Massachusetts Educator Evaluation Software
Run DESE Model System evaluations across all 4 Standards and 25 elements, through the 5-step cycle, aligned to the Massachusetts Educator Evaluation Framework and built for trained evaluators.
The evaluation is the entry point, not the whole story. In EX in Education, Massachusetts evaluations connect to coaching, goals, PD, and retention, so every educator moves from hired to thriving.
MA Model Observation
The Massachusetts DESE Model Evaluation Framework
The Massachusetts Educator Evaluation Framework, run through the DESE Model System, is the state framework for measuring educator practice. It organizes teaching into 4 Standards and moves each educator through a 5-step cycle built around goals and evidence. In EX in Education, that framework is the doorway into a connected system for coaching, PD, and retention.
4 Standards, 25 Elements
The classroom teacher rubric organizes practice into four Standards, with 12 Indicators and 25 elements. Each Standard is pre-configured in EX so evaluators score against Massachusetts' framework without rebuilding forms.
- Curriculum, Planning & Assessment
- Teaching All Students
- Family & Community Engagement
- Professional Culture
The 5-Step Evaluation Cycle
The DESE Model System runs every educator through a continuous 5-step cycle. EX moves each educator through the steps and keeps the evidence together from start to finish.
- Self-assessment
- Goal setting and educator plan development
- Plan implementation and evidence collection
- Formative assessment or evaluation
- Summative evaluation
Complete DESE Model Framework Coverage
All four Standards and their indicators are pre-built in EX in Education, so Massachusetts evaluators can observe, score, and generate evidence against the 25 elements of the state framework from day one.
Curriculum, Planning & Assessment
Indicators covering how teachers plan, assess, and use data before and around instruction.
- A. Curriculum and Planning
- B. Assessment
- C. Analysis
Teaching All Students
Indicators covering instruction, environment, and high expectations for every student.
- A. Instruction
- B. Learning Environment
- C. Student Learning
Family & Community Engagement
Indicators covering how teachers involve families and communicate about learning.
- A. Communication
- B. Engagement
- C. Collaboration
Professional Culture
Indicators covering reflection, growth, collaboration, and professional responsibilities.
- A. Reflective Practice and Professional Growth
- B. Shared Responsibility, Collaboration, and Decision-Making
- C. Professional Responsibilities
Announced Observations
- • Pre-observation conference
- • In-classroom observation of practice
- • Post-observation conference and written feedback
- • Scheduled with the educator in advance
Unannounced Observations
- • No advance notice to the educator
- • Brief, timely feedback afterward
- • Focused on practice and evidence
- • Number set by district policy and contract
Two goals and multiple sources of evidence: Every educator plan includes at least one student learning goal and one professional practice goal. Ratings draw on multiple sources of evidence, including announced and unannounced observations, measures of student learning, and additional artifacts. EX keeps goals, observations, and evidence together so nothing is filed and forgotten, with reminders that keep each educator on cycle.
MA Performance Ratings, Tracked Over Time
The DESE Model System produces one of four ratings on each Standard and overall. EX in Education records each rating, ties it to the evidence behind it, and carries it forward so growth is visible from one cycle to the next.
Exemplary
Performance so strong it could serve as a model for others
Proficient
Fully satisfactory, the rigorous expected level of practice
Needs Improvement
Below a Standard, with improvement necessary and expected
Unsatisfactory
Consistently below the requirements of a Standard
Under the DESE Model System, an educator's rating shapes their plan for the next cycle. Educators with professional teacher status rated Proficient or Exemplary typically move onto a multi-year self-directed growth plan, while those rated Needs Improvement or Unsatisfactory move onto a directed growth plan or improvement plan with closer support. EX in Education keeps each educator's rating history, plan type, and goals in one place, and routes the ones who need support into coaching cycles so a rating leads to next steps, not just a score.
Built for Massachusetts' Evaluation Process
EX in Education gives Massachusetts districts what they need to run the DESE Model System aligned to state requirements, then connects that evidence to coaching, PD, goals, and retention across every school.
DESE-Aligned Forms
Observation forms pre-built for all 4 Standards and 25 elements, on the Massachusetts rating scale.
- • All 25 elements included
- • 4-level rating scale
- • Evidence collection tools
Announced & Unannounced Observations
Manage announced and unannounced observations alongside quick walkthroughs, with scheduling and reminders in one connected system.
- • Announced observations
- • Unannounced observations
- • Cycle reminders
5-Step Cycle Management
Move each educator from self-assessment through summative evaluation, with every step tracked in one place.
- • Self-assessment intake
- • Educator plan tracking
- • Formative and summative steps
Coaching Handoff
Turn what an observation surfaces into a coaching cycle, so feedback leads to real support instead of a filed form.
- • Evidence to coaching
- • Structured feedback
- • Follow-up visits
Educator Plans & Evidence
Track each educator's plan type and gather the multiple sources of evidence the framework calls for in one record.
- • Plan type by educator
- • Multiple evidence sources
- • Assignment by school
Student Learning & Practice Goals
Set the student learning goal and professional practice goal each plan requires, tracked in the module that follows a teacher across the year.
- • Two required goal types
- • Progress tracking
- • Linked to PD
Why Massachusetts Districts Run Evaluations Inside EX in Education
Run the DESE Model System compliantly, then use what the evaluation surfaces to actually grow and keep your teachers. Evaluation is the doorway. Educator growth and retention is the product.
Less admin, more coaching
Structured workflows and feedback tools free evaluators to spend more of their time in coaching conversations, not paperwork.
Consistent across schools
Standard DESE Model rubrics and processes help evaluators score consistently, whether it is one building or the whole district.
Growth you can see
Ratings, goals, and coaching history sit together, so progress is visible over time instead of scattered across files.
Retention, not just ratings
When feedback connects to PD, goals, and support, teachers keep developing, and districts keep the ones they worked hard to hire.
How AI Supports Massachusetts Evaluations
AI in EX in Education helps evaluators work through the DESE Model System faster while keeping every judgment in human hands. It drafts and organizes, evaluators decide.
Draft Feedback From Evidence
Turn observation notes into clear, element-aligned feedback that the evaluator reviews and edits before it is shared.
Organize Evidence by Standard
Sort notes and artifacts against the four Standards and 25 elements, so nothing is missed when it is time to score.
Suggest Growth Next Steps
Surface coaching moves and PD ideas tied to an educator's goals and what an observation revealed, ready for the evaluator to assign.
Bring Massachusetts Evaluation Into the Bigger Picture
See how EX in Education runs the DESE Model System aligned to Massachusetts' requirements, then connects evaluations to coaching, PD, goals, and retention across every school.
Built for DESE Model requirements. Bring your own rubric, or start from ours. Connected to coaching, PD, and goals.
Part of EX in Education
One piece of the educator experience.
Massachusetts DESE Model evaluations are one part of how districts support educators. In EX in Education, they connect to the bigger picture: walkthroughs, coaching, evaluations, goals, PD, recognition, surveys, and retention. Bring your own process, or start from a template, then run it across every school so every educator moves from hired to thriving.
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