Resources

Teacher Observation Component

The goal of the teacher observation component of a district’s local teacher designation system is to ensure that teacher observation ratings are…

Valid:

  • Accurately reflect the true effectiveness of each teacher
  • Correlated with student growth data

Reliable:

  • Evaluations across the district are consistent regardless of the appraiser, campus, subject, or grade level

Best Practices

Train, Certify, and Calibrate

  • At least every three years, train and certify appraisers to evaluate teachers using the observation rubric. *T-TESS training & certification does all of this!
  • At least annually, calibrate appraisers to ensure continued alignment. Calibration should include a review of the rubric, how to evaluate teachers accurately, and how to collect defensible evidence. It should also include a performance task in which appraisers must demonstrate their calibration to the rubric.

Observe, Coach, and Calibrate

Throughout the school year…

  • Conduct multiple observations of each teacher
    • Short and long observations
    • Announced and unannounced
    • Statute required 45 minutes of observation minutes, but more observations will yield more valid and reliable evaluations
  • Coach & develop appraisers to become more skilled at rating teachers accurately
  • Calibrate appraisers, both within a campus and, for districts with more than one campus, between campuses (Sample calibration protocols coming soon)

Review and Respond

At least quarterly, review teacher observation data for…

  • Skew by appraiser, school, grade level, subject, teacher demographic, etc.
  • Positive correlation between observation scores & student growth data
  • Make a plan to address problems of skew or lack of correlation. This likely could mean coaching & recalibrating appraisers, supporting teachers with best instructional practices and/or reviewing the student growth measure for reliability and validity.

Small Districts

Soon we will provide further guidance on how districts with only one campus can ensure valid and reliable teacher observation data.

Calibration Timeline