REACH (Recognizing Educators Advancing Chicago's Students)¶
Product or Programme · All products and programmes
Evidence · 32 claims (19 for, 9 mixed, 4 against) · 11 studies (9 associational, 1 design, 1 theoretical),q1–q3· 0 of 11 report an effect size · 28 claims rest on one study
Description¶
REACH is Chicago Public Schools' teacher-evaluation programme combining classroom observations using a modified Danielson Framework rubric with student-growth measures and evaluator certification.
Components¶
- REACH Students teacher evaluation system: REACH (Recognizing Educators Advancing Chicago's Students) is CPS's teacher evaluation system launched in 2012-13, replacing a 1970s-era checklist. It combines "multiple classroom observations" using a modified Danielson Framework rubric with student growth measures from Performance Tasks and value-added or expected gains scores. All administrators must be certified as evaluators through training modules and assessments. In its first year it applied with stakes to non-tenured teachers, generating over 36,000 observations. (Susan E. Sporte et al. (2013))
- REACH (Recognizing Educators Advancing Chicago's Students) teacher evaluation system: REACH is Chicago Public Schools' teacher evaluation system, which "replaced the previous checklist system, which rated nearly all teachers as excellent or superior and failed to provide much useful feedback for improving teacher practice." It combines classroom observation with student growth measures, with growth accounting for up to 25 percent of a teacher's rating in 2012-13 and 2013-14. The brief measures teacher and administrator perceptions of the system across its first two years. (Jiang (2014))
- REACH teacher evaluation system: REACH (Recognizing Educators Advancing Chicago Students) is Chicago Public Schools' teacher evaluation system launched in fall 2012. It replaced a checklist system with multiple observations rated on a detailed rubric, and "Final evaluation scores are based on a combination of these observations and student growth metrics" including performance tasks and value-added scores. Professional practice scores are combined with student growth scores into an overall REACH score ranging from 100 to 400, translated into ratings of Unsatisfactory, Developing, Proficient, or Excellent. (Sporte et al. (2016))
- REACH Students teacher evaluation system combining professional practice and student growth measures: REACH (Recognizing Educators Advancing Chicago's Students) is CPS's teacher evaluation system instituted in fall 2012, replacing a 1970s-era checklist system. It "incorporates a professional practice score and up to two measures of student growth in a teacher's evaluation score." Professional practice is evaluated through four observations using the CPS Framework for Teaching, a modified version of the Danielson Framework, with 19 components across four domains. Student growth includes value-added scores and performance tasks. (Jiang et al. (2016))
Claims¶
- Administrators' dual role as evaluator and coach can undermine the observation process's professional learning benefits [~W]
- REACH observations consumed substantial administrator time—about six hours per observation cycle and roughly two to three full weeks per year [~W]
- Most teachers and administrators report that the REACH observation process supports teacher professional growth and improved instructional conversations [+W]
- A majority of teachers believed REACH relied too heavily on standardized tests, with special education teachers especially critical [-W]
- Most teachers judged their REACH evaluators fair and able to assess instruction accurately [+W]
- Under REACH fewer teachers received ratings in the top two categories than under the prior checklist system [+W] — (also cited [~W])
- Missed observations left 24 percent of non-tenured teachers without a REACH rating, concentrated in a smaller number of schools undergoing organizational change [~W] — (also cited [-W]); (also cited [+W])
- The Danielson Framework identified far more teachers as low-performing than the prior CPS checklist (8 percent vs 0.3 percent) [+W]
- REACH evaluation ratings rose over time, with nearly 9 in 10 teachers receiving one of the top two ratings by 2016-17 [+W] — (also cited [~W])
- Fewer non-tenured teachers were rated in the top two categories under REACH (58%) than under the previous checklist system (87%) [+W] — (also cited [~W])
- Only about 25 percent of teachers received an individual value-added score, with most teachers instead receiving a school-wide literacy value-added score [~W]
- Beginning teachers are more positive about REACH than teachers with more years of experience [+W]
- Teachers and principals report REACH is changing teaching practice and improving communication and collaboration [+W]
- Majorities of teachers and evaluators question the effort required by REACH, saying it takes more effort than the results are worth [-W]
- Teachers and principals report increased teacher stress and anxiety under REACH [-W] — (also cited [+W])
- Most teachers believe their REACH evaluation relies too heavily on student growth and question the fairness of the growth assessments [-W]
- Teachers and principals remain optimistic about REACH in year two, but teacher satisfaction with the evaluation process declined from year one [~W]
- Teachers report the REACH observation process encouraged reflection and that they used observation feedback to improve their teaching [+W]
- Teacher and administrator perceptions of REACH changed little between Year 2 and Year 3 of implementation [+W]
- Teachers view classroom observations as a fair way to evaluate their performance but largely reject student growth measures as unfair [+W]
- Teachers with National Board Certification or advanced degrees differ from other teachers only on observation scores, not value added [+W]
- Schools with lower percentages of Proficient and Distinguished observation ratings tend to be higher-poverty schools [+W]
- Teachers with the lowest value-added and observation scores are overrepresented in schools serving the most disadvantaged students [+W]
- Male teachers have lower observation and value-added scores than female teachers [+W]
- Minority teachers have lower observation scores than white teachers but no significant differences on value added [+W]
- Observation scores have a stronger relationship with school poverty than value-added scores [+W]
- Teachers rated classroom observation scores as the most accurate REACH measure of teaching effectiveness and value-added measures as the least accurate [+W]
- Most CPS teachers and administrators reported the REACH evaluation process improved classroom instruction and student learning [+W]
- Principals rated teaching practice reliably at the low and middle ends of the rating scale, and most principals' severity matched trained observers [~W]
- Principals were far more likely than trained external observers to rate the same instruction Distinguished rather than Proficient [~W]
- Minority teachers' lower observation scores are largely attributable to school characteristics, and no race/ethnicity differences appear on value-added scores [~W]
- Accurate teacher-student data links are required when high-stakes teacher evaluation decisions include student achievement growth [~W]
Related Products and Programmes¶
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Key Sources¶
- Susan E. Sporte, W. David Stevens, Kaleen Healey, Jennie Jiang, and Holly Hart. (2013). Teacher Evaluation in Practice: Implementing Chicago's REACH Students. UChicago CCSR Research Report. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/teacher-evaluation-practice-implementing-chicagos-reach-students
- Jiang, J. (2014). Teacher Evaluation in Practice: Year Two Teacher and Administrator Perceptions of REACH. University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/teacher-evaluation-practice-year-2-teacher-and-administrator-perceptions-reach
- Sporte, S.E., & Jiang, J.Y. (2016). Teacher Evaluation in Practice: Year 3 Teacher and Administrator Perceptions of REACH. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. http://consortium.uchicago.edu/page/teacher-evaluation
- Jiang, J. Y., & Sporte, S. E. (2016). Teacher Evaluation in Chicago: Differences in Observation and Value-Added Scores by Teacher, Student, and School Characteristics. UChicago Consortium on School Research. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED562786
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
product |
id |
reach-recognizing-educators-advancing-chicagos-students |
title |
REACH (Recognizing Educators Advancing Chicago's Students) |
description |
REACH is Chicago Public Schools' teacher-evaluation programme combining classroom observations using a modified Danielson Framework rubric with student-growth measures and evaluator certification. |
status |
review |
moved_from |
element/reach-students-evaluation-system, element/reach-teacher-evaluation-system, element/reach-teacher-evaluation-system-chicago, theory/reach-students-teacher-evaluation-system |
product_kind |
programme |
generated |
by process:sweep-kinds on 2026-10-10 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
4 — susan-e-sporte-2013, jiang-2014, sporte-2016, jiang-2016 |
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