Actual classroom observation practice often differs from best practice, with principal-teacher perception gaps on measures and observer qualifications¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r1 · q3
Currency · newest study 2015 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Eighty percent of principals versus 52% of teachers agree the frameworks use validated observation measures, and 93% of principals versus 66% of teachers agree observers are qualified. → Slotnik 2015

Evidence¶

Slotnik 2015¶

Slotnik, W. J., Bugler, D., & Liang, G. (2015). Change in Practice in Maryland: Student Learning Objectives and Teacher and Principal Evaluation. Mid-Atlantic Comprehensive Center (WestEd and Community Training and Assistance Center). https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED568386

q3 · i? · associational · r1

Statewide survey of educators from 24 districts (2015). A parallel item found 93% of principals and 66% of teachers agreed observations are conducted by observers/evaluators qualified to do the evaluation. Interviews and focus groups indicate actual observation practice often differs from best practice.

"Eighty percent of principals and 52% of teachers agree that the evaluation frameworks and processes use validated observation measures/instruments."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Principals were far more likely than trained external observers to rate the same instruction Distinguished rather than Proficient — related
• Principals inflated ratings at the high end of the scale, more often identifying instruction as distinguished than observers — related
• In one case-study school, a principal's lack of Framework knowledge and inability to rate practice led teachers to perceive the new evaluation as subjective, undermining buy-in — related
• Principals rated teaching practice reliably at the low and middle ends of the rating scale, and most principals' severity matched trained observers — related
• Developers of the principal practice instruments provided only partial information about the instruments' reliability and validity — related
• Effects of collaborative instruction are mostly the same size whether interventions used trained teachers or assistants without teaching qualifications — related