Unsatisfactory Evaluations: Connecticut

Analysis of Connecticut's policies

Connecticut requires local districts to place all teachers on evaluation and professional development plans. Teachers in need of "intensive supervision" or who fail to meet the district's minimal standard for performance will be given opportunities for additional training or may be referred to an outside agency that specializes in providing assistance to improve teaching.

In addition, state guidelines recommend that all steps for developing and monitoring a teacher's progress on such plans be well documented to justify a teacher's continuance or dismissal. However, the state does not address whether a certain number of unsatisfactory evaluations would make a teacher automatically eligible for dismissal.

Citation

Connecticut Guidelines for Teacher Evaluation and Professional Development http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/PDF/EducatorStandards/tevalpd.pdf

Recommendations for Connecticut

Make eligibility for dismissal a consequence of unsatisfactory evaluations.
Teachers who receive two consecutive unsatisfactory evaluations or have two unsatisfactory evaluations within five years should be formally eligible for dismissal, regardless of whether they have tenure. Connecticut should adopt a policy that ensures that teachers who receive such unsatisfactory evaluations are eligible for dismissal. 

State response to our analysis

Connecticut recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis.