South Dakota Teacher Evaluation Software
Run South Dakota Framework for Teaching evaluations across all four Danielson domains and 22 components, aligned to the state model and built for your district's evaluators.
Evaluation is the entry point, not the whole story. In EX in Education, your teacher effectiveness process connects to coaching, goals, PD, and retention, so every educator moves from hired to thriving.
SD Framework Observation
South Dakota's Teacher Effectiveness Model
The South Dakota Framework for Teaching is the state-recommended model for measuring teaching practice, based on the Charlotte Danielson Framework for Teaching. Developed by the South Dakota Commission on Teaching and Learning, it pairs professional practice across four domains and 22 components with student growth measured through Student Learning Objectives. In EX in Education, that framework is the doorway into a connected system for coaching, PD, and retention.
4 Domains, 22 Components
The South Dakota Framework for Teaching organizes teaching practice across four Danielson domains and 22 components, pre-configured in EX so evaluators score against the state model without rebuilding forms.
- Planning and Preparation
- The Classroom Environment
- Instruction
- Professional Responsibilities
Student Growth Through SLOs
Alongside professional practice, the state model measures student growth through Student Learning Objectives (SLOs), teacher-written goals approved by an evaluator. EX tracks SLO progress alongside observation evidence.
- Teacher-written, evaluator-approved goals
- District, school, or teacher-developed assessments
- Growth rating of Low, Expected, or High
- Districts may crosswalk an alternate measure
Complete South Dakota Framework Coverage
All four domains of the South Dakota Framework for Teaching and their 22 components are pre-built in EX in Education, so evaluators can observe, score, and generate evidence against the state model from day one.
Planning and Preparation
Six components covering what teachers plan before instruction begins.
- 1a. Demonstrating knowledge of content and pedagogy
- 1b. Demonstrating knowledge of students
- 1c. Setting instructional outcomes
- 1d. Demonstrating knowledge of resources
- 1e. Designing coherent instruction
- 1f. Designing student assessments
The Classroom Environment
Five components covering culture, relationships, and classroom management.
- 2a. Creating an environment of respect and rapport
- 2b. Establishing a culture for learning
- 2c. Managing classroom procedures
- 2d. Managing student behavior
- 2e. Organizing physical space
Instruction
Five components covering instruction as it happens in the classroom.
- 3a. Communicating with students
- 3b. Using questioning and discussion techniques
- 3c. Engaging students in learning
- 3d. Using assessment in instruction
- 3e. Demonstrating flexibility and responsiveness
Professional Responsibilities
Six components covering reflection, records, families, and continued growth.
- 4a. Reflecting on teaching
- 4b. Maintaining accurate records
- 4c. Communicating with families
- 4d. Participating in the professional community
- 4e. Growing and developing professionally
- 4f. Showing professionalism
Formal Observations
- • Two per year recommended in the first three years
- • One per year recommended after three years
- • Pre- and post-observation conferences
- • Artifacts collected for non-observable components
Informal Walkthroughs
- • Four per school year recommended in the state model
- • Announced or unannounced
- • Brief, timely feedback
- • Number and format set by district policy
State model, local adoption: The South Dakota Framework for Teaching is the state-recommended model. Districts may adopt it, or use a comparable local system crosswalked to the framework with South Dakota Department of Education forms. The state minimum is a professional practice evaluation on at least four components, one from each domain, and the state model recommends beginning with at least eight. EX supports either approach and keeps formal observations and walkthroughs together, with reminders so districts stay on cycle.
Professional Practice Ratings, Tracked Over Time
The South Dakota Framework for Teaching produces one of four professional practice ratings from the average of the components evaluated. 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.
Distinguished
Consistently exceeds expectations and models practice for others
Proficient
Meets professional standards with clear, consistent practice
Basic
Meets standards inconsistently and needs targeted support
Unsatisfactory
Does not meet standards and requires intensive support
In the state model, the Professional Practice Rating can combine with a Student Growth Rating of Low, Expected, or High, drawn from SLO attainment, into a Summative Teacher Effectiveness Rating of Below Expectations, Meets Expectations, or Exceeds Expectations, a district-level option. Teachers in their first three years are evaluated every year, and after three years districts may evaluate on a reduced cycle, with a full evaluation at least once every two years. EX in Education keeps each teacher's rating history, cycle schedule, and plans of assistance 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 South Dakota's Evaluation Process
EX in Education gives South Dakota districts what they need to run the state model aligned to its requirements, then connects that evidence to coaching, PD, goals, and retention across every school.
State-Aligned Forms
Observation forms pre-built for all four domains and 22 components, on the four-level rating scale.
- • All 22 components included
- • 4-level rating scale
- • Evidence collection tools
Observation Cycles
Manage formal observations alongside quick walkthroughs, with scheduling and reminders in one connected system.
- • Formal observations
- • Informal walkthroughs
- • Cycle reminders
SLO & Student Growth Tracking
Record Student Learning Objectives and the growth evidence behind them alongside observation results.
- • Teacher-written SLOs
- • Baseline to end-of-period
- • Low, Expected, or High rating
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
Evidence for Non-Observable Components
Collect artifacts for the planning and professional responsibility components in Domains 1 and 4, reviewed right alongside classroom observations.
- • Artifact upload
- • Tied to components
- • One teacher record
Growth Goals
Set professional goals tied to what the evaluation surfaced, tracked in the same module that follows a teacher across the year.
- • Goal setting tools
- • Progress tracking
- • Linked to PD
Why South Dakota Districts Run Evaluation Inside EX in Education
Run the state model 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 South Dakota Framework 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 South Dakota Evaluations
AI in EX in Education helps evaluators work through the framework faster while keeping every judgment in human hands. It drafts and organizes, evaluators decide.
Draft Feedback From Evidence
Turn observation notes into clear, component-aligned feedback that the evaluator reviews and edits before it is shared.
Organize Evidence by Component
Sort notes and artifacts against the 22 components of the South Dakota Framework, so nothing is missed when it is time to score.
Suggest Growth Next Steps
Surface coaching moves and PD ideas tied to what an observation revealed, ready for the evaluator to assign.
Bring Evaluation Into the Bigger Picture
See how EX in Education runs the South Dakota Framework for Teaching aligned to the state model, then connects evaluations to coaching, PD, goals, and retention across every school.
Built for the South Dakota Framework for Teaching. 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.
South Dakota Framework for Teaching 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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