he theme for the Public Schools of Robeson County for the 2012-2013 school year is “Change” — change in curriculum standards, change in student assessments and change in the accountability model.

One of the biggest changes of all is a change in measuring educator effectiveness. For the first time in history, the state has changed all components in education in all grade levels.

It is proven that teachers have a major impact on student’s progress and success. As a means to assist teachers in becoming the best teacher possible, a strong emphasis has been placed on professional development.

As a means of being the best teacher possible, we will now measure the impact of each teacher’s effectiveness.

In years past, teacher evaluations were based on the observations made within the classroom. Measuring teacher effectiveness brings about a major change for all educators. Educators will now be measured by the amount of growth students make while in their respective classes. This is true even for teachers not responsible for teaching end-of-grade or end-of-course assessed classes.

New assessments are being developed to assist in measuring educator effectiveness in all classes. The objective is to provide a “Common Exam” for all students across the state.

For the students and teachers of the Public Schools of Robeson County, this new endeavor will begin with the fall semester at our high schools.

Students in fourth-through-eighth grade may have to take a common exam in the spring based upon how their school has classes scheduled.

It is likely that some of our students will participate while others at a neighboring school will not because of their schedules. Common Exams will offer a different view of how our teachers are performing.

Johnny Hunt is the superintendent of the Public Schools of Robeson County.