Passed this spring by the Maryland General Assembly, the Education Reform Act of 2010  states that student growth serve as a “significant” part of the evaluation process for teachers. The Baltimore Sun reports that Maryland is now faced with the difficult task of determining how student test scores will be used to evaluate teachers.

One of the most vexing issues is how the districts will evaluate teachers whose students don’t take state tests such as those in music, physical education or first grade. Most teachers in the state don’t teach a subject that is tested, but Maryland is committed to having student achievement count for 50 percent of an evaluation.

In addition, the state must determine how much progress students would be expected to make in a school year for a teacher to be graded effective or ineffective.

“This is something that states and school districts around the country have been grappling with, some more successfully,” said Steven Glazerman, a senior fellow at Mathematica, which does education research.

Governor Martin O’Malley is set to announce the members of the Educator Effectiveness Council by the end of the month.  This Council is charged with developing a framework for Maryland’s evaluation system. For information click here.