Rater Performance Standards for Classroom Observation Instruments

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (8) ◽  
pp. 492-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark C. White
Keyword(s):  
Current Practice ◽  
Classroom Observation ◽  
Performance Standards ◽  
Teaching Quality ◽  
Cut Scores ◽  
Observation Instruments ◽  
Certification Test ◽  
Rater Performance

Raters must score accurately and consistently for classroom observation scores to be valid. This requires (a) a standard defining when scoring is accurate and consistent enough and (b) measuring and remediating rater performance against that standard. Current practice has focused on this second problem to the exclusion of the first. My goal here is to start a discussion about identifying a clear, explicit standard that ensures observation scores reflect a consistent view of teaching quality, rather than raters’ idiosyncratic perspectives. In doing so, I connect current certification test cut-scores, the current practice most analogous to a standard, to explicit rater standards, highlighting both the inadequacy of cut-scores and the low standards implicit to current practice.

scholarly journals Development and Validation of Poksd-Porsd Protocol Assessment of Engineering in Elementary Classroom

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
C Anwar ◽  
W Sopandi ◽  
U S Sa’ud ◽  
W T Pratiwi ◽  
H Inderawan
Keyword(s):  
Elementary School ◽  
Elementary School Teachers ◽  
Basic Education ◽  
Classroom Observation ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Assessment Instruments ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
Observation Instruments ◽  
Observation Protocol ◽  
Development And Validation

The aim of this study was to develop and validate classroom observation instruments designed to reveal the emergence of engineering activities in primary school teachers in project-based learning. The instruments developed included the elementary school classroom observation protocol sheet (POKSD) and the elementary school engineering observation protocol assessment (PORSD). Task items were arranged based on indicators adapted from COPUS (Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM) items. The initial design of the instrument was consulted with three experts based on learning objectives. The instrument was then validated by three experts in the field of basic education. The instrument test was conducted on teachers and 5th-grade students of UPI Bandung Laboratory (N = 1). POKSD and PORSD were assessed by three raters. Scores from the three raters were then analyzed using two-way ANOVA. The results showed that the intra-class correlation of performance assessment instruments was adequate (ICC = 0.773). The findings of this study demonstrated that the instrument was reliable and could be used for the emergence of engineering activities in elementary school teachers.

The Instructional Challenge in Improving Teaching Quality: Lessons from a Classroom Observation Protocol

2014 ◽  
Vol 116 (6) ◽  
pp. 1-32
Author(s):  
Drew Gitomer ◽  
Courtney Bell ◽  
Yi Qi ◽  
Daniel Mccaffrey ◽  
Bridget K. Hamre ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Evaluation ◽  
Emotional Support ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Classroom Observation ◽  
Instructional Support ◽  
Teaching Quality ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Classroom Organization ◽  
Observation Protocol

Background/Context Teacher evaluation is a major policy initiative intended to improve the quality of classroom instruction. This study documents a fundamental challenge to using teacher evaluation to improve teaching and learning. Purpose Using an observation instrument (CLASS-S), we evaluate evidence on different aspects of instructional practice in algebra classrooms to consider how much scores vary, how well observers are able to judge practice, and how well teachers are able to evaluate their own practice. Participants The study includes 82 Algebra I teachers in middle and high schools. Five observers completed almost all observations. Research Design Each classroom was observed 4–5 times over the school year. Each observation was coded and scored live and by video. All videos were coded by two independent observers, as were 36% of the live observations. Observers assigned scores to each of 10 dimensions. Observer scores were also compared with master coders for a subset of videos. Participating teachers also completed a self-report instrument (CLASS-T) to assess their own skills on dimensions of CLASS-S. Data Collection and Analysis For each lesson, data were aggregated into three domain scores, Emotional Support, Classroom Organization, and Instructional Support, and then averaged across lessons to create scores for each classroom. Findings/Results Classroom Observation scores fell in the high range of the protocol. Scores for Emotional Support were in the midlevel range, and the lowest scores were for Instructional Support. Scores for each domain were clustered in narrow ranges. Observers were more consistent over time and agreed more when judging Classroom Organization than the other two domains. Teacher ratings of their own strengths and weaknesses were positively related to observation scores for Classroom Organization and unrelated to observation scores for Instructional Support. Conclusions/Recommendations This study identifies a critical challenge for teacher evaluation policy if it is to improve teaching and learning. Aspects of teaching and learning in the observation protocol that appear most in need of improvement are those that are the hardest for observers to agree on, and teachers and external observers view most differently. Reliability is a marker of common understanding about important constructs and observation protocols are intended to provide a common language and structure to inform teaching practice. This study suggests the need to focus our efforts on the instructional and interactional aspects of classrooms through shared conversations and clear images of what teaching quality looks like.

Measuring Teaching Practices at Scale: A Novel Application of Text-as-Data Methods

2021 ◽  
pp. 016237372110092
Author(s):  
Jing Liu ◽  
Julie Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Classroom Management ◽  
English Language ◽  
Classroom Observation ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Teaching Quality ◽  
School Level ◽  
Fifth Grade ◽  
Interactive Instruction ◽  
Observation Systems ◽  
Teacher Centered

Valid and reliable measurements of teaching quality facilitate school-level decision-making and policies pertaining to teachers. Using nearly 1,000 word-to-word transcriptions of fourth- and fifth-grade English language arts classes, we apply novel text-as-data methods to develop automated measures of teaching to complement classroom observations traditionally done by human raters. This approach is free of rater bias and enables the detection of three instructional factors that are well aligned with commonly used observation protocols: classroom management, interactive instruction, and teacher-centered instruction. The teacher-centered instruction factor is a consistent negative predictor of value-added scores, even after controlling for teachers’ average classroom observation scores. The interactive instruction factor predicts positive value-added scores. Our results suggest that the text-as-data approach has the potential to enhance existing classroom observation systems through collecting far more data on teaching with a lower cost, higher speed, and the detection of multifaceted classroom practices.

Identifying Effective Teachers: Lessons from Four Classroom Observation Tools

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deon Filmer ◽  
Ezequiel Molina ◽  
Waly Wane
Keyword(s):  
Effective Teachers ◽  
Classroom Observation ◽  
Observation System ◽  
Observation Instrument ◽  
Teacher Observations ◽  
Observation Instruments ◽  
Classroom Assessment Scoring System ◽  
Subject Content Knowledge ◽  
Internal Properties ◽  
Observation Tools

Four different classroom observation instruments—from the Service Delivery Indicators, the Stallings Observation System, the Classroom Assessment Scoring System, and the Teach classroom observation instrument—were implemented in about 100 schools across four regions of Tanzania. The research design is such that various combinations of tools were administered to various combinations of teachers, so these data can be used to explore the commonalities and differences in the behaviors and practices captured by each tool, the internal properties of the tools (for example, how stable they are across enumerators, or how various indicators relate to one another), and how variables collected by the various tools compare to each other. Analysis shows that inter-rater reliability can be low, especially for some of the subjective ratings; principal components analysis suggests that lower-level constructs do not map neatly to predetermined higher-level ones and suggest that the data have only a few dimensions. Measures collected during teacher observations are associated with student test scores, but patterns differ for teachers with lower versus higher subject content knowledge.

scholarly journals Standard-setting methodology: Establishing performance standards and setting cut-scores to assist score interpretation

2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (6 (Suppl. 2)) ◽  
pp. S74-S82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno D. Zumbo
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Test Score ◽  
Test Validity ◽  
Performance Standards ◽  
Standard Setting ◽  
Cut Scores ◽  
Ordered Categories ◽  
Fitness For Duty ◽  
Score Interpretation ◽  
Cut Score

A critical step in the development and use of tests of physical fitness for employment purposes (e.g., fitness for duty) is to establish 1 or more cut points, dividing the test score range into 2 or more ordered categories reflecting, for example, fail/pass decisions. Over the last 3 decades elaborated theories and methods have evolved focusing on the process of establishing 1 or more cut-scores on a test. This elaborated process is widely referred to as “standard-setting”. As such, the validity of the test score interpretation hinges on the standard-setting, which embodies the purpose and rules according to which the test results are interpreted. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of standard-setting methodology. The essential features, key definitions and concepts, and various novel methods of informing standard-setting will be described. The focus is on foundational issues with an eye toward informing best practices with new methodology. Throughout, a case is made that in terms of best practices, establishing a test standard involves, in good part, setting a cut-score and can be conceptualized as evidence/data-based policy making that is essentially tied to test validity and an evidential trail.

Structured Observation Instruments Assessing Instructional Practices With Gifted and Talented Students: A Review of the Literature

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 276-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yara N. Farah ◽  
Kimberley L. Chandler
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Practices ◽  
Gifted And Talented ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Classroom Practices ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Classroom Observation ◽  
Complex Interaction ◽  
Systematic Search ◽  
Observation Instruments ◽  
Talented Students

Teaching and learning are part of a complex interaction between teachers and students. Educational leaders cannot improve the teaching and learning process without quality measurement of effective teaching. One way to capture this complex interaction is by using structured observations. However, the extant literature on classroom observation instruments in the field of gifted education is limited. For that reason, a systematic search was undertaken to identify the observation instruments for assessing instructional practices used with gifted and talented students. In this article, eight observation instruments were identified: (a) Rating Scale of Significant Behaviors in Teachers of the Gifted, (b) Kulieke’s adaptation of the Rating Scale of Significant Behaviors in Teachers of the Gifted, (c) Teaching Observation Form (TOF; also known as Purdue Observation Form), (d) Classroom Practices Record (CPR), (e) Classroom Practices Record–Form VA (CPR-Form VA), (f) Classroom Instructional Practices Scale (CIPS), (g) Classroom Observation Scales–Revised (COS-R), and (h) Differentiated Classroom Observation Scale (DCOS). The instruments are described in terms of developmental process, purpose, and any reliability and validity evidence reported. This systematic search has shown the need for a new observation instrument that is comprehensive and closely tied to professional standards.

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