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House moves to stop using SAGE year‑end scores in teacher evaluations
Summary
Representative Paulson's HB 201 removes year‑end SAGE assessment scores from teacher-evaluation calculations, citing a January 2016 Regional Education Laboratory West study that the measures are inaccurate and unstable; the House passed the bill and will transmit it to the Senate.
Representative Paulson presented second substitute HB 201 to eliminate the use of year‑end SAGE assessment scores as a determinant in teacher evaluations. Paulson told colleagues that changing the rule addresses opt‑out rates, test‑administration issues and lack of alignment between tests and classroom curriculum.
Paulson cited a January 2016 study from the Regional Education Laboratory West arguing that current measures used for evaluations are "over 59% inaccurate and unstable" and warned the existing approach could prompt lawsuits because some statistical uses could not be legally defended in court. Members recounted teacher morale problems and attrition tied to current evaluation rules and discussed the uneven application of test‑score rules across grade levels and subjects.
Representative Cunningham and other supporters urged moving evaluation decisions back toward local control and educators’ professional judgments. Representative Duckworth asked about morale and correlation with teacher shortages; Paulson described teacher departures tied to reliance on SAGE scores. The House voted to pass the bill; the transcript records a final recorded vote and the bill will be transmitted to the Senate.
