The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) recognizes the importance of special education teachers in the education of all children and youth. Special educators have always believed that children's individual learning needs should drive instruction; indeed, pedagogy is the heart of special education practice. One way to judge a special education teacher's knowledge and skill is through a thorough and valid teacher evaluation. High-quality evaluations that are rigorous, systematic, and developed collaboratively with special education teachers drive continuous improvement and excellence. CEC believes that special education teacher evaluations are only effective if they are based on an accurate understanding of special education teachers' diverse roles, measure and support the effective use of evidence-based interventions and practices, include accurate and reliable indicators of special education teacher contributions to student growth, and promote teaching as a profession in order to address the persistent problem of special education teacher retention. Therefore, it is the position of CEC that a teacher evaluation system shall: (1) Include fundamental systemwide components; (2) Identify the complex role of the special education teacher; (3) Measure the use of evidence-based practices; (4) Recognize the professionalism of special education teachers; and (5) Continually incorporate findings from research.