Photo of a female teacher assisting a young learner in her class.

The Network for Educator Effectiveness provides schools with a comprehensive system for educator evaluation. The NEE system includes four independent measures for teacher evaluation and four independent measures for principal evaluation.

In addition, NEE provides unique tools to evaluate several school specialist positions, including:

For other positions, the NEE Professional Responsibility tool provides a flexible template that allows school leaders to evaluate additional school staff.

This blog will provide an overview of NEE’s paraprofessional evaluation tool. For more on evaluating other positions, click the links in the list above.

Paraprofessional Standards

NEE’s paraprofessional evaluation tool includes 5 indicators that were developed in partnership with special education directors. They include:

  • Uses key instructional strategies in one-on-one or small-group settings.
  • Supervises students to help maintain a safe school environment.
  • Assists with data collection and maintenance.
  • Establishes secure paraprofessional-student relationships.
  • Behaves in a professional manner.

Paraprofessional Evaluation Timeline

NEE recommends that paraprofessionals are scored twice per year using the Paraprofessional Scoresheet and accompanying rubric, which outlines scoring levels for each indicator. The evaluation will be conducted by the school administrator in collaboration with the teacher. The scoresheet is available as a Word Document and is found by searching “paraprofessional” on the Help and Resources menu in the NEE Data Tool. The scoring rubric is also available on the Help and Resources menu.

Additional Resources for Paraprofessionals

Paraprofessionals might also access EdHub to support their professional learning. The EdHub module “Evaluation Support and PD Materials for Paraprofessionals” is found under the “Professional Practices” topic and includes professional development materials for paraprofessionals. By completing the module, participants will be able to:

  • Describe the role and responsibilities of school paraprofessionals
  • Work effectively with classroom teachers and other school personnel to support student learning
  • Provide the appropriate level of support for assigned student(s) in order to maximize learning.
  • Follow federal, state, and local school district policies in providing services to teachers and students.

The Network for Educator Effectiveness (NEE) is a simple yet powerful comprehensive system for educator evaluation that helps educators grow, students learn, and schools improve. Developed by preK-12 practitioners and experts at the University of Missouri, NEE brings together classroom observation, student feedback, teacher curriculum planning, and professional development as measures of effectiveness in a secure online portal designed to promote educator growth and development.