In most U.S. schools, teachers are evaluated using observation of teaching practice (OTP). This study investigates rater effects on OTP ratings among 421 principals in an authentic teacher evaluation system. Many-facet Rasch analysis (MFR) using a block of shared ratings revealed that principals generally (a) differentiated between more and less…

Teacher evaluation systems commonly rely on observation of teaching practice (OTP) by school principals. However, the value of OTP as evidence of teacher effectiveness depends on its psychometric quality. In this study, we address a key aspect of the psychometric quality of principals' OTP ratings. Specifically, we investigate the degree to which…

This article presents the development and the technical and conceptual characteristics of two of the three measures used in the SET project, to discuss how they relate to each other, and to present evidence of their concurrent validity. The Pathognomonic-Interventionist (P-I) Interview yields rich descriptions of teachers' experiences with one or…

Like many states throughout the nation, Pennsylvania is in the midst of major reforms to its teacher evaluation system. Under the new system, the state will base annual evaluations on several measures, including supervisor observations using the Framework for Teaching (FFT) and, for many teachers, their contributions to student achievement growth…

Observer Rating Scales are a means of recording observed teaching behavior on nine dimensions: warmth, enthusiasm, clarity, variety, individualization, feedback, cognitive demand, freedom, and on-task activity. The trained observer rates the behavior on a scale from one to six representing points along a continuum. The positions are defined by…

The Discovery-Expository Instrument is a classroom observation scale which measures the position of a teacher's presentation on a continuum of discovery presentation (in which the student is encouraged to solve problems with minimal help from the teacher), to expository presentation (in which the teacher provides a complete description and…

To help teachers develop an awareness of how they structure a discussion, an instrument was constructed called the Assessment of Classroom Interaction Dynamics (ACID). Two expert judges and 26 trainees then participated in a study (1) to estimate interrater reliability between expert judges in the use of the ACID, (2) to assess the validity of the…

During an extensive inservice program, teachers and aides in 20 kindergarten and first grade Follow Through Classrooms were observed for mastery of the Direct Instruction Model. Two trained observers used the Direct Instruction Supervisor Code to record behavior in the fall, winter, and spring. Subjects were observed while teaching a 12 minute…

The Student Observation of Teachers and Teaching Techniques instrument (StOTT) was developed by high school students who served on the Student Advisory Board to the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The StOTT instrument consists of 32 items. Each of the first 29 is included in one of the subscales: Teacher-Student Relations, Grades and…

Significant relationships were found between how teachers teach and how much children learn in reading and mathematics. The study's purpose was to relate classroom observations of experienced elementary school teachers' interactions with their students to changes in the pupils' performance on various measures of reading and mathematical…

Pearson correlation coefficients between first and second year classroom process data from the Texas Teacher Effectiveness Project are presented. These data are from 19 second and third grade teachers whose classrooms were observed during two consecutive school years. The stability of classroom behaviors varied greatly across the two years.…

Time coding forms, rating scales, interview schedules, and a questionnaire were developed for use in the Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study, a project designed to evaluate teaching effectiveness as demonstrated by student achievement in second and fifth grade reading and mathematics. The forms used to record data and the manuals detailing the…

The Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study (BTES), Phase II, was a research project on effective teaching behavior--what teachers do that significantly affects what and how pupils learn. The purposes of Phase II were to (1) develop an assessment system for measuring teacher and pupil behaviors and other factors which could influence each of them and…