The State Board of Education gave final approval Tuesday to a model evaluation system for educators in Missouri. More than 100 school districts across the state have been pilot testing the system during the 2012-2013 school year.

School districts can adopt the model system or implement a system of their own that aligns with seven Essential Principles of Effective Evaluation set by the state.

The principles focus on the educational practices and professional development of teachers, principals and superintendents.

"Quality educators are key to student learning," said Commissioner of Education Chris L. Nicastro. "An effective evaluation system provides teachers and school leaders with feedback that will contribute to their development and performance throughout their careers."

Missouri law requires all school districts in the state to evaluate educators employed by the district.

The model evaluation system was developed by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in partnership with educators, school district officials, education organizations, and teacher education programs at the state's colleges and universities. The system was given preliminary approval by the State Board in June 2012.

The seven Essential Principles of Effective Evaluation include:

• Using research-based and proven practices to measure educator performance.
• Establishing performance indicators for educators based on their level of performance.
• Aligning the evaluation process with an educator's probationary period to provide for an appropriate accumulation of performance data.
• Using student learning, based on a variety of performance measures, in the evaluation process.
• Assessing educator performance on a regular basis and providing feedback to teachers and administrators that they can use to improve their performance throughout their career.
• Ensuring evaluators are highly trained so that evaluation ratings are fair, accurate and reliable.
• Using the evaluation process to guide school district policies that impact the development of educators and student learning.

The State Board gave preliminary approval to the principles in April. A proposed administrative rule regarding the principles is set to open for public comment on June 3.

Preparing and supporting effective educators is one of the primary goals of Missouri's Top 10 by 20 initiative, which calls for Missouri to be among the top 10 states in education by the year 2020.