The Champaign, Illinois school district is piloting a new teacher evaluation plan that focuses on how effectively the teacher is helping his or her students learn, rather than how the teacher presents the lessons, the News-Gazette reports.

Westview School third-grade teacher Angela Shargo works with students on a craft project in her class. Photo by John Dixon

“The teacher behaviors we’re measuring are much more related to student success,” said Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Beth Shepperd. “This is so much broader, and gets to the heart of quality teaching.” District administrators and the teachers’ union have been working for two years to come up with a new evaluation plan.

The new evaluation plan takes into account not just what a teacher is doing in the classroom, but how he or she is contributing to the school, including working with colleagues to help students who are struggling or who have serious attendance problems.

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Filed under: K-12 Education News