The school district is the second largest in the state and includes 85 schools, approximately 60,000 students, 3,700 certified staff, and 270 administrators. Thirty-eight percent of the student population is non-white, with Hispanic students making up the largest part of the non-majority group. Although the district had recently revised aspects of its teacher evaluation system, the district and teachers’ association agreed in 1997 that more comprehensive evaluation reforms were needed.

The new teacher evaluation system includes all of the standards and many of the suggested sources of evidence included in the Framework for Teaching (Danielson, 1996). There are four domains of practice with 23 components and 68 elements elaborating behavioral descriptions of the components. The domains are Planning and Preparation, Classroom Environment, Instruction, and Professional Responsibilities. Each element includes separate descriptions of teaching performance on a four-level rubric: unsatisfactory, target for growth (level 1), proficient (level 2), and area of strength (level 3). Table 1 includes an example of one set of rubrics for one of the 68 elements.