Rating a Teacher Observation Tool: Five ways to ensure classroom observations are focused and rigorous

February 23, 2011

In this practical guide, The New Teacher Project outlines critical components for an effective teacher evaluation system. It comes at a crucial time when states, including Ohio, are in the middle of rethinking their teacher personnel and evaluation policies. Drawing on its publication, Teacher Evaluation 2.0, TNTP names six characteristics for rigorous evaluations:

• Teachers should be evaluated annually;
• Evaluations should be based on standards of excellence;
• Multiple measures should be taken into account when evaluating teachers;
• Multiple rating levels should be created to differentiate one teachers performance from another;
• Frequent observations and constructive feedback are crucial;
• Evaluation outcomes must play a significant factor in decisions about teacher employment.

Rating a Teacher Observation also points out that objective data such as student learning measurements are important to a successful observation, but subjective judgments by administrators must also play a role. They suggest what a sample observation might look like: 50 percent based on objective student learning measures, 30 percent drawn from classroom observations, and 20 percent based on other measures of student learning. 

The New Teacher Project goes on to outline specific examples of metrics that might factor into a rigorous evaluation (e.g., ways to measure the quality of lesson delivery, instructional content, or the physical learning environment) and therefore offers a practical tool for districts seeking to revamp teacher evaluations. States around the country and particularly Ohio would do well to tap into TNTP’s vast knowledge base when it comes to teacher evaluation systems. 

Rating a Teacher Observation Tool: Five ways to ensure classroom observations are focused and rigorous
The New Teacher Project
February 2011

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Rating a Teacher Observation Tool: Five ways to ensure classroom observations are focused and rigorous

Pathways to Prosperity: Meeting the Challenge of Preparing Young Americans for the 21st Century

Nick Joch / February 23, 2011

How can America effectively educate the “forgotten half” of her children (non-college-bound students)? In Pathways to Prosperity, a team of researchers at the Harvard Graduate School of Education view current drop-out trends as evidence of the failure – not of the quality of education – but of the “college-for-all” standard currently embraced in the US. Rather than calling for higher standards, higher graduation rates, and overall increased performance, the report labels the high bar (college-for-all) flawed, simply because students are currently not meeting it (i.e. obtaining a bachelor’s or associate’s degree). They admit that students need some sort of post-secondary certification to obtain a job with a middle-class salary, but assert that vocational education would be much more practical and appealing than a traditional college for many students. The researchers subsequently call for a massive vocational education initiative guided by the following principles:

1. Multiple pathways: Middle and high schools offer vocational training, especially in-workplace training, in order to help students earn a career/technical training certificate.
2. An expanded role for employers: Businesses partner with schools to provide middle and high school students with vocational training.
3. A new social compact with youth: The government requires students to achieve certain academic outcomes (high school graduation, etc.), providing “as much support as necessary” along the way. If students fail to meet the requirements, they may face consequences, such as the loss of social benefits.

Interestingly, the researchers consistently lift up northern and central European nations’ education systems as ideals in career and technical training, but they allot very little ink to Japan and Korea, which have adopted college-for-all models and lead the

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Pathways to Prosperity: Meeting the Challenge of Preparing Young Americans for the 21st Century

Of budgets, unions, and... pizzas?

Nick Joch / February 23, 2011

• With all the hullaballoo about public sector unions of late, Colorado’s recent Advancing Student Achievement Through Labor-Management Collaboration conference comes at an apt time. Secretary Arne Duncan himself attended the conference and gave a speech that addressed teacher accountability, seniority, and lay-offs. His speech wasn’t specific enough to satisfy Education Week’s Stephen Sawchuk, who penned two articles analyzing Duncan’s remarks on last hired, first fired policies and how to turn “collaboration” from a politically correct buzz word into a tangible, effective reality.

• Ever wonder what TFA alumni do after they finish their urban school teaching stints? In their recent Education Next article, Monica Higgins, Frederick Hess, Jennie Weiner, and Wendy Robinson claim that TFAers, more than participants of any other similar program, go on to become educational entrepreneurs of the highest degree.

• It’s budget season, and the pennies are flying as nearly everyone in ed policy tosses in their two cents about Obama’s proposed budget. The Center for American Progress (CAP) has recently released several articles analyzing educational and other provisions in the budget. Of particular interest on CAP’s site are an article picking apart the teacher preparation portion of the budget and an interactive budget calculator with which users can try their hand at balancing the nation’s balance sheet.

• Race to the Top was great for states with winning applications, but what about the rest? A new study from the Center for Education Policy asks exactly this question, and finds that many states are actually sticking to the ambitious ed reform plans they laid out when applying for Race

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  Of budgets, unions, and... pizzas?