Frequency of Evaluations : Virginia

Analysis of Virginia's policies

Regrettably, Virginia does not ensure that all teachers are evaluated annually.

Nonprobationary teachers must be evaluated at least once every three years. New teachers in Virginia must be formally evaluated once a year. The state's policy does not include any guidelines on when these evaluations should occur.

Citation

Virginia Code 22.1-303(A) and 22.1-295

Recommendations for Virginia

Require annual formal evaluations for all teachers.
All teachers in Virginia should be evaluated annually. Rather than treated as mere formalities, these teacher evaluations should serve as important tools for rewarding good teachers, helping average teachers improve and holding weak teachers accountable for poor performance.  

Base evaluations on multiple observations.
To guarantee that annual evaluations are based on an adequate collection of information, Virginia should require multiple observations for all teachers, even those who have nonprobationary status. 

Ensure that new teachers are observed and receive feedback early in the school year.
It is critical that schools and districts closely monitor the performance of new teachers. Virginia should ensure that its new teachers get the support they need and that supervisors know early on which new teachers may be struggling or at risk for unacceptable levels of performance.

State response to our analysis

Virginia recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis.