT helps support the

collaborative process. This is essential, as we know that communication and teamwork create the foundation for student

success.

■

Driving Professional Development — The information provided by IMPACT helps DCPS make strategic decisions about how

to use our resources to best support you. We can also use this information to differentiate our support programs by cluster,

school, grade, job type, or any other category.

■

Retaining Great People — Having highly effective teachers and staff members in our schools helps everyone improve. By

mentoring and by serving as informal role models, these individuals provide a concrete picture of excellence that motivates

and inspires us all. IMPACT helps retain these individuals by providing signiﬁcant recognition for outstanding performance.

IMPACT reﬂects our belief that everyone in our system plays a critical role in improving student outcomes. With an outstanding

teacher in every classroom and excellent staff members throughout our schools, our students will graduate prepared for success

in college, the workforce, and life.

For further information about job-speciﬁc resources and professional development designed to help you grow, see the Supporting

Your Success section at the end of this guidebook.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

IMPACT: THE DCPS EFFECTIVENESS ASSESSMENT SYSTEM FOR SCHOOL-BASED PERSONNEL

GROUP 2d: OVERVIEW

Who is in Group 2d?

Group 2d consists of small group intervention and grades 1–2 teacher LEAP Leaders for whom we do not generate student survey

data.

What are the IMPACT components for members of Group 2d?

There are ﬁve IMPACT components for members of Group 2d. Each is explained in greater detail in the following sections of this

guidebook.

■

Essential Practices (EP) — These are a measure of your instructional expertise. This component makes up 55% of your

IMPACT score.

■

LEAP Leadership Framework (LLF) — This is a measure of your LEAP leadership expertise. This component makes up 20% of

your IMPACT score.

■

Teacher-Assessed Student Achievement Data (TAS) — This is a measure of your students’ learning over the course of the

year, as evidenced by rigorous assessments other than the PARCC. This component makes up 15% of your IMPACT score.

■

Commitment to the School Community (CSC) — This is a measure of the extent to which you support and collaborate with

your school community. This component makes up 10% of your IMPACT score.

■

Core Professionalism (CP) — This is a measure of four basic professional requirements for all school-based personnel. This

component is scored differently from the others, which is why it is not represented in the pie chart. For more information,

please see the Core Professionalism section of this guidebook.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

CSC

10%

LLF

20%

TA S

15%

55%

Essential Practices (EP)*

LEAP Leadership Framework (LLF)

Teacher-Assessed Student Achievement Data (TAS)

Commitment to the School Community (CSC)

IMPACT COMPONENTS FOR GROUP 2d

*The Essential Practices (EP) component will expand to replace components of the pie that cannot be scored.

IMPACT: THE DCPS EFFECTIVENESS ASSESSMENT SYSTEM FOR SCHOOL-BASED PERSONNEL

ESSENTIAL PRACTICES

TLF

What are the DCPS Essential Practices?

The Essential Practices are DCPS’ deﬁnition of effective

instruction and outline the key actions we believe lead to

increased student achievement. There are ﬁve Essential

Practices (which include nine elements):

EP1: Cultivate a responsive learning community

■

Element 1.A – Supportive Community

■

Element 1.B – Student Engagement

EP2: Challenge students with rigorous content

■

Element 2.A – Rigorous Content

EP3: Lead a well-planned, purposeful learning experience

■

Element 3.A – Skillful Design

■

Element 3.B – Skillful Facilitation

EP4: Maximize student ownership of learning

■

Element 4.A – Cognitive Work

■

Element 4.B – Higher-Level Understanding

EP5: Respond to evidence of student learning

■

Element 5.A – Evidence of Learning

■

Element 5.B – Supports and Extensions

Why do we need the Essential

Practices?

The Essential Practices are vital to the work of increasing

student achievement in two fundamental ways. First, they

provide a common language for effective instruction, which

enables us to align IMPACT and professional support. Second,

they provide clear expectations for teachers and illustrate what

success looks like in DCPS classrooms.

Who developed the DCPS Essential

Practices?

Teachers, administrators, instructional staff from the DCPS

Central Ofﬁce, and many others participated in the development

of the Essential Practices during the 2015–2016 school year.

As part of that process, numerous sources were consulted,

including:

■

Achieve the Core’s Instructional Practice Guides

■

Carol Dweck’s Mindset

■

Charlotte Danielson’s Framework for Teaching

■

Common Core State Standards

■

College Career and Civic Life C3 Framework for Social

Studies State Standards

■

Common Career Technical Core Standards

■

DCPS’s Teaching and Learning Framework

■

Doug Lemov’s Teach Like a Champion

■

Elizabeth Green’s Building a Better Teacher

■

Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe’s Understanding by Design

■

Insight Education Group’s Core Framework

■

Next Generation Science Standards

■

Research for Better Teaching’s Skillful Teacher

■

Robert Marzano’s Classroom Instruction that Works

■

Sharroky Hollie’s Culturally and Linguistically Responsive

Teaching and Learning

■

Teach For America’s Teaching as Leadership Framework

■

Teaching Tolerance’s Anti-Bias Framework

■

TNTP’s Fixing Classroom Observations

■

TNTP’s Core Teaching Rubric

■

WIDA English Development Standards

■

World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

How will I be scored on the Essential

Practices rubric?

For each IMPACT observation, your evaluator will assess which

level (4, 3, 2, 1) provides the best description of the instructional

practice observed for each element of the rubric. Element scores

will then be averaged together, as applicable, to form an overall

score for each Essential Practice. The ﬁve Essential Practice

scores are averaged to create the overall observation score. To

view an example of how the Essential Practices are scored, see

the sample score chart to the right.

Who conducts IMPACT observations?

IMPACT observations are conducted by administrators. During

these observations, your practice is assessed according to the

Essential Practices rubric.

How many IMPACT observations will I

receive?

The number of IMPACT observations you receive will depend on

your stage in the Leadership Initiative for Teachers (LIFT)* career

ladder. This differentiation reﬂects our belief that teachers at

different performance and experience levels deserve different

types of feedback, support, and recognition. The following pages

provide a more detailed description of how teachers at each LIFT

stage will be observed. Please note that informal observations

are no longer part of IMPACT.

SAMPLE SCORE CHART

ESSENTIAL PRACTICES (EP)

ESSENTIAL

PRACTICE ELEMENT

ELEMENT

SCORE

ESSENTIAL

PRACTICE

SCORE

1. Cultivate a

responsive learning

community

1.A Supportive

Community

3.0

3.5

1.B Student

Engagement

4.0

2. Challenge students

with rigorous content

2.A Rigorous

Content

3.0 3.0

3. Lead a well-planned,

purposeful learning

experience

3.A Skillful Design 2.0

3.0

3.B Skillful

Facilitation 4.0

4. Maximize student

ownership of

learning

4.A Cognitive Work 3.0

3.0

4.B Higher-Level

Understanding

3.0

5. Respond to evidence

of student learning

5.A Evidence of

Learning

2.0

2.5

5.B Supports and

Extensions

3.0

OVERALL SCORE 3.0

*The Leadership Initiative For Teachers (LIFT) is explained in full in a separate guidebook that is posted on the DCPS website.

LIFT STAGES

Teacher

Established

Teacher

Advanced

Teacher

Distinguished

Teacher

Expert

Teacher

NUMBER OF IMPACT OBSERVATIONS

LIFT STAGE

Teacher

Established

Teacher

Advanced

Teacher

Distinguished

Teacher

Expert

Teacher

# OF IMPACT

OBSERVATIONS

3 3 3 2 At Least 1

IMPACT: THE DCPS EFFECTIVENESS ASSESSMENT SYSTEM FOR SCHOOL-BASED PERSONNEL

When will my IMPACT observations occur?

Observation schedules are differentiated based on each teacher’s LIFT stage. Please see the charts below to learn more about the

observation schedule aligned with your LIFT stage.

TEACHER STAGE

How many IMPACT observations will teachers at the Teacher stage receive?

Teachers at the Teacher stage will receive three IMPACT observations, which will be conducted by an administrator.

ESTABLISHED TEACHER STAGE

How many IMPACT observations will teachers at the Established Teacher stage receive?

Teachers at the Established Teacher stage will receive three IMPACT observations, which will be conducted by an administrator.

ADVANCED TEACHER STAGE

How many IMPACT observations will teachers at the Advanced Teacher stage receive?

Teachers at the Advanced Teacher stage will receive three IMPACT observations, which will be conducted by an administrator.

TLFEP

TEACHER OBSERVATION CYCLES

OCT 2 DEC 14 DEC 15 MAR 15 MAR 16 JUNE 7

CYCLE 1 CYCLE 2 CYCLE 3

ESTABLISHED TEACHER OBSERVATION CYCLES

OCT 2 DEC 14 DEC 15 MAR 15 MAR 16 JUNE 7

CYCLE 1 CYCLE 2 CYCLE 3

ADVANCED TEACHER OBSERVATION CYCLES

OCT 2 DEC 14 DEC 15 MAR 15 MAR 16 JUNE 7

CYCLE 1 CYCLE 2 CYCLE 3

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

DISTINGUISHED TEACHER STAGE

How many IMPACT observations will teachers at the Distinguished Teacher stage receive?

Teachers at the Distinguished Teacher stage will receive two IMPACT observations, which will be conducted by an administrator.

EXPERT TEACHER STAGE

How many IMPACT observations will teachers at the Expert Teacher stage receive?

Teachers at the Expert Teacher stage will receive at least one* IMPACT observation. This observation will take place by

December 14 and be conducted by an administrator. If the score from this observation is below 3.0 (on the 1.0 to 4.0 scale), the

teacher will automatically receive a second IMPACT observation. If the score from this observation is 3.0 or higher (on the 1.0 to

4.0 scale), the teacher will not receive her or his second observation, unless requested by the teacher.

* Per the requirements of the U.S. Department of Education, and to promote the growth and development of all teachers, Expert Teachers will be observed more than

once over the course of the school year. For Expert Teachers who opt out of subsequent observations, administrators will only submit one formal IMPACT report.

**Eligible teachers will not receive a Cycle 2 IMPACT observation.

EXPERT TEACHER OBSERVATION CYCLES

OCT 2 DEC 14 DEC 15 MAR 15 MAR 16 JUNE 7

CYCLE 1 CYCLE 2** N/A

ADVANCING UP THE LIFT CAREER LADDER

Teacher

Established Teacher

Advanced Teacher

Distinguished Teacher

Expert Teacher

2 Highly

Effective ratings

2 Highly

Effective ratings

1 Highly

Effective rating

1 Highly

Effective rating

2 Effective

ratings

2 Effective

ratings

DISTINGUISHED TEACHER OBSERVATION CYCLES

OCT 2 DEC 14 DEC 15 MAR 15 MAR 16 JUNE 7

CYCLE 1 CYCLE 2 N/A

IMPACT: THE DCPS EFFECTIVENESS ASSESSMENT SYSTEM FOR SCHOOL-BASED PERSONNEL

TLFEP

Do I qualify for reduced IMPACT

observations?

As noted in the charts on the previous pages, all teachers at

the Teacher, Established, and Advanced LIFT stages will receive

three IMPACT observations; all Distinguished Teachers will

receive two IMPACT observations. Expert Teachers who receive

a Cycle 1 observation score of 3.0 or higher may choose to have

a second IMPACT observation. Expert teachers who receive a

Cycle 1 observation score below 3.0 will automatically receive a

second observation.

If I am an Expert Teacher and qualify

for reduced IMPACT observations,

may I request to receive an additional

observation?

Yes. After Cycle 1 ends, the IMPACT team will notify all

Expert teachers that received a score of 3.0 or higher in

Cycle 1 via email that they will not receive a second observation.

At that point, they may log into the IMPACT database

(http://impactdcps.dc.gov) to indicate that they would like to

receive an additional observation. Teachers who receive a score

of less than 3.0 in Cycle 1 will automatically receive a second

observation.

How long will each IMPACT

observation last?

Each observation will last at least 30 minutes; your observation

may last longer than 30 minutes.

Will IMPACT observations be

announced or unannounced?

All IMPACT observations are unannounced.

May I provide my administrator with

additional information about my class?

Yes. You may provide your administrators with additional context

about the observed lesson or your class through your IMPACT

dashboard by visiting http://impactdcps.dc.gov.

How will I receive feedback from my

IMPACT observation?

Within 15 calendar days following the IMPACT observation, your

administrator will meet with you to share feedback.

If your administrator makes at least two attempts to schedule

a conference with you within 15 calendar days following the

observation, and you are unable to meet or are unresponsive, the

observation will be valid without the conference occurring within

the 15 days. Valid attempt methods include, but are not limited

to, phone calls, text messages, emails, notes in your school

inbox, and/or in-person conversations.

You will also receive written comments in an Essential

Practices report, which can be viewed in the IMPACT database.

You can log into your IMPACT dashboard by visiting

http://impactdcps.dc.gov.

If I have additional questions about the DCPS Essential Practices, whom

should I contact?

Please contact the IMPACT team at 202-719-6553 or impactdcps@dc.gov.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

ESSENTIAL PRACTICES

ESSENTIAL

PRACTICE

CULTIVATE A RESPONSIVE LEARNING COMMUNITY

1.A Supportive Community 1.B Student Engagement

LEVEL 4

All students are valued members of a welcoming and responsive

learning community.* Students are authentically welcoming and

responsive to one another.

All students are engaged throughout the learning experience OR

almost all students are engaged throughout the learning experience

and the teacher responds to disengagement by inviting students

back in to the learning experience. Students demonstrate deep

investment in the learning experience.

For example, the students:

• Demonstrate interest in the thoughts, opinions, and well-being of each other

• Provide peers with meaningful and speciﬁc feedback/praise

• Productively collaborate across difference (e.g., cultural, racial, linguistic,

dis/ability, and/or gender)

See also examples from Level 3

For example, the students:

• Persevere when they struggle with challenging content or activities

• Demonstrate interest in, commitment to, or excitement about what they are

learning and doing

See also examples from Level 3

LEVEL 3

All students are valued members of a welcoming and responsive

learning community.*

All students are engaged throughout the learning experience OR

almost all students are engaged throughout the learning experience

and the teacher responds to disengagement by inviting students

back in to the learning experience.

For example, the teacher:

• Demonstrates interest in the thoughts, opinions, and well-being of all students

• Fosters student thinking about and planning for long-term goals

• Equitably provides students with meaningful and speciﬁc feedback/praise

• Demonstrates an equitable commitment to all students’ ability to be successful

• Effectively uses positive reinforcement

For example, the teacher:

• Responds to disengagement by inviting students back in a positive way

• Successfully utilizes strategies such as proximity, non-verbal cues, or reﬂection

exercises that support students’ reengagement with content

• Recognizes when students need space and/or time to successfully refocus

• Redirects behavior in an effective and positive way

For example, engaged students:

• Complete tasks and/or remain focused on learning (e.g., participate during

seminars or whole-class discussions, complete small group or station work,

remain immersed in a text, task, or activity)

LEVEL 2

The teacher is respectful of students; students generally comply

with the teacher’s directions.*

Almost all students are engaged throughout the learning experience;

the teacher does not respond to student disengagement.

For example, the teacher:

• Acknowledges students generally, but does not display speciﬁc concern for

students’ thoughts, opinions, and/or feelings

For example, most students:

• Follow instructions, but sometimes reluctantly

For example, the teacher:

• Does not attempt to invite disengaged students back in to the learning experience

• Ignores students who are disengaged for an inappropriate amount of time

LEVEL 1

The expectation of Level 2 practice is not met. The expectation of Level 2 practice is not met.

For example, the teacher:

• Does not demonstrate respectfulness

• Does not include an individual student or a subgroup of students in the learning

experience when appropriate to do so

For example, the teacher:

• Responds negatively to student disengagement

For example, most students:

• Demonstrate disengagement throughout the learning experience and are not

invited to return

* Observers should consider the point in the school year when assessing this standard. For example, the teacher may be in the early stages of building classroom community at the

beginning of a semester or when orienting new students to the classroom. Therefore, evaluators might credit teacher prompting or other proactive community building actions as

evidence of a welcoming and responsive learning community.

IMPACT: THE DCPS EFFECTIVENESS ASSESSMENT SYSTEM FOR SCHOOL-BASED PERSONNEL

ESSENTIAL

PRACTICE

CULTIVATE A RESPONSIVE LEARNING COMMUNITY

English Language Arts Content-Speciﬁc Examples Mathematics Content-Speciﬁc Examples

Module

Examples

LEAP modules support teachers in developing students’

abilities to contribute to a responsive learning

community.

Module

Examples

LEAP modules support teachers in developing students’

abilities to contribute to a responsive learning

community.

K–5 LEAP modules feature the following core instructional practices:

• Flexibly move students in and out of groups as their instructional needs change

• Plan opportunities to leverage collaborative conversations as a structure supporting evidence-

based writing

• Cultivate a literacy rich environment that promotes a love of reading and writing

K–8 LEAP modules feature the following core instructional practices:

• Engage students in purposeful sharing of mathematical ideas, reasoning, and approaches,

using varied representations in small-group and classroom discussions

• Allocate sufﬁcient wait time so that more students can formulate and offer responses

• Praise students for their efforts in making sense of mathematical ideas and perseverance in

reasoning through problems

Grade 6–12 LEAP modules feature the following core instructional practices:

• Employ targeted strategies to support students in comprehending the text

• Design and implement lessons that develop students’ ability to develop clear and coherent

writing in which development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and

audiences

• Use academic discourse structures to support students in analyzing the text, clarifying, and

challenging ideas persuasively

• Support students in exploring writers’ use of varied syntax to create effectt

Grade 9–12 LEAP modules feature the following core instructional practices:

• Engage students in purposeful sharing of mathematical ideas, reasoning, and approaches,

using varied representations in small-group and classroom discussions

• Select and sequence student approaches and solution strategies for whole-class analysis and

discussion

• Help students realize that confusion and errors are natural parts of learning by facilitating

discussions on mistakes, misconceptions, and struggles

Social Studies Content-Speciﬁc Examples Science Content-Speciﬁc Examples

Module

Examples

LEAP modules support teachers in developing students’

abilities to contribute to a responsive learning

community.

Module

Examples

LEAP modules support teachers in developing students’

abilities to contribute to a responsive learning

community.

LEAP modules feature the following core instructional practices:

• Use the question-formation technique to promote students’ crafting their own questions that

help to spark and sustain inquiry

• Effectively plan the use of discourse protocols in order for students to analyze their evidence

and develop/explain claims with peers

• Develop protocols that foster student engagement through self-awareness and

self-management

LEAP modules feature the following core instructional practices:

• Use academic discourse to support students in asking questions

• Use academic discourse structures to support students in analyzing texts, clarifying claims,

and critiquing peers’ arguments

• Plan a variety of collaborative conversation structures that align to the intended learning

outcome and that strategically support students in building on others’ ideas and expressing

their own clearly and persuasively

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

ESSENTIAL PRACTICES

ESSENTIAL

PRACTICE

CHALLENGE STUDENTS WITH RIGOROUS CONTENT

2.A Rigorous Content

LEVEL 4

The learning experience is both aligned to academic standards (as deﬁned by the Common Core State Standards or other appropriate content

standards) and challenging for students. The learning experience fosters students’ intellectual curiosity about the content.

For example, the teacher:

• Supplements curricular materials or makes instructional choices that build students’ interest in the content

• Makes meaningful connections between the content and other content areas/academic disciplines and/or students’ lives

• Has students grapple with compelling questions and ideas

• Demonstrates deep commitment to the discipline and/or enthusiasm about the content

See also examples from Level 3

LEVEL 3

The learning experience is both aligned to academic standards (as deﬁned by the Common Core State Standards or other appropriate

content standards) and challenging for students.

For example, aligned content is derived from:

• Common Core State Standards; Next Generation Science Standards; College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework; WIDA; ACTFL; CCTC; or other relevant standards

• DCPS or DCPS-endorsed curriculum

• DCPS Cornerstone assignments or projects

• DCPS digital instructional resources (e.g., Lexia

, iReady

, ST Math

, Discovery Education Techbook

, other blended learning activities)

• DCPS-endorsed social and life skills curricula

AND

For example, the learning experience is challenging such that it:

• Focuses on content and skill(s) students need to successfully meet or exceed grade-level standards

• Is reﬂective of high expectations for students’ learning

• Features content worthy of students’ time and effort

LEVEL 2

The learning experience is aligned to content standards (as deﬁned by the Common Core State Standards or other appropriate content

standards) but is not sufﬁciently challenging for students.

For example, aligned content is derived from:

• Common Core State Standards; Next Generation Science Standards; College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework; WIDA; ACTFL; CCTC; or other relevant standards

• DCPS or DCPS-endorsed curriculum

• DCPS Cornerstone assignments or projects

• DCPS digital instructional resources (e.g., Lexia

, iReady

, ST Math

, Discovery Education Techbook

, other blended learning activities)

• DCPS-endorsed social and life skills curricula

BUT

For example, the learning experience is not sufﬁciently challenging such that it:

• Features content that is unlikely to move students signiﬁcantly toward grade-level standards

• Is not reﬂective of sufﬁciently high expectations for students’ learning

LEVEL 1

The expectation of Level 2 practice is not met.

For example, the learning experience is:

• Neither challenging for students nor aligned to appropriate content standards

• Developmentally inappropriate for students’ age and/or grade level

IMPACT: THE DCPS EFFECTIVENESS ASSESSMENT SYSTEM FOR SCHOOL-BASED PERSONNEL

ESSENTIAL

PRACTICE

CHALLENGE STUDENTS WITH RIGOROUS CONTENT

English Language Arts Content-Speciﬁc Examples

Essential

Practice

Examples

This practice aligns with Instructional Practice Guide

(IPG) Core Action 1: Focus each lesson on a high-

quality text (or multiple texts).

Module

Examples

LEAP modules unpack the complexity of the Common

Core State Standards by focusing on their speciﬁc

strands (Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and

Language).

For example, ELA content:

• Features reading, writing, and speaking about literary or informational text(s) of appropriate

complexity and that build content knowledge

• Focuses on key attributes of a writing genre (i.e., opinion/argument, informative/explanatory,

or narrative writing)

K–5 LEAP modules feature the following core instructional practices:

• Plan questions and prompts for small group literacy that reﬂect the rigor deﬁned in the

Common Core State Standards

• Plan text dependent questions and prompts designed to increase student understanding of the

inferential meaning of a text

• Leverage the read aloud to model ﬂuency and build content knowledge

For example, grade 1–2 ELA content:

• Provides opportunities for students to practice emerging phonics skills with text

• Features shared reading, writing, speaking, and research opportunities

• Addresses foundational skills and connects acquisition of these skills to making meaning from

text

Grade 6–12 LEAP modules feature the following core instructional practices:

• Use curricular texts to support students in selecting the most relevant evidence to develop the

topic

• Design and implement lessons that develop students’ ability to develop clear and coherent

writing in which development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purposes, and

audiences

• Cohesively embed grammar instruction to ensure students demonstrate command of standard

English in both speaking and writing

For example, grade 3–12 ELA content:

• Provides opportunities for students to cite speciﬁc textual evidence when writing or speaking

to draw conclusions from text

• Includes research projects based on focused, text-relevant questions

Social Studies Content-Speciﬁc Examples

Essential

Practice

Examples

This practice aligns with the DC Social Studies

Standards and with the C3 Framework, especially

Dimension 2: Applying Disciplinary Tools and Concepts.

Module

Examples

LEAP modules unpack the complexity of the C3

Framework and Common Core State Standards as it

relates to each course’s curricular content.

For example, social studies content:

• Features reading, writing, and speaking about complex text of varying formats (e.g., historical

and contemporary documents, maps, images, political cartoons, video clips, objects, and

charts)

• Explores compelling and supporting questions through inquiry, research, and writing

• Integrates social studies skills (e.g., gathering and evaluating sources) while promoting a

depth of understanding of content in these areas of focus (grades):

 U.S. History (1, 2, 4, 5, 8, and 11)

 World History (7, 9, and 10)

 Government (1, 2, and 12)

 D.C. History (3 and 12)

 Geography (3 and 6)

LEAP modules feature the following core instructional practices:

• Develop keen awareness of the big ideas, content knowledge, and skills students will gain

during the unit of study

• Foster students’ capacities to recognize patterns of causation that occur throughout history

• Support students to deeply analyze how problems manifest on local, regional, and global levels

while assessing causes and challenges in addressing these problems

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

ESSENTIAL PRACTICES

ESSENTIAL

PRACTICE

CHALLENGE STUDENTS WITH RIGOROUS CONTENT

Mathematics Content-Speciﬁc Examples

Essential

Practice

Examples

This practice aligns with Instructional Practice Guide

(IPG) Core Action 1: Ensure the work of the lesson

reﬂects the Shifts required by the Common Core State

Standards for Mathematics.

Module

Examples

LEAP modules support teachers in identifying

appropriate goals aligned to the Common Core State

Standards, the Eureka curriculum, and students’

individual progress and learning trajectories.

For example, mathematics content:

• Extends previous learning by making connections with mathematics content, methods, and

models from previous grades

• Intentionally targets the aspect(s) of rigor (conceptual understanding, procedural skill and

ﬂuency, application) called for by the standard(s) being addressed

• Focuses on and promotes a depth of understanding of content in these domains (grades)

 Numbers and operations in base 10 (1–5)

 Numbers and operations – Fractions (3–5)

 The number system (6–8)

 Number and quantity (HS)

 Measurement and data (1–HS)

 Geometry (1–HS)

 Statistics and probability (6–HS)

 Operations and algebraic thinking (1–5)

 Expressions and equations (6–8)

 Ratios and proportional relationships (6–7)

 Functions (8–HS)

 Algebra (HS)

 Modeling (HS)

K–8 LEAP modules feature the following core instructional practices:

• Establish clear goals that articulate the mathematics students are learning as a result of

instruction in a lesson, over a series of lessons, or throughout a unit

• Identify how goals ﬁt within a mathematics learning progression and connect to the major

standards for the course

• Focus students’ attention on the structure of essential features of mathematical ideas that

appear, regardless of their representation

Grade 9–12 LEAP modules feature the following core instructional practices:

• Establish clear goals that articulate the mathematics students are learning as a result of

instruction in a lesson, over a series of lessons, or throughout a unit

• Identify how goals ﬁt within a mathematics learning progression and connect to the major

standards for the course

Science Content-Speciﬁc Examples

Essential

Practice

Examples

This practice aligns with the Next Generation Science

Standards (NGSS) performance expectations and the

three dimensions upon which the expectations are

built.

Module

Examples

LEAP modules unpack the complexity of the NGSS by

focusing on their speciﬁc dimensions (i.e., Science

and Engineering Practices, Crosscutting Concepts,

and Disciplinary Core Ideas) and elements, such as

engineering and the nature of science.

For example, science content:

• Features Science & Engineering Practices: behaviors scientists and engineers engage in as

they work (e.g., formulating a question, building a model)

• Features Crosscutting Concepts: concepts that apply to all domains of science (e.g., cause and

effect, energy and matter)

• Focuses on and promotes a depth of understanding of content in these Disciplinary Core Ideas:

 Physical Sciences: Matter, Forces, Energy, Waves

 Life Sciences: Structures & Processes, Ecosystems, Heredity, Biological Evolution

 Earth & Space Sciences: Earth’s Place in the Universe, Earth’s Systems, Earth & Human

Activity

 Engineering, Technology & Applications of Science: Engineering Design, Links Among

Engineering, Technology, Science & Society

LEAP modules feature the following core instructional practices:

• Lead instruction that intentionally addresses disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering

practices, and crosscutting concepts

• Support students in analyzing major global challenges using engineering design tools (i.e.,

criteria and constraints)

• Use history of science case studies to develop deeper understanding of the nature of science

IMPACT: THE DCPS EFFECTIVENESS ASSESSMENT SYSTEM FOR SCHOOL-BASED PERSONNEL

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

ESSENTIAL PRACTICES

ESSENTIAL

PRACTICE

LEAD A WELL-PLANNED, PURPOSEFUL LEARNING EXPERIENCE

3.A Skillful Design 3.B Skillful Facilitation

LEVEL 4

The learning experience is well-planned such that all tasks and

activities are connected to one another and effectively promote

student understanding. The learning experience is designed to

maximize time for students to grapple with content.

The learning experience is clear* and all students are able to access

the content.

For example, the teacher:

• Makes instructional moves that promote student-centered learning such as opportunities for

inquiry or seminar discussion

• Prioritizes student talk and work time

• Structures the learning experience to be efﬁcient and minimizes non-instructional time

See also examples from Level 3

For example, the learning experience is clear because the teacher:

• Explains content accurately and coherently

• Uses Tier 2 and 3 academic vocabulary precisely and with intentionality

• Guides students toward identiﬁcation of key points

• Uses available technology effectively to support content delivery and student practice

• Connects the intended learning to prior and/or background knowledge

For example, the learning experience is accessible for all students because the teacher:

• Differentiates instructional delivery and/or materials according to student needs (e.g., uses

strategies such as ﬂexible grouping, leveled texts, leveled questions)

• Presents content in multiple ways (e.g., explanations, visual representations, concrete

examples)

LEVEL 3

The learning experience is well-planned such that all tasks and

activities are connected to one another and effectively promote

student understanding.

The learning experience is clear* and almost all students are able

to access the content.

For example, the learning experience:

• Includes tasks and activities that are connected and build upon one another

• Includes tasks and activities that move students toward grade-level expectations

• Features adapted curricular materials, as appropriate

For example, the learning experience is clear because the teacher:

• Explains content accurately and coherently

• Uses Tier 2 and 3 academic vocabulary precisely and with intentionality

• Guides students toward identiﬁcation of key points

• Uses available technology effectively to support content delivery and student practice

• Connects the intended learning to prior and/or background knowledge

For example, the learning experience is accessible for almost all students because the teacher:

• Differentiates instructional delivery and/or materials according to student needs (e.g., uses

strategies such as ﬂexible grouping, leveled texts, leveled questions)

• Presents content in multiple ways (e.g., explanations, visual representations, concrete

examples)

LEVEL 2

The learning experience is not sufﬁciently organized OR includes

tasks or activities that are not entirely effective at promoting

student understanding.

The learning experience is not sufﬁciently clear* for students.

For example, the learning experience:

• Includes some tasks and activities that are disconnected or do not build upon one another

• Includes tasks and activities that do not move students toward grade-level expectations

• Includes tasks and activities too long or too short in duration

For example, the learning experience is not sufﬁciently clear because the teacher:

• Provides explanations that are not entirely effective in building student understanding of

content

• Gives deﬁnitions that are not completely clear or precise or sometimes does not use

appropriate Tier 2 and 3 vocabulary

• Inconsistently guides students toward identiﬁcation of key points/main ideas

• Uses technology that does not fully support content delivery and student practice

LEVEL 1

The expectation of Level 2 practice is not met. The expectation of Level 2 practice is not met.

For example, the learning experience:

• Is not organized

• Does not reﬂect strategic planning

For example, the learning experience:

• Is mostly not coherent or not clear

• Promotes students’ acquisition of inaccurate content or results in signiﬁcant student

misunderstanding

• Is inaccessible for most students

* In certain instructional situations such as an inquiry lesson, a teacher might intentionally offer a task or question that is unclear for students. In such circumstances, evaluators

should assess clarity by considering whether this approach promotes greater student understanding of the content.

IMPACT: THE DCPS EFFECTIVENESS ASSESSMENT SYSTEM FOR SCHOOL-BASED PERSONNEL

ESSENTIAL

PRACTICE

LEAD A WELL-PLANNED, PURPOSEFUL LEARNING EXPERIENCE

English Language Arts Content-Speciﬁc Examples

Essential

Practice

Examples

This practice aligns with Instructional Practice Guide

(IPG) Core Action 2: Employ questions and tasks, both

oral and written, that are text-speciﬁc.

Module

Examples

In addition to the planning and application time

provided in every module, some LEAP modules focus on

research-based practices for structuring instruction or

developing speciﬁc strategies for making content clear

and accessible to all students.

For example, the learning experience includes tasks and activities that:

• Attend to a text’s word choice, syntax, structure, concepts, ideas, and/or details

• Feature a variety of reading opportunities (whole group, small group, paired, or independent)

• Focus on developing and strengthening writing through planning, drafting, revising, editing,

rewriting, or trying a new approach

• Reﬂect the teacher’s use of data to form ﬂuid guided reading groups, as appropriate

K–5 LEAP modules feature the following core instructional practices:

• Plan explicit and interactive phonics lessons that require encoding and decoding of newly-

acquired phonics skills (K–2)

• Plan targeted opportunities for students to apply grade-level word analysis skills while

encoding and decoding words (3–5)

• Design rigorous and differentiated independent learning activities that reﬂect varied

proﬁciency levels

• Leverage the read aloud as an opportunity to study models of Common Core State Standards-

aligned genres to investigate author’s craft

For example, grade 1–2 learning experiences include tasks and activities that:

• Provide opportunities for students to recognize and read age-appropriate vocabulary, including

regularly and irregularly spelled words

• Feature collaborative conversations about grade-appropriate topics and texts

• Require students to identify the meaning of words and phrases in text

Grade 6–12 LEAP modules feature the following core instructional practices:

• Plan high-quality questions that are both divergent and high-level in order to facilitate deep

discussion of text(s)

• Plan for and provide high-quality instruction of tier two academic vocabulary and provide

multiple opportunities for student to engage with vocabulary over time, both explicitly and

implicitly

• Use intended student learning outcomes identiﬁed in the curriculum and lesson-planning

protocol to develop aligned assessments and daily instructional plans

For example, grade 3–12 learning experiences include tasks and activities that:

• Embed implicit and explicit Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary instruction

• Feature text-based discussion opportunities where students can build upon each other’s ideas

and express their own ideas clearly and persuasively

• Require students to use evidence from text to support their interpretations by referring back to

the words, phrases, and sentences of the text

• Embed reading interventions, as necessary

Social Studies Content-Speciﬁc Examples

Essential

Practice

Examples

This practice aligns with the C3 Framework, especially

Dimension 1: Developing Questions and Planning

Inquiries.

Module

Examples

In addition to the planning and application time

provided in every module, some LEAP modules focus on

speciﬁc research-based practices for planning social

studies learning experiences.

For example, the learning experience includes tasks and activities that:

• Enable students to develop compelling and supporting questions

• Require students to use evidence from sources to support their interpretations

• Focus on developing and strengthening writing through planning, drafting, revising, editing,

rewriting, or trying a new approach

• Activate students’ prior knowledge and establish relevant connections between students’ lives

and the content

• Create and nurture collaborative civic spaces for students to engage in dialogue (e.g., Paideia

seminars)

• Foster students taking informed action in classrooms, schools, and the community

• Require students to use evidence from text to support their interpretations by referring back to

the words, phrases, and sentences of sources

LEAP modules feature the following core instructional practices:

• Plan C3-aligned units that include lessons using the 5E instructional model

• Ensure C3-aligned learning experiences are consistent with the 5E instructional model

• Ensure units of instruction include opening lessons that effectively frame the coming

inquiry arc

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

ESSENTIAL PRACTICES

ESSENTIAL

PRACTICE

LEAD A WELL-PLANNED, PURPOSEFUL LEARNING EXPERIENCE

Mathematics Content-Speciﬁc Examples

Essential

Practice

Examples

This practice aligns with Instructional Practice Guide

(IPG) Core Action 2: Employ instructional practices that

allow all students to learn the content of the lesson.

Module

Examples

LEAP modules incorporate NCTM’s Eight Effective

Teaching Practices in order to support teachers in

designing and implementing learning experiences that

enable all students to grapple with and master complex

mathematical skills and concepts.

For example, the learning experience:

• Includes explanations, representations, and/or examples to make the content of the lesson explicit

• Includes opportunities for students to share, discuss, and justify their mathematical reasoning

through discourse

• Supports and promotes variation in solution methods to strengthen students’ understanding of the

content and mathematical structures

K–8 LEAP modules feature the following core instructional practices:

• Ensure progress toward mathematical goals by making explicit connections to student

approaches and reasoning

• Use the mathematical goals to guide lesson planning and reﬂection and make in-the-moment

decisions during instruction

• Ask intentional questions that make the mathematics more visible and accessible for student

examination and discussion

For example, grade 1–5 learning experiences include tasks and activities that:

• Develop students’ number sense and ﬂuency with basic operations

• Build foundational algebraic thinking skills

• Develop students’ conceptual understanding of foundational mathematics concepts

• Orient students to understanding and manipulating data

• Have students apply understanding of geometric properties

• Familiarize students with the structural elements of equations

Grade 9–12 LEAP modules feature the following core instructional practices:

• Use the mathematics goals to guide lesson planning and reﬂection and to make in-the-moment

decisions during instruction

• Introduce forms of representation that can be useful to students in demonstrating their

understanding

• Ask intentional questions that make the mathematics more visible and accessible for student

examination and discussion

For example, grade 6–12 learning experiences include tasks and activities that:

• Have students apply previous understandings of basic operations to increasingly complex

mathematical scenarios

• Require solving real-world problems using, or by developing, expressions, equations, or functions

• Generate sophisticated inferences about and from data

• Feature the integration of algebraic and geometric concepts

• Have students manipulate both irrational and rational numbers

• Leverage mathematical reasoning to build statistical models and evaluate probability

Science Content-Speciﬁc Examples

Essential

Practice

Examples

This practice aligns with the Implications of the Vision of

the Framework and the Guide to Implementing the Next

Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

Module

Examples

In addition to the planning and application time

provided in every seminar, some LEAP modules focus

on speciﬁc research-based practices for structuring

science learning or develop speciﬁc strategies for

making science content clear and accessible to all

students.

For example, the learning experience includes tasks and activities that:

• Enable students to make sense of scientiﬁc phenomena or to design solutions to problems

using speciﬁc elements of the three dimensions of the NGSS (Science & Engineering Practices,

Crosscutting Concepts, and Disciplinary Core Ideas)

• Are structured around students conducting investigations, solving problems, and engaging in

discussions with teacher guidance

• Feature students discussing open-ended questions that focus on evidence and claims

• Support students in constructing and using scientiﬁc models to describe, explain, predict, or

control natural phenomena

• Encourage students to create journals, reports, posters, or presentations that explain conclusions

• Have students read high-quality texts from multiple sources (science-related magazines, journal

articles, and web-based resources)

LEAP modules feature the following core instructional practices:

• Sequence instruction centered on course-speciﬁc anchoring phenomena

• Plan NGSS-aligned lessons using the 5E learning cycle and instructional model

• Use decision guides to support students in making strategic use of digital media in

presentations

For example, the teacher:

• Supports students in accessing facts and terminology, as needed, while they develop explanations

and design solutions supported by evidence-based arguments and reasoning

• Encourages the connection of discrete concepts to unifying organizational structures

• Provides accessibility supports so that all students can engage in sophisticated science and

engineering practices

IMPACT: THE DCPS EFFECTIVENESS ASSESSMENT SYSTEM FOR SCHOOL-BASED PERSONNEL

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

ESSENTIAL PRACTICES

ESSENTIAL

PRACTICE

MAXIMIZE STUDENT OWNERSHIP OF LEARNING

4.A Cognitive Work 4.B Higher-Level Understanding

LEVEL 4

Students spend the majority of the learning experience engaged in

meaningful cognitive work, including explaining their thinking with

appropriate evidence, applying their understanding of content to

complex tasks, or both.

All or almost all students demonstrate movement toward higher-

level understanding as a result of their participation in the learning

experience.

For example, the students:

• Do the majority of the thinking and speaking about content

• Use most of their time to productively grapple with content

• Are responsible for most of the cognitive work

See also examples from Level 3

For example, all or almost all students:

• Respond to higher-level questions and solve complex problems

• Respond to lower-level questions to develop higher-level comprehension

• Use rubrics and/or exemplars to accurately evaluate their own and others’ work

• Produce work indicative of signiﬁcant progress toward ambitious learning goals

LEVEL 3

Students spend a signiﬁcant portion of the learning experience

engaged in meaningful cognitive work, including explaining their

thinking with appropriate evidence, applying their understanding of

content to complex tasks, or both.

Most students demonstrate movement toward higher-level

understanding as a result of their participation in the learning

experience.

For example, the learning experience:

• Features opportunities for students to do cognitive work such as complex problem

solving, group work, independent work, think time, and/or sharing of ideas that is

aligned to the rigor of the intended learning

For example, most students:

• Respond to higher-level questions and solve complex problems

• Respond to lower-level questions to develop higher-level comprehension

• Use rubrics and/or exemplars to accurately evaluate their own and others’ work

• Produce work indicative of signiﬁcant progress toward ambitious learning goals

LEVEL 2

Students spend a signiﬁcant portion of the learning experience

engaged in work that is not entirely meaningful because either

there is more teacher-directed instruction than appropriate or

student work consists of rote tasks misaligned to the rigor of the

intended learning.

Some students demonstrate movement toward higher-level

understanding as a result of their participation in the learning

experience.

For example, the learning experience:

• Includes too few opportunities for students to productively grapple with content

• Includes too few opportunities for students to justify their responses

• Does not require students to think deeply about the content

For example, some students:

• Respond to higher-level questions and solve complex problems

• Respond to lower-level questions to develop higher-level comprehension

• Use rubrics and/or exemplars to accurately evaluate their own and others’ work

• Produce work indicative of signiﬁcant progress toward ambitious learning goals

LEVEL 1

The expectation of Level 2 practice is not met. The expectation of Level 2 practice is not met.

For example, the learning experience:

• Is predominantly teacher-directed/lecture

• Does not include opportunities for students to explain their thinking with

appropriate evidence or apply their understanding of content to complex tasks

For example, few or no students:

• Demonstrate progress toward higher-level understanding

IMPACT: THE DCPS EFFECTIVENESS ASSESSMENT SYSTEM FOR SCHOOL-BASED PERSONNEL

ESSENTIAL

PRACTICE

MAXIMIZE STUDENT OWNERSHIP OF LEARNING

English Language Arts Content-Speciﬁc Examples

Essential

Practice

Examples

This practice aligns with Instructional Practice

Guide (IPG) Core Action 3: Provide all students with

opportunities to engage in the work of the lesson.

Module

Examples

LEAP modules support teachers in engaging their

students in a rigorous and student-centered balanced

literacy approach.

For example, students:

• Demonstrate independence (e.g., comprehend and evaluate complex texts without scaffolding;

construct effective arguments, and build on the ideas of others)

• Build strong content knowledge (e.g., read purposefully to gain both general knowledge and

discipline-speciﬁc expertise)

• Respond to the varying demands of audience, task, purpose, and discipline (e.g., consider how

connotations of words affect meaning; provide differentiated evidence aligned to the discipline)

• Comprehend as well as critique (e.g., question an author’s or speaker’s assumptions and

premises)

• Value evidence (e.g., cite speciﬁc and relevant evidence when offering an oral or written

interpretation of a text)

• Use technology and digital media strategically and capably (e.g., understand the strengths and

limitations of technical tools and select those best suited to learning goals)

• Come to understand other perspectives and cultures (e.g., actively seek to understand ideas as

presented and evaluate other points of view critically and constructively)

K–5 LEAP modules feature the following core instructional practices:

• Read text sets deeply to uncover areas of complexity worthy of instruction

• Use targeted prompts to coach students as they engage in reading and writing

• Provide opportunities for students to integrate content into authentic student writing

• Plan opportunities to leverage student work as an instructional tool supporting evidence-based

writing

For example, grade 1–2 students:

• Ask and answer questions about key details in a text

• Identify the main topic and key details in a grade-appropriate text

• Participate in shared reading or writing projects

Grade 6–12 LEAP modules feature the following core instructional practices:

• Ask text-dependent questions that prompt students to analyze the development of theme over

the course of a text

• Use exemplary student work to support students in developing claims and counterclaims

• Use exemplary student work to support students in writing a narrative that engages the reader,

establishes context and point of view, introduces a narrator and/or characters, and organizes a

logical sequence of events

• Support students’ analysis and evaluation of a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of

evidence

For example, grade 3–12 students:

• Provide text-based evidence when supporting oral or written responses

• Conduct research to build and present knowledge

• Use Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary, language conventions, decoding skills and comprehension

strategies to read, write, and speak about text

• Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are

appropriate to task, purpose, and audience

Social Studies Content-Speciﬁc Examples

Essential

Practice

Examples

This practice aligns with the C3 Framework, especially

Dimension 3: Evaluating Sources and Using Evidence

and Dimension 4: Communicating Conclusions and

Taking Informed Action.

Module

Examples

LEAP modules support teachers in engaging their

students in inquiry-centered learning experiences that

promote student ownership of learning.

For example, students:

• Construct compelling and supporting questions to guide their inquiry

• Gather credible, relevant information from a wide variety of sources to build knowledge in an

inquiry

• Evaluate the credibility of sources by considering their origin, authority, structure, context, and

corroborative value

• Analyze evidence that supports a claim and determine the strengths and limitations of claims

and counterclaims

• Construct and present arguments and explanations in a variety of ways (e.g., essays, debates,

speeches, paideia seminars, reports, digital platforms)

• Critique the credibility of arguments and the structure of explanations

• Analyze how speciﬁc civic problems can manifest on the local, regional, and global level

• Assess their individual and collective capacities to take action and address problems on the

local, regional, and global level

LEAP modules feature the following core instructional practices:

• Provide students with opportunities to employ evidence from sources and artifacts to explain

concepts to themselves and their peers

• Prompt students to explain evidence gathered from historical sources which they have sourced,

contextualized and corroborated with other sources

• Prepare students to present information, ﬁndings, and arguments in a clear, organized, and

coherent manner

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

ESSENTIAL PRACTICES

ESSENTIAL

PRACTICE

MAXIMIZE STUDENT OWNERSHIP OF LEARNING

Mathematics Content-Speciﬁc Examples

Essential

Practice

Examples

This practice aligns with the Standards for

Mathematical Practice and Instructional Practice Guide

(IPG) 3: Provide all students with opportunities to

exhibit mathematical practices while engaging with the

content of the lesson.

Module

Examples

LEAP modules support teachers in planning and

implementing instruction that engages students in

meaningful cognitive work and that moves them toward

higher-level understanding of complex mathematical

concepts.

For example, students:

• Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them (e.g., analyze givens, constraints,

relationships, and goals and change course if necessary in order to solve complex problems)

• Reason abstractly and quantitatively (e.g., both decontextualize problems by representing them

symbolically and contextualize problems by attending to the meaning of symbols)

• Construct viable mathematical arguments (e.g., make logical conjectures, justify conclusions,

and respond to the arguments of others)

• Model with mathematics (e.g., apply mathematics to solve real-world problems)

• Use appropriate tools strategically (e.g., use technological tools to explore and deepen

understanding of concepts)

• Attend to precision (e.g., provide carefully formulated explanations, examine claims, and make

explicit use of deﬁnitions)

• Look for and make sense of mathematical structure (e.g., discern patterns)

• Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning (e.g., notice if calculations are repeated

and look both for general methods and for problem-solving efﬁciencies)

K–8 LEAP modules feature the following core instructional practices:

• Support students in exploring tasks without taking over student thinking

• Allocate substantial instructional time for students to use, discuss, and make connections

among representations

• Engage students in purposeful sharing of mathematical ideas, reasoning, and approaches in

written responses

Grade 9–12 LEAP modules feature the following core instructional practices:

• Pose tasks on a regular basis that require a high level of cognitive demand

• Support students in exploring tasks without taking over student thinking

• Encourage the use of different representations, including words, diagrams/graphs, algebraic

representations, and tables, that support students in explaining their thinking and reasoning as

well as making connections among representations

Science Content-Speciﬁc Examples

Essential

Practice

Examples

This practice aligns with the Next Generation Science

Standards (NGSS) Science and Engineering Practices.

Module

Examples

LEAP modules support teachers in engaging their

students in the Science and Engineering Practices as a

primary mode of instruction.

For example, students:

• Ask questions and deﬁne problems (e.g., ask questions that arise from careful observation of

phenomena, models, or unexpected results to clarify and/or see additional information)

• Develop and use models (e.g., use and/or develop a model to predict and/or describe

phenomena)

• Plan and carry out investigations (e.g., identify independent and dependent variables and

controls, what tools are needed to do the gathering, how measurements will be recorded, and

what data is needed to support a claim)

• Analyze and interpret data (e.g., construct, analyze, and/or interpret graphical displays of data

and/or large data sets to identify linear and non-linear relationships)

• Use mathematics and computational thinking (e.g., use mathematical representation to

describe and/or support scientiﬁc conclusions and design solutions)

• Construct explanations (for science) and design solutions (for engineering) (e.g., optimizing

performance of a design by prioritizing criteria, making tradeoffs, testing, revising, and

re-testing)

• Engage in argument from evidence (e.g., compare and critique two arguments on the same

topic and analyze whether they emphasize similar or different evidence and/or interpretation

of facts)

• Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information (e.g., evaluate data, hypotheses, and/or

conclusions in scientiﬁc and technical texts in light of competing information or accounts)

LEAP modules feature the following core instructional practices:

• Structure investigative tasks with appropriate levels of independence (i.e., level of inquiry),

support, and challenge

• Use curricular and scientiﬁc texts to support students in gathering and evaluating evidence to

craft precise claims

• Challenge students to develop and use scientiﬁc models to explain natural and designed

systems

IMPACT: THE DCPS EFFECTIVENESS ASSESSMENT SYSTEM FOR SCHOOL-BASED PERSONNEL

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

ESSENTIAL PRACTICES

ESSENTIAL

PRACTICE

RESPOND TO EVIDENCE OF STUDENT LEARNING

5.A Evidence of Learning 5.B Supports and Extensions

LEVEL 4

The teacher consistently gathers evidence about the depth of

understanding for a range of students in order to gauge their learning

progress. Students understand how what they are learning and

doing ﬁts into a larger learning progression and/or unit of study.

The teacher consistently tailors effective supports and extensions to

individual student responses.*

For example, the students:

• Are aware of the learning goals and/or essential questions of the unit and can explain them

in their own words

• Can explain how the content and/or skill they are working on will set them up for success

• Reﬂect on their learning progress

See also examples from Level 3

For example, the teacher:

• Actively listens in order to modify or individualize instruction in real time based on student

responses

• Accurately summarizes students’ thinking without paraphrasing partially incorrect

responses as correct

• Follows students’ thought processes to uncover and respond to mis/understanding(s)

• Guides students in analysis of their own work and/or the work of their peers

• Uses students’ own words and ideas when providing supports and extensions

See also examples from Level 3

LEVEL 3

The teacher consistently gathers evidence about the depth of

understanding for a range of students in order to gauge their

learning progress.

The teacher consistently responds to evidence of student

understanding by providing effective supports, extensions, or both.*

For example, the teacher:

• Collects evidence frequently enough that sufﬁcient information is available to inform

instructional decision making, but not so often that learning progress is impeded

• Checks with all or a representative sample of students (e.g., volunteers and non-volunteers,

students with varying levels of proﬁciency, whole class)

• Monitors student progress toward the objective during individual or group work by asking

questions, listening, using technology, and observing student work products (e.g., student

writing, white boards)

For example, the teacher:

• Provides appropriate scaffolds (e.g., assists students in identifying errors, deconstructs

concepts into smaller components, offers cues to redirect student thinking) or re-teaches as

necessary without reducing the overall rigor of the content

• Provides opportunities for students to extend their understanding by providing additional

supporting evidence for a claim or through application to additional contexts

LEVEL 2

The teacher inconsistently gathers evidence about the depth

of understanding for a range of students in order to gauge their

learning progress.

The teacher inconsistently responds to evidence of student

understanding by providing effective supports, extensions, or both.*

For example, the teacher:

• Generally collects evidence, but does not have sufﬁcient information to inform instructional

decision making

• Uses strategies that gather evidence of student understanding, but these strategies are

sometimes not effective or necessary

• Checks with samples of students, but the samples are not representative (e.g.,

predominately volunteers or the same students)

• Monitors some student progress toward the objective during individual or group work, but

misses key evidence

For example, the teacher:

• Provides some effective supports or extensions, but others are not useful

• Provides some scaffolds that unnecessarily reduce the rigor of the content

• Misses key opportunities to support and/or extend learning

• Provides supports and/or extensions to a subset of students, but not to all those who would

beneﬁt

LEVEL 1

The expectation of Level 2 practice is not met. The expectation of Level 2 practice is not met.

For example, the teacher:

• Rarely or never checks for student understanding

• Inappropriately calls only on the same subset of students

For example, the teacher:

• Rarely or never provides supports or extensions

* In certain instructional situations such as an inquiry lesson, a teacher might not offer an immediate intervention as students grapple with content. In such circumstances, evaluators

should assess degree of support by considering whether this approach promotes greater understanding of the content.

IMPACT: THE DCPS EFFECTIVENESS ASSESSMENT SYSTEM FOR SCHOOL-BASED PERSONNEL

ESSENTIAL

PRACTICE

RESPOND TO EVIDENCE OF STUDENT LEARNING

English Language Arts Content-Speciﬁc Examples Mathematics Content-Speciﬁc Examples

Module

Examples

LEAP modules address multiple ways teachers can

monitor and assess a student’s literacy proﬁciency.

Module

Examples

LEAP modules address multiple ways teachers can

monitor and assess a student’s proﬁciency with

mathematics standards and practices.

K–5 LEAP modules feature the following core instructional practices:

• Collect and use data from students’ word analysis strengths and areas of growth to drive

instruction (3–5)

• Collect and analyze data using running records to plan responsive small group instruction

• Conference with students to provide ongoing and targeted feedback so students can improve

their writing

K–8 LEAP modules feature the following core instructional practices:

• Elicit and gather evidence of student understanding at strategic points during the lesson

• Make in-the-moment decisions on how to respond to students with questions and prompts that

probe, scaffold, and extend learning

• Design ways to elicit and assess students’ abilities to use representations to meaningfully

solve problems

• Anticipate what students might struggle with during a lesson and be prepared to support them

productively through the struggle

Grade 6–12 LEAP modules feature the following core instructional practices:

• Establish structures to provide effective feedback to students as they develop and strengthen

writing (as needed) by revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach

• Establish systems and structures of monitoring collaborative conversations and for sharing

explicit feedback with students to strengthen their point of view, reasoning, use evidence,

and/or rhetoric

• Provide a variety of scaffolds to support students’ use of academic language and textual

evidence during collaborative conversations

Grade 9–12 LEAP modules feature the following core instructional practices:

• Regularly monitor student progress toward the learning goal and provide scaffolds and

extensions when appropriate

• Elicit and gather evidence of student understanding during strategic points in the instruction

• Ask students to explain and justify their solutions — placing value on the explanation and

reasoning and the solution

• Design ways to elicit and assess students’ abilities to use representations to meaningfully

solve problems

Social Studies Content-Speciﬁc Examples Science Content-Speciﬁc Examples

Module

Examples

LEAP modules address multiple ways teachers can

monitor and assess student understanding of social

studies concepts and skills.

Module

Examples

LEAP modules address multiple ways teachers can

monitor and assess student understanding of scientiﬁc

concepts and skills.

LEAP modules feature the following core instructional practice:

• Evaluate student progress toward mastery of DCPS social studies curriculum power standards

LEAP modules feature the following core instructional practices:

• Measure student progress toward mastery of NGSS

• Incorporate student evaluation of their learning in the formative and summative assessment

processes

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

IMPACT: THE DCPS EFFECTIVENESS ASSESSMENT SYSTEM FOR SCHOOL-BASED PERSONNEL

SAMPLE SCORE CHART

LEAP LEADERSHP FRAMEWORK STANDARDS (LLF)

LEAP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK STANDARDS (LLF)

CYCLE

ENDS 2/1

CYCLE

ENDS 6/7

OVERALL

(Average of Cycles)

LLF 1: Foster a Positive LEAP Team Culture 4.0 4.0

LLF 2: Plan for Purposeful LEAP Seminars* 4.0 4.0

LLF 3: Facilitate Purposeful LEAP Seminars* 3.0 4.0

LLF 4: Plan for Meaningful Coaching Conversations* 3.0 3.0

LLF 5: Facilitate Meaningful Coaching Conversations* 4.0 4.0

LLF 6: Drive Improvements in Teacher Practice 3.0 3.0

LLF 7: Implement LEAP with Fidelity 4.0 4.0

LLF SCORE (Average of LLF 1 to LLF 7) 3.57 3.71 3.64

*This standard should be scored as “Not Applicable” if the LEAP Leader does not have responsibilities in this area.

LEAP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

LLF

What is the LEAP Leadership Framework?

The LEAP Leadership Framework (LLF) is a rubric that outlines

the actions LEAP Leaders take to successfully lead LEAP Teams.

There are seven standards of the LLF:

■

LLF 1: Foster a Positive LEAP Team Culture

■

LLF 2: Plan for Purposeful LEAP Seminars

■

LLF 3: Facilitate Purposeful LEAP Seminars

■

LLF 4: Plan for Meaningful Coaching Conversations

■

LLF 5: Facilitate Meaningful Coaching Conversations

■

LLF 6: Drive Improvements in Teacher Practice

■

LLF 7: Implement LEAP with Fidelity

The rubric also describes best practices and provides examples

aligned to each of the LEAP Leadership Framework standards.

Why do we need the LEAP Leadership

Framework (LLF)?

The LEAP Leadership Framework supports LEAP Leaders’

development by highlighting the core elements of the work for

which all LEAP Leaders are responsible and providing a common

language for describing and giving feedback on LEAP Leadership

best practices.

Who developed the LEAP Leadership

Framework (LLF)?

LEAP Leaders, school leaders, staff from the DCPS Central Ofﬁce,

and many others participated in the development of the LLF

during the 2016–2017 school year. The LLF is designed to reﬂect

the unique LEAP Leader role as well as research-based best

practices for facilitating adult learning. Some of the sources

consulted include:

■

Coherence Map (Student Achievement Partners)

■

Learning Team Cycle of Continuous Improvement (Crow and

Hirsh)

■

Leverage Leadership (Bambrick-Santoyo)

■

Realizing the Power of Professional Learning (Timperley)

■

Teaching Adults Revisited: Active Learning for Early Childhood

Educators (NAEYC)

■

Text-Dependent Questions: Pathways to Close and Critical

Reading (Fisher and Frey)

■

FVER Rubric (Leading Educators)

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

If I have additional questions about the LEAP

Leadership Framework (LLF), whom should I contact?

Please contact the IMPACT team at 202-719-6553 or impactdcps@dc.gov.

How will I be assessed on the LEAP

Leadership Framework (LLF)?

Your school leader will holistically gather evidence of your LEAP

Leadership in a variety of ways over the course of each IMPACT

cycle (e.g., teacher and student artifacts) and will observe your

LEAP Leadership at least twice each cycle. For example, your

school leader may observe you facilitating a LEAP Seminar,

conducting a mini-observation, leading a debrief, co-planning

and/or modeling with the teachers on your LEAP Team.

Using the evidence gathered over the course of each IMPACT cycle,

your school leader will assess which level (4, 3, 2, 1) provides

the best description of your LEAP Leadership practice for each

applicable standard of the LLF. Standard scores will then be

averaged together to form an overall LLF score for the cycle.

How will I receive feedback based on my

LEAP Leadership Framework assessment?

Your school leader will meet with you each IMPACT cycle to

discuss your practice, highlight successful elements of your LEAP

Leadership, and suggest next steps for professional growth. You

will also receive written feedback in an LLF report, which can be

viewed in the IMPACT database at impactdcps.dc.gov.

If your school leader makes at least two attempts to schedule

a conference with you prior to the cycle deadline and you are

unable to meet or unresponsive, the assessment will be valid

without the conference. Valid attempt methods include, but are

not limited to, phone calls, text messages, emails, notes in your

school inbox, and/or in-person conversations.

How will I be assessed on the LEAP

Leadership Framework (LLF) if I am a LEAP

Leader at two schools?

Teacher LEAP Leaders who are shared between two schools will

receive an LLF assessment from each school leader by February

1 in Cycle 1 and June 7 in Cycle 2. These scores will be averaged

together to produce a ﬁnal LLF score for each IMPACT cycle.

IMPACT: THE DCPS EFFECTIVENESS ASSESSMENT SYSTEM FOR SCHOOL-BASED PERSONNEL

LEVEL 4 (HIGHEST) LEVEL 3 LEVEL 2 LEVEL 1 (LOWEST)

LLF 1 FOSTER A POSITIVE LEAP TEAM CULTURE*

LEAP Team teachers demonstrate ownership of and investment

in their own and peers’ professional learning.

LEAP Leader demonstrates positive rapport with the LEAP Team, and

teachers are consistently engaged in seminars/debriefs.

LEAP Leader demonstrates positive rapport with the LEAP Team,

but teachers are inconsistently engaged in seminars/debriefs.

The expectation of Level 2 practice is not met.

For example, the LEAP Team teachers:

Level 3 examples AND

■

At times lead portions of seminar discussion and/or

student work analysis

■

Are supportive of one another and positively reinforce

risk-taking, vulnerability, and problem solving

■

Review observation notes in advance of debriefs and

reﬂect on practice

■

Own the norms and hold one another accountable to

them

■

Seek out support from fellow teachers, as needed and

appropriate

■

Proactively share resources (e.g., strategies, student

tasks)

■

Model humility and a culture of feedback

For example, the LEAP Leader:

■

Demonstrates trust, vulnerability, and growth mindset

with LEAP Team teachers

■

Holds equitably high expectations for students and

teachers

■

Demonstrates interest and investment in LEAP Team

teachers as individuals

■

Leverages the expertise in the room, utilizing other

teachers and colleagues to problem solve and provide

support

■

Prioritizes time and space for LEAP Team teachers to

build relationships by allotting time for personal and

professional updates/success stories during and outside

of seminars

■

Leads a fully inclusive team community of general

education, SPED, and ESL teachers by including all LEAP

Team teachers in seminar components, discussions, and

activities

■

Invites disengaged teachers back in to seminars and

debriefs, as applicable

For example, the LEAP Leader:

■

Demonstrates trust, vulnerability, and growth mindset

with LEAP Team teachers

■

Holds equitably high expectations for students and

teachers

■

Demonstrates interest and investment in LEAP Team

teachers as individuals

■

Leverages the expertise in the room, utilizing other

teachers and colleagues to problem solve and provide

support

■

Prioritizes time and space for LEAP Team teachers to

build relationships by allotting time for personal and

professional updates/success stories during and outside

of seminars

■

Leads a fully inclusive team community of general

education, SPED, and ESL teachers by including all LEAP

Team teachers in seminar components, discussions, and

activities

■

Invites disengaged teachers back in to seminars and

debriefs, as applicable

For example, the LEAP Leader:

■

Demonstrates negative rapport with LEAP Team teachers

For example, the LEAP Team teachers:

■

Offer relevant and insightful questions, comments, and

solutions

■

Actively listen to each other and promote equity of

voice by contributing to discussions and asking probing

questions of one another

■

Complete speciﬁed deliverables in seminars/debriefs

■

Maintain focus on LEAP activities/tasks designed to

promote student learning

■

Share instructional resources upon request

■

Co-create and maintain LEAP Team norms

For example, the LEAP Team teachers:

■

Offer relevant and insightful questions, comments, and

solutions

■

Actively listen to each other and promote equity of

voice by contributing to discussions and asking probing

questions of one another

■

Complete speciﬁed deliverables in seminars/debriefs

■

Maintain focus on LEAP activities/tasks designed to

promote student learning

■

Share instructional resources upon request

■

Co-create and maintain LEAP Team norms

For example, the LEAP Team teachers:

■

Are rarely or never engaged in seminars/debriefs

*Because team culture develops and evolves over the course of the year, evaluators may consider time of year when gathering evidence of positive

team culture (e.g., ﬁrst or second semester).

LEAP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

LLF

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

LEVEL 4 (HIGHEST) LEVEL 3 LEVEL 2 LEVEL 1 (LOWEST)

LLF 1 FOSTER A POSITIVE LEAP TEAM CULTURE*

LEAP Team teachers demonstrate ownership of and investment

in their own and peers’ professional learning.

LEAP Leader demonstrates positive rapport with the LEAP Team, and

teachers are consistently engaged in seminars/debriefs.

LEAP Leader demonstrates positive rapport with the LEAP Team,

but teachers are inconsistently engaged in seminars/debriefs.

The expectation of Level 2 practice is not met.

For example, the LEAP Team teachers:

Level 3 examples AND

■

At times lead portions of seminar discussion and/or

student work analysis

■

Are supportive of one another and positively reinforce

risk-taking, vulnerability, and problem solving

■

Review observation notes in advance of debriefs and

reﬂect on practice

■

Own the norms and hold one another accountable to

them

■

Seek out support from fellow teachers, as needed and

appropriate

■

Proactively share resources (e.g., strategies, student

tasks)

■

Model humility and a culture of feedback

For example, the LEAP Leader:

■

Demonstrates trust, vulnerability, and growth mindset

with LEAP Team teachers

■

Holds equitably high expectations for students and

teachers

■

Demonstrates interest and investment in LEAP Team

teachers as individuals

■

Leverages the expertise in the room, utilizing other

teachers and colleagues to problem solve and provide

support

■

Prioritizes time and space for LEAP Team teachers to

build relationships by allotting time for personal and

professional updates/success stories during and outside

of seminars

■

Leads a fully inclusive team community of general

education, SPED, and ESL teachers by including all LEAP

Team teachers in seminar components, discussions, and

activities

■

Invites disengaged teachers back in to seminars and

debriefs, as applicable

For example, the LEAP Leader:

■

Demonstrates trust, vulnerability, and growth mindset

with LEAP Team teachers

■

Holds equitably high expectations for students and

teachers

■

Demonstrates interest and investment in LEAP Team

teachers as individuals

■

Leverages the expertise in the room, utilizing other

teachers and colleagues to problem solve and provide

support

■

Prioritizes time and space for LEAP Team teachers to

build relationships by allotting time for personal and

professional updates/success stories during and outside

of seminars

■

Leads a fully inclusive team community of general

education, SPED, and ESL teachers by including all LEAP

Team teachers in seminar components, discussions, and

activities

■

Invites disengaged teachers back in to seminars and

debriefs, as applicable

For example, the LEAP Leader:

■

Demonstrates negative rapport with LEAP Team teachers

For example, the LEAP Team teachers:

■

Offer relevant and insightful questions, comments, and

solutions

■

Actively listen to each other and promote equity of

voice by contributing to discussions and asking probing

questions of one another

■

Complete speciﬁed deliverables in seminars/debriefs

■

Maintain focus on LEAP activities/tasks designed to

promote student learning

■

Share instructional resources upon request

■

Co-create and maintain LEAP Team norms

For example, the LEAP Team teachers:

■

Offer relevant and insightful questions, comments, and

solutions

■

Actively listen to each other and promote equity of

voice by contributing to discussions and asking probing

questions of one another

■

Complete speciﬁed deliverables in seminars/debriefs

■

Maintain focus on LEAP activities/tasks designed to

promote student learning

■

Share instructional resources upon request

■

Co-create and maintain LEAP Team norms

For example, the LEAP Team teachers:

■

Are rarely or never engaged in seminars/debriefs

*Because team culture develops and evolves over the course of the year, evaluators may consider time of year when gathering evidence of positive

team culture (e.g., ﬁrst or second semester).

IMPACT: THE DCPS EFFECTIVENESS ASSESSMENT SYSTEM FOR SCHOOL-BASED PERSONNEL

LEVEL 4 (HIGHEST) LEVEL 3 LEVEL 2 LEVEL 1 (LOWEST)

LLF 2 PLAN FOR PURPOSEFUL LEAP SEMINARS

LEAP Leader differentiates seminar content and/or activities to

meet the needs of individual LEAP Team teachers.

LEAP Leader prepares for the seminar by internalizing the content and

plans challenging seminars with clear outcomes tailored to the

needs of the LEAP Team.

LEAP Leader prepares for the seminar by internalizing the content, but

seminar outcomes are not challenging, unclear, and/or misaligned

to the needs of the LEAP Team.

The expectation of Level 2 practice is not met.

For example, the LEAP Leader:

Level 3 examples AND

■

Tailors the seminar to a teacher’s skill level and/or

learning style

■

Conducts artifact analysis to identify individual teacher

needs

■

Adapts seminar content and delivery to address

misconceptions of individual teachers

■

Modiﬁes tasks and activities to promote planning and

practice around areas of need

For example, the LEAP Leader:

■

Reviews the module content such that he/she can deliver

content ﬂuently

■

Prepares materials (e.g., handouts, anchor charts,

PowerPoints) in advance

■

Anticipates teachers’ misconceptions and plans to

address them

■

Strategically leverages the specialized instruction (SPED,

ESL) resources when planning for LEAP Seminars

■

Collects and analyzes teacher artifacts and student work

to inform seminar outcomes

For example, the LEAP Leader:

■

Reviews the module content such that he/she can deliver

content ﬂuently

■

Prepares materials (e.g., handouts, anchor charts,

PowerPoints) in advance

■

Provides seminar outcomes that are too easy or too

difﬁcult for the LEAP Team

■

Does not account for the needs of specialized instruction

teachers when planning seminars

■

Does not tailor provided seminar outcomes to identiﬁed

teacher needs

For example, the LEAP Leader:

■

Rarely or never prepares materials in advance

■

Reads seminar plan scripts verbatim

LLF 3 FACILITATE PURPOSEFUL LEAP SEMINARS

LEAP Seminars are well-facilitated and teachers consistently spend

the majority of the time doing meaningful cognitive work such as

planning/practice, reﬂection, challenging tasks, or other forms of

application.

LEAP Seminars are well-facilitated and include sufﬁcient

opportunities for teachers to do meaningful cognitive work such as

planning/practice, reﬂection, challenging tasks, or other forms of

application.

Some aspects of LEAP Seminars are not well-facilitated and/

or seminars include insufﬁcient opportunities for teachers to do

meaningful cognitive work such as planning/practice, reﬂection,

challenging tasks, or other forms of application.

The expectation of Level 2 practice is not met.

For example, the LEAP Seminar:

■

Includes opportunities for feedback during the

application portion of the seminar

■

Encourages participation so the conversation is

balanced, diverse, and inclusive

■

Connects agenda items to seminar outcomes

■

Thoughtfully addresses needs and priorities of SPED and

ESL teachers, as applicable

■

Includes observable, sequential directions, clear and

concise explanations, and/or emphasizes key points

■

Includes opportunities for teachers to engage in student

work analysis

■

Includes regular checks for understanding to assess

teachers’ progress

■

Supports shared learning with and among teachers

■

Features mostly open-ended, non-rhetorical questions

to deepen awareness and create new insight, includes

think time, listens actively, and probes to follow up

For example, the LEAP Seminar:

■

Includes opportunities for feedback during the

application portion of the seminar

■

Encourages participation so the conversation is

balanced, diverse, and inclusive

■

Connects agenda items to seminar outcomes

■

Thoughtfully addresses needs and priorities of SPED and

ESL teachers, as applicable

■

Includes observable, sequential directions, clear and

concise explanations, and/or emphasizes key points

■

Includes opportunities for teachers to engage in student

work analysis

■

Includes regular checks for understanding to assess

teachers’ progress

■

Supports shared learning with and among teachers

■

Features mostly open-ended, non-rhetorical questions

to deepen awareness and create new insight, includes

think time, listens actively, and probes to follow up

For example, the LEAP Leader:

■

Provides few opportunities for teachers to discuss the

content

■

Does not effectively pace seminars

■

Facilitates conversations in which some teachers

participate less often that others

■

Provides confusing/overly-complicated directions and

does not highlight key points

■

Misses opportunities to be inclusive of SPED and ESL

teachers

■

Conducts too few checks for understanding or does not

adjust facilitation in response to misunderstanding

■

Asks mostly closed-ended questions and/or provides

insufﬁcient think time

For example, the LEAP Leader:

■

Does not provide opportunities for planning/practice

■

Does not include opportunities for teachers to discuss

the content

■

Reads the module script verbatim

LEAP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

LLF

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

LEVEL 4 (HIGHEST) LEVEL 3 LEVEL 2 LEVEL 1 (LOWEST)

LLF 2 PLAN FOR PURPOSEFUL LEAP SEMINARS

LEAP Leader differentiates seminar content and/or activities to

meet the needs of individual LEAP Team teachers.

LEAP Leader prepares for the seminar by internalizing the content and

plans challenging seminars with clear outcomes tailored to the

needs of the LEAP Team.

LEAP Leader prepares for the seminar by internalizing the content, but

seminar outcomes are not challenging, unclear, and/or misaligned

to the needs of the LEAP Team.

The expectation of Level 2 practice is not met.

For example, the LEAP Leader:

Level 3 examples AND

■

Tailors the seminar to a teacher’s skill level and/or

learning style

■

Conducts artifact analysis to identify individual teacher

needs

■

Adapts seminar content and delivery to address

misconceptions of individual teachers

■

Modiﬁes tasks and activities to promote planning and

practice around areas of need

For example, the LEAP Leader:

■

Reviews the module content such that he/she can deliver

content ﬂuently

■

Prepares materials (e.g., handouts, anchor charts,

PowerPoints) in advance

■

Anticipates teachers’ misconceptions and plans to

address them

■

Strategically leverages the specialized instruction (SPED,

ESL) resources when planning for LEAP Seminars

■

Collects and analyzes teacher artifacts and student work

to inform seminar outcomes

For example, the LEAP Leader:

■

Reviews the module content such that he/she can deliver

content ﬂuently

■

Prepares materials (e.g., handouts, anchor charts,

PowerPoints) in advance

■

Provides seminar outcomes that are too easy or too

difﬁcult for the LEAP Team

■

Does not account for the needs of specialized instruction

teachers when planning seminars

■

Does not tailor provided seminar outcomes to identiﬁed

teacher needs

For example, the LEAP Leader:

■

Rarely or never prepares materials in advance

■

Reads seminar plan scripts verbatim

LLF 3 FACILITATE PURPOSEFUL LEAP SEMINARS

LEAP Seminars are well-facilitated and teachers consistently spend

the majority of the time doing meaningful cognitive work such as

planning/practice, reﬂection, challenging tasks, or other forms of

application.

LEAP Seminars are well-facilitated and include sufﬁcient

opportunities for teachers to do meaningful cognitive work such as

planning/practice, reﬂection, challenging tasks, or other forms of

application.

Some aspects of LEAP Seminars are not well-facilitated and/

or seminars include insufﬁcient opportunities for teachers to do

meaningful cognitive work such as planning/practice, reﬂection,

challenging tasks, or other forms of application.

The expectation of Level 2 practice is not met.

For example, the LEAP Seminar:

■

Includes opportunities for feedback during the

application portion of the seminar

■

Encourages participation so the conversation is

balanced, diverse, and inclusive

■

Connects agenda items to seminar outcomes

■

Thoughtfully addresses needs and priorities of SPED and

ESL teachers, as applicable

■

Includes observable, sequential directions, clear and

concise explanations, and/or emphasizes key points

■

Includes opportunities for teachers to engage in student

work analysis

■

Includes regular checks for understanding to assess

teachers’ progress

■

Supports shared learning with and among teachers

■

Features mostly open-ended, non-rhetorical questions

to deepen awareness and create new insight, includes

think time, listens actively, and probes to follow up

For example, the LEAP Seminar:

■

Includes opportunities for feedback during the

application portion of the seminar

■

Encourages participation so the conversation is

balanced, diverse, and inclusive

■

Connects agenda items to seminar outcomes

■

Thoughtfully addresses needs and priorities of SPED and

ESL teachers, as applicable

■

Includes observable, sequential directions, clear and

concise explanations, and/or emphasizes key points

■

Includes opportunities for teachers to engage in student

work analysis

■

Includes regular checks for understanding to assess

teachers’ progress

■

Supports shared learning with and among teachers

■

Features mostly open-ended, non-rhetorical questions

to deepen awareness and create new insight, includes

think time, listens actively, and probes to follow up

For example, the LEAP Leader:

■

Provides few opportunities for teachers to discuss the

content

■

Does not effectively pace seminars

■

Facilitates conversations in which some teachers

participate less often that others

■

Provides confusing/overly-complicated directions and

does not highlight key points

■

Misses opportunities to be inclusive of SPED and ESL

teachers

■

Conducts too few checks for understanding or does not

adjust facilitation in response to misunderstanding

■

Asks mostly closed-ended questions and/or provides

insufﬁcient think time

For example, the LEAP Leader:

■

Does not provide opportunities for planning/practice

■

Does not include opportunities for teachers to discuss

the content

■

Reads the module script verbatim

IMPACT: THE DCPS EFFECTIVENESS ASSESSMENT SYSTEM FOR SCHOOL-BASED PERSONNEL

LEVEL 4 (HIGHEST) LEVEL 3 LEVEL 2 LEVEL 1 (LOWEST)

LLF 4 PLAN FOR MEANINGFUL COACHING CONVERSATIONS

LEAP Leader explicitly connects feedback and action steps to a

larger, long-term arc of professional learning.

LEAP Leader uses data* to assess teachers’ coaching needs and

effectively plans for application of high-leverage action steps.

LEAP Leader identiﬁes action steps for teachers but they are not

high-leverage because they are overly general and/or misaligned to

teacher need.

The expectation of Level 2 practice is not met.

For example, the LEAP Leader:

Level 3 examples AND

■

Connects action steps/priorities to prior feedback/

suggestions for improvement

■

Provides speciﬁc action steps/priorities that are relevant

to both upcoming lessons and long-term planning

■

Establishes purpose for action steps/priorities by

explaining how they promote progress toward larger

goals

For example, the LEAP Leader:

Level 2 examples AND

■

Prepares action steps/priorities for teachers aligned to

their skill level and the LEAP module

■

Plans probing questions and/or prompts that promote

teachers’ reﬂection

■

Strategically chooses artifacts from the observation to

prompt reﬂection

■

Analyzes teacher practice data and uses data to inform

action steps/priorities

■

Identiﬁes appropriately granular instructional

adjustments

■

Uses knowledge of best practices for SPED and ESL

teachers (e.g., co-teaching) to create appropriate action

steps/priorities

For example, the LEAP Leader:

■

Sets action steps/priorities without considering teacher

practice data

■

Uses action steps/priorities verbatim from the module

■

Provides action steps/priorities misaligned to teacher

needs such that they are too easy or too difﬁcult for

teachers to implement

For example, the LEAP Leader:

■

Does not set clear learning outcomes for debriefs

■

Does not provide action steps/priorities for teachers

LLF 5 FACILITATE MEANINGFUL COACHING CONVERSATIONS

LEAP Leader meets teachers where they are and empowers them

with appropriate ownership of the debrief.

LEAP Leader consistently provides meaningful coaching support

and teachers spend the majority of the time engaged in planning/

practice.

LEAP Leader consistently provides coaching support but insufﬁcient

time (i.e., less than 50%) is spent on planning/practice.

The expectation of Level 2 practice is not met.

For example, the LEAP Leader:

Level 3 examples AND

■

Provides either facilitative or directive coaching aligned

to teacher needs

■

Provides teachers with frequent opportunities to reﬂect

on their own practice

■

Reinforces growth mindset when delivering constructive

feedback

For example, the LEAP Leader:

■

Efﬁciently highlights teacher and student actions that are

going well

■

Asks probing questions to support teachers in identifying

appropriate action steps/priorities

■

Analyzes lessons and student work with teachers to

identify areas for improvement

■

Provides feedback on lesson plans/planning done during

the debrief

■

Provides feedback on teacher’s practice of upcoming

lessons from the coach and/or student perspective

■

Facilitates joint meetings with general education teacher

and SPED and ESL teachers to align action steps/

priorities

For example, the LEAP Leader:

■

Efﬁciently highlights teacher and student actions that

are going well

■

Asks probing questions to support teachers in identifying

appropriate action steps/priorities

■

Analyzes lessons and student work with teachers to

identify areas for improvement

■

Provides feedback on lesson plans/planning done during

the debrief

■

Provides feedback on teacher’s practice of upcoming

lessons from the coach and/or student perspective

■

Facilitates joint meetings with general education teacher

and SPED and ESL teachers to align action steps/

priorities

For example, the LEAP Leader:

■

Is unresponsive to teacher needs

■

Spends too much time (i.e., more than 50%) on praise,

process, and prioritize when facilitating coaching

conversations

* LEAP Leaders may use a variety of data to assess teacher needs, including observation notes, lesson plans, student work, and other formative

assessment data.

LEAP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

LLF

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

LEVEL 4 (HIGHEST) LEVEL 3 LEVEL 2 LEVEL 1 (LOWEST)

LLF 4 PLAN FOR MEANINGFUL COACHING CONVERSATIONS

LEAP Leader explicitly connects feedback and action steps to a

larger, long-term arc of professional learning.

LEAP Leader uses data* to assess teachers’ coaching needs and

effectively plans for application of high-leverage action steps.

LEAP Leader identiﬁes action steps for teachers but they are not

high-leverage because they are overly general and/or misaligned to

teacher need.

The expectation of Level 2 practice is not met.

For example, the LEAP Leader:

Level 3 examples AND

■

Connects action steps/priorities to prior feedback/

suggestions for improvement

■

Provides speciﬁc action steps/priorities that are relevant

to both upcoming lessons and long-term planning

■

Establishes purpose for action steps/priorities by

explaining how they promote progress toward larger

goals

For example, the LEAP Leader:

Level 2 examples AND

■

Prepares action steps/priorities for teachers aligned to

their skill level and the LEAP module

■

Plans probing questions and/or prompts that promote

teachers’ reﬂection

■

Strategically chooses artifacts from the observation to

prompt reﬂection

■

Analyzes teacher practice data and uses data to inform

action steps/priorities

■

Identiﬁes appropriately granular instructional

adjustments

■

Uses knowledge of best practices for SPED and ESL

teachers (e.g., co-teaching) to create appropriate action

steps/priorities

For example, the LEAP Leader:

■

Sets action steps/priorities without considering teacher

practice data

■

Uses action steps/priorities verbatim from the module

■

Provides action steps/priorities misaligned to teacher

needs such that they are too easy or too difﬁcult for

teachers to implement

For example, the LEAP Leader:

■

Does not set clear learning outcomes for debriefs

■

Does not provide action steps/priorities for teachers

LLF 5 FACILITATE MEANINGFUL COACHING CONVERSATIONS

LEAP Leader meets teachers where they are and empowers them

with appropriate ownership of the debrief.

LEAP Leader consistently provides meaningful coaching support

and teachers spend the majority of the time engaged in planning/

practice.

LEAP Leader consistently provides coaching support but insufﬁcient

time (i.e., less than 50%) is spent on planning/practice.

The expectation of Level 2 practice is not met.

For example, the LEAP Leader:

Level 3 examples AND

■

Provides either facilitative or directive coaching aligned

to teacher needs

■

Provides teachers with frequent opportunities to reﬂect

on their own practice

■

Reinforces growth mindset when delivering constructive

feedback

For example, the LEAP Leader:

■

Efﬁciently highlights teacher and student actions that are

going well

■

Asks probing questions to support teachers in identifying

appropriate action steps/priorities

■

Analyzes lessons and student work with teachers to

identify areas for improvement

■

Provides feedback on lesson plans/planning done during

the debrief

■

Provides feedback on teacher’s practice of upcoming

lessons from the coach and/or student perspective

■

Facilitates joint meetings with general education teacher

and SPED and ESL teachers to align action steps/

priorities

For example, the LEAP Leader:

■

Efﬁciently highlights teacher and student actions that

are going well

■

Asks probing questions to support teachers in identifying

appropriate action steps/priorities

■

Analyzes lessons and student work with teachers to

identify areas for improvement

■

Provides feedback on lesson plans/planning done during

the debrief

■

Provides feedback on teacher’s practice of upcoming

lessons from the coach and/or student perspective

■

Facilitates joint meetings with general education teacher

and SPED and ESL teachers to align action steps/

priorities

For example, the LEAP Leader:

■

Is unresponsive to teacher needs

■

Spends too much time (i.e., more than 50%) on praise,

process, and prioritize when facilitating coaching

conversations

* LEAP Leaders may use a variety of data to assess teacher needs, including observation notes, lesson plans, student work, and other formative

assessment data.

IMPACT: THE DCPS EFFECTIVENESS ASSESSMENT SYSTEM FOR SCHOOL-BASED PERSONNEL

LEVEL 4 (HIGHEST) LEVEL 3 LEVEL 2 LEVEL 1 (LOWEST)

LLF 6 DRIVE IMPROVEMENTS IN TEACHER PRACTICE*

All or almost all LEAP Team teachers’ practice signiﬁcantly improves

as a result of their learning through LEAP.

All or almost all LEAP Team teachers’ practice improves as a result of

their learning through LEAP.

Most LEAP Team teachers’ practice improves as a result of their

learning through LEAP.

The expectation of Level 2 practice is not met.

For example, the LEAP Team teachers:

Level 3 examples AND

■

Achieve excellence with LEAP module Look Fors

■

Consider student work and LEAP Leader’s feedback

when crafting lessons

■

Foster students’ interest in the content

■

Plan student-centered, inquiry-based learning

experiences

■

Effectively co-plan with LEAP team teachers, including

those of different specialties or grades (e.g., SPED, ESL)

For example, the LEAP Team teachers:

■

Achieve the LEAP module Look Fors

■

Embed skills and strategies learned through LEAP in

upcoming lessons/lesson plans

■

Adjust lesson plans to meet the needs of diverse learners,

including SPED and ESL students

■

Develop lessons that address identiﬁed student

misconceptions

■

Collect and analyze student work samples indicative of

improved student learning

■

Complete tasks and activities in seminars and debriefs

indicative of improved content pedagogy knowledge/skill

■

Skillfully facilitate student discourse

■

Improve student work analysis skills

For example, the LEAP Team teachers:

■

Achieve the LEAP module Look Fors

■

Embed skills and strategies learned through LEAP in

upcoming lessons/lesson plans

■

Adjust lesson plans to meet the needs of diverse

learners, including SPED and ESL students

■

Develop lessons that address identiﬁed student

misconceptions

■

Collect and analyze student work samples indicative of

improved student learning

■

Complete tasks and activities in seminars and debriefs

indicative of improved content pedagogy knowledge/skill

■

Skillfully facilitate student discourse

■

Improve student work analysis skills

For example, fewer than half of the LEAP Team teachers:

■

Improve practice as a result of participation in LEAP

LLF 7 IMPLEMENT LEAP WITH FIDELITY

LEAP Leader consistently provides appropriate documentation

in the LEAP Platform.

LEAP Leader consistently implements LEAP model components (e.g.,

LEAP Seminars, observations, coaching touchpoints) with the expected

frequency** and content focus.

LEAP Leader inconsistently implements LEAP model components

(e.g., LEAP Seminars, observations, coaching touchpoints) with the

expected frequency** and content focus.

The expectation of Level 2 practice is not met.

For example, the LEAP Leader:

Level 3 examples AND

■

Tracks seminar attendance, content focus, and date

■

Records and shares observation notes

■

Electronically shares action steps

■

Notes type and frequency of additional coaching

touchpoints

For example, the LEAP Leader:

■

Leads seminars and debriefs with appropriate frequency,

per the guidance of DCPS Central Ofﬁce and other

instructional leaders

■

Attends professional learning opportunities offered by

DCPS Central Ofﬁce

■

Delivers content-aligned seminars and debriefs

■

Supports all LEAP Team teachers, including SPED and

ESL teachers

For example, the LEAP Leader:

■

Leads seminars and debriefs with appropriate frequency,

per the guidance of DCPS Central Ofﬁce and other

instructional leaders

■

Attends professional learning opportunities offered by

DCPS Central Ofﬁce

■

Delivers content-aligned seminars and debriefs

■

Supports all LEAP Team teachers, including SPED and

ESL teachers

For example, the LEAP Leader:

■

Does not implement one or more of the components of

the LEAP cycle

■

Fails to document required data points in the LEAP

Platform

*Evaluators may assess improvements to teacher practice using a variety of data sources including, but not limited to, informal observations, student

work analysis, formative assessments, and teacher artifacts such as unit plans.

**Expected frequency may be differentiated per teacher need and as agreed upon by the principal and LEAP Leader.

LEAP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

LLF

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

LEVEL 4 (HIGHEST) LEVEL 3 LEVEL 2 LEVEL 1 (LOWEST)

LLF 6 DRIVE IMPROVEMENTS IN TEACHER PRACTICE*

All or almost all LEAP Team teachers’ practice signiﬁcantly improves

as a result of their learning through LEAP.

All or almost all LEAP Team teachers’ practice improves as a result of

their learning through LEAP.

Most LEAP Team teachers’ practice improves as a result of their

learning through LEAP.

The expectation of Level 2 practice is not met.

For example, the LEAP Team teachers:

Level 3 examples AND

■

Achieve excellence with LEAP module Look Fors

■

Consider student work and LEAP Leader’s feedback

when crafting lessons

■

Foster students’ interest in the content

■

Plan student-centered, inquiry-based learning

experiences

■

Effectively co-plan with LEAP team teachers, including

those of different specialties or grades (e.g., SPED, ESL)

For example, the LEAP Team teachers:

■

Achieve the LEAP module Look Fors

■

Embed skills and strategies learned through LEAP in

upcoming lessons/lesson plans

■

Adjust lesson plans to meet the needs of diverse learners,

including SPED and ESL students

■

Develop lessons that address identiﬁed student

misconceptions

■

Collect and analyze student work samples indicative of

improved student learning

■

Complete tasks and activities in seminars and debriefs

indicative of improved content pedagogy knowledge/skill

■

Skillfully facilitate student discourse

■

Improve student work analysis skills

For example, the LEAP Team teachers:

■

Achieve the LEAP module Look Fors

■

Embed skills and strategies learned through LEAP in

upcoming lessons/lesson plans

■

Adjust lesson plans to meet the needs of diverse

learners, including SPED and ESL students

■

Develop lessons that address identiﬁed student

misconceptions

■

Collect and analyze student work samples indicative of

improved student learning

■

Complete tasks and activities in seminars and debriefs

indicative of improved content pedagogy knowledge/skill

■

Skillfully facilitate student discourse

■

Improve student work analysis skills

For example, fewer than half of the LEAP Team teachers:

■

Improve practice as a result of participation in LEAP

LLF 7 IMPLEMENT LEAP WITH FIDELITY

LEAP Leader consistently provides appropriate documentation

in the LEAP Platform.

LEAP Leader consistently implements LEAP model components (e.g.,

LEAP Seminars, observations, coaching touchpoints) with the expected

frequency** and content focus.

LEAP Leader inconsistently implements LEAP model components

(e.g., LEAP Seminars, observations, coaching touchpoints) with the

expected frequency** and content focus.

The expectation of Level 2 practice is not met.

For example, the LEAP Leader:

Level 3 examples AND

■

Tracks seminar attendance, content focus, and date

■

Records and shares observation notes

■

Electronically shares action steps

■

Notes type and frequency of additional coaching

touchpoints

For example, the LEAP Leader:

■

Leads seminars and debriefs with appropriate frequency,

per the guidance of DCPS Central Ofﬁce and other

instructional leaders

■

Attends professional learning opportunities offered by

DCPS Central Ofﬁce

■

Delivers content-aligned seminars and debriefs

■

Supports all LEAP Team teachers, including SPED and

ESL teachers

For example, the LEAP Leader:

■

Leads seminars and debriefs with appropriate frequency,

per the guidance of DCPS Central Ofﬁce and other

instructional leaders

■

Attends professional learning opportunities offered by

DCPS Central Ofﬁce

■

Delivers content-aligned seminars and debriefs

■

Supports all LEAP Team teachers, including SPED and

ESL teachers

For example, the LEAP Leader:

■

Does not implement one or more of the components of

the LEAP cycle

■

Fails to document required data points in the LEAP

Platform

*Evaluators may assess improvements to teacher practice using a variety of data sources including, but not limited to, informal observations, student

work analysis, formative assessments, and teacher artifacts such as unit plans.

**Expected frequency may be differentiated per teacher need and as agreed upon by the principal and LEAP Leader.

IMPACT: THE DCPS EFFECTIVENESS ASSESSMENT SYSTEM FOR SCHOOL-BASED PERSONNEL

What is Teacher-Assessed Student

Achievement Data?

TAS is a measure of your students’ learning over the course

of the year, as evidenced by rigorous assessments other than

PARCC.

What assessments can I use?

Assessments must be rigorous, aligned to the Common Core

State Standards or other appropriate content standards,

and approved by your school administration. Please see the

TAS guidance document for resources on commonly used

assessments, and assessments that cannot be used for TAS.

Why is this one of my IMPACT

components?

We believe that a teacher’s most important responsibility is

to ensure that her/his students learn and grow. Accordingly,

we believe that teachers should be held accountable for the

achievement of their students.

In addition, we recognize that the PARCC assessments capture

some but not all aspects of your students’ learning over the

course of one year. TAS is an opportunity for you to identify and

celebrate the learning not reﬂected on the state standardized

test by incorporating it into your own instructional goals and

IMPACT evaluation.

How will this process work?

In the fall, assessments and student learning targets will be

selected to evaluate your students’ achievement throughout

the school year. If setting multiple goals with separate

assessments, weights will be assigned to each goal. Please note

that administrators must approve all assessments, targets, or

weights selected for TAS goals.

In the spring, achievement data for all assessments will be

presented to administrators who, after verifying the data, will

assign scores for each goal based upon the rubric.

The deadline for administrators to score TAS is June 13, however

your school leader may set internal dates for when TAS data

needs to be submitted.

Please note that shared teachers at two schools will receive

scores at each of them. These scores will then be averaged

together to determine your ﬁnal score for this component.

If I have additional questions about TAS, whom

should I contact?

Please contact the IMPACT team at 202-719-6553 or impactdcps@dc.gov.

TAS

TEACHER-ASSESSED STUDENT

ACHIEVEMENT DATA

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

IMPACT: THE DCPS EFFECTIVENESS ASSESSMENT SYSTEM FOR SCHOOL-BASED PERSONNEL

TAS

LEVEL 4 (HIGHEST) LEVEL 3 LEVEL 2 LEVEL 1 (LOWEST)

TAS 1 TEACHER-ASSESSED STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT DATA

Student scores on teacher assessments indicate, on average,

exceptional learning, such as at least 1.5 years of growth*; each

assessment used is approved by the administration; and scores

reported are validated by the administration.

Student scores on teacher assessments indicate, on average,

signiﬁcant learning, such as at least 1 year of growth*; each

assessment used is approved by the administration; and scores

reported are validated by the administration.

Student scores on teacher assessments indicate, on average, some

learning, such as at least 0.75 years of growth*; each assessment

used is approved by the administration; and scores reported are

validated by the administration.

Student scores on teacher assessments indicate, on average, little

learning, such as less than 0.75 years of growth*; assessments used

are not approved by the administration; or scores reported are not

validated by the administration.

* Suggested years of growth are listed here as general guidance. Standardized assessments and skills-based rubrics used for TAS may measure reading

levels, rubric levels, etc. Teachers should refer to the vendor scoring guidance, if applicable, for each assessment they have chosen to determine how many

levels equate to a year of growth or more.

Note:

1. If a teacher uses more than one assessment, each will be scored individually. The scores will then be averaged together, taking into account the weights

that administrators and teachers assigned to each assessment when setting TAS goals at the beginning of the year.

TEACHER-ASSESSED STUDENT

ACHIEVEMENT DATA

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

LEVEL 4 (HIGHEST) LEVEL 3 LEVEL 2 LEVEL 1 (LOWEST)

TAS 1 TEACHER-ASSESSED STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT DATA

Student scores on teacher assessments indicate, on average,

exceptional learning, such as at least 1.5 years of growth*; each

assessment used is approved by the administration; and scores

reported are validated by the administration.

Student scores on teacher assessments indicate, on average,

signiﬁcant learning, such as at least 1 year of growth*; each

assessment used is approved by the administration; and scores

reported are validated by the administration.

Student scores on teacher assessments indicate, on average, some

learning, such as at least 0.75 years of growth*; each assessment

used is approved by the administration; and scores reported are

validated by the administration.

Student scores on teacher assessments indicate, on average, little

learning, such as less than 0.75 years of growth*; assessments used

are not approved by the administration; or scores reported are not

validated by the administration.

IMPACT: THE DCPS EFFECTIVENESS ASSESSMENT SYSTEM FOR SCHOOL-BASED PERSONNEL

SAMPLE SCORE CHART

COMMITMENT TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY (CSC)

CYCLE

ENDS 12/14

CYCLE

ENDS 6/12

OVERALL

(Average of Cycles)

CSC 1: Support of the Local School Initiatives 3.0 4.0

CSC 2: Support Special Education and ELL Programs 4.0 3.0

CSC 3: High Expectations 4.0 4.0

CSC 4: Partnership with Families (for Teachers Only) 3.0 4.0

CSC 5: Instructional Collaboration (for Teachers Only) 3.0 3.0

CSC SCORE (Average of CSC 1 to CSC 5) 3.40 3.60 3.50

What is Commitment to the School

Community?

This component measures several aspects of your work as a

member of a school community: 1) your support of your school’s

local initiatives; 2) your support of the Special Education and

English Language Learner programs at your school; 3) your

efforts to promote high academic and behavioral expectations;

4) your partnership with your students’ families; and 5) your

instructional collaboration with your colleagues.

Why is this one of my IMPACT

components?

This component was included because we believe every staff

member in the building plays a critical role in ensuring the

success of all students.

How will my Commitment to the School

Community be assessed?

Your administrator will assess you two times during the year

according to the rubric at the conclusion of this section. The

ﬁrst assessment begins at the start of the school year and ends

December 14; the second assessment begins December 15

and ends June 12. Given that each school has its own unique

community, please reach out to your school leader to request

your school’s speciﬁc CSC rubric.

At the end of each cycle, you can view your Commitment

to the School Community score in the IMPACT database

(http://impactdcps.dc.gov). While a conference to discuss your

Commitment to the School Community score is not required,

you are encouraged to reach out to your administrator with any

questions or concerns.

How will my Commitment to the School

Community be scored?

For each assessment cycle, you will receive a 4 (highest) to 1

(lowest) score for each standard of the rubric. Your standard

scores will then be averaged together to form an overall score of

4.0 (highest) to 1.0 (lowest) for the assessment cycle.

At the end of the year, your assessment cycle scores will be

averaged together to calculate an overall score of 4.0 (highest)

to 1.0 (lowest) for this component of your IMPACT assessment.

See the sample score chart below.

Please note that, if you are shared between two schools, you

will receive scores at each of them. These scores will then

be averaged together to determine your ﬁnal score for this

component.

If I have additional questions about Commitment to

the School Community, whom should I contact?

Please contact the IMPACT team at 202-719-6553 or impactdcps@dc.gov.

COMMITMENT TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY

CSC

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

IMPACT: THE DCPS EFFECTIVENESS ASSESSMENT SYSTEM FOR SCHOOL-BASED PERSONNEL

LEVEL 4 (HIGHEST) LEVEL 3 LEVEL 2 LEVEL 1 (LOWEST)

CSC 1 SUPPORT OF THE LOCAL SCHOOL INITIATIVES

Individual meets Level 3 expectations AND extends impact by

ﬁnding new and innovative ways to help the local school initiatives

succeed and/or by dedicating a truly exceptional amount of time and

energy in support of the initiatives.

Individual consistently supports the local school initiatives in an

effective manner.

Individual sometimes supports the local school initiatives in an

effective manner.

Individual rarely or never supports the local school initiatives in an

effective manner.

Examples of local initiatives include: increased student attendance rate, suspension rate reduction, use of inquiry-based lessons, and school-wide

behavioral supports or programs.

CSC 2 SUPPORT OF THE SPECIAL EDUCATION AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNER PROGRAMS*

Individual meets Level 3 expectations AND extends impact by

ﬁnding new and innovative ways to help the Special Education and

English Language Learner programs, the Student Support Team, and

all students with 504 plans succeed and/or by dedicating a truly

exceptional amount of time and energy in support of these programs

and students.

Individual consistently supports, in an effective manner, the school’s

Special Education and English Language Learner programs, the

school’s Student Support Team, and all students with 504 plans.

Individual sometimes supports, in an effective manner, the school’s

Special Education and English Language Learner programs, the

school’s Student Support Team, and all students with 504 plans.

Individual rarely or never supports, in an effective manner, the

school’s Special Education and English Language Learner programs,

the school’s Student Support Team, and all students with 504 plans.

Examples of how one might support these programs and students include: interacting with all students in a positive and inclusive manner, ensuring that

facilities are available for the provision of services, incorporating Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles during instruction, collaborating with special

education and ELL teachers in planning content delivery, using scaffolded language supports when working with ELL students, supporting the attainment of

language objectives, and participating in student-level decision making (e.g., attending IEP meetings, submitting necessary documentation, tracking data).

CSC 3 HIGH EXPECTATIONS

Individual meets Level 3 expectations AND extends impact by

ﬁnding new and innovative ways to help promote high expectations

and/or by dedicating a truly exceptional amount of time and energy

towards developing a culture of high expectations in the school.

Individual consistently promotes high academic and behavioral

expectations, in an effective manner, for all students.

Individual sometimes promotes high academic and behavioral

expectations, in an effective manner, for all students.

Individual rarely or never promotes high academic and behavioral

expectations, in an effective manner, for all students.

Examples of how one might promote high expectations include: supporting achievement through rigorous academic work and challenging extracurricular

opportunities; modeling high personal standards; assigning and communicating grades in a manner consistent with district and school grading policy; and

emphasizing pride in self, school, and community.

* This standard may be scored as “Not Applicable” if a school has no students who receive Special Education or English Language Learner services, no students

who need assistance from a Student Support Team, and no students with 504 plans.

COMMITMENT TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY

CSC