November 2014
Making it Real: Pre-Scoring Video to Clarify Expectations for Effective Teaching
Classroom observations hold great potential to improve teaching and learning. In an evaluation and feedback system based on multiple measures, observations can clarify expectations for teaching, support teachers in elevating their practice, and provide essential information for key personnel and professional development decisions. Moreover, when teachers receive regular, actionable feedback on their practice—rather than being left alone to assess their own progress—they are better able to make the instructional shifts called for by new college and career readiness standards, such as the Common Core State Standards. This guide can help a school system build and strengthen a pre-scoring process in which expert observers ("master coders") create examples of accurate and well supported ratings of teaching. Along with tools, tips, and snapshots of practice, each section includes techniques and idea-generating prompts for starting a process (under "To Lay the Foundation") and for improving one (under "To Build and Improve"). Use the worksheet of essential questions at the end to summarize plans.