Whitmer Signs New Laws to Change Ways Michigan Teachers are Evaluated

LANSING, Nov. 29, 2023 ~ Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a pair of bills last week that will alter how teacher evaluations are conducted and used to determine their performances, which will take effect at the start of the 2024-25 school year.

Senate Bills 395 and 396 will reduce standardized test scores’ importance on a teacher evaluation from 40% to 20%, with the rest of the evaluations comprised of student growth and assessment data criteria determined by teacher unions and school districts. Teachers would then be categorized as “effective,” “developing,” or “needing support,” with repeated “needing support” rankings causing termination.

While some opponents of the bills worry it will prevent the removal of ineffective teachers, proponents say these rule changes will allow teachers to make lesson plans more suited for learning over doing well on a standardized test and remove unfair evaluation criteria.