The New Teacher Project’s Teacher Evaluation 2.0, a blueprint for better teacher evaluation, has informed the work of a number of states who are in the process of overhauling their evaluation systems. Now, The New Teacher Project has released a useful tool to support the development of better teacher observation tools.
Although the public conversation about teacher evaluation continues to focus on the role of value-added and other objective student learning measures, it’s important to remember that classroom observations will continue to be a significant part of any strong evaluation system.
Whether these observations of teachers at work actually help paint a fair and accurate picture of their strengths and development areas depends in part on the tools policymakers choose to use. Effective observation tools and criteria establish a common definition of success in the classroom and help evaluators provide accurate, useful feedback to teachers. In short, the right observation tools can set an evaluation system up for success.
But how can policymakers determine which observation tool to use? The New Teacher Project offers some clear advice in the newly released publication, Rating a Teacher Observation Tool. This guide identifies five simple questions that can help policymakers decide whether an observation framework is likely to produce fair and accurate results:
1. Do the criteria and tools cover the classroom performance areas most connected to student outcomes?
2. Do the criteria and tools set high performance expectations for teachers, or does it settle for minimally acceptable performance?
3. Are the performance expectations for teachers clear and precise?
4. Are the criteria and tools student-centered, requiring evaluators to look for direct evidence of student engagement and learning?
5. Are the criteria and tools concise enough for teachers and evaluators to understand thoroughly and use easily?
In Rating a Teacher Observation Tool, The New Teacher Project explains how to find answers to these questions and assess the quality of different systems with an easy-to-use scorecard.
The New Teacher Project hopes this guide will help school districts assess the strengths and weaknesses of teacher evaluation tools currently on the market. For states, the guide also offers a framework for setting standards that observation tools must meet in order to be part of district-level teacher evaluation systems.
You can download Rating a Teacher Observation Tool at www.tntp.org.
Core Education, LLC is committed to helping states and districts develop effective professional standards, observation tools, and evaluation systems. For more information ,see http://www.coreeducationllc.com/page5.php
