01/06/2012
The Bill & Melinda Gates foundation released their second report of findings from the Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) project today.
The studied analyzed five teacher observation tools, including the Classroom Assessment Scoring System, developed by Curry dean and director of the Center for the Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning, Bob Pianta.
According to the paper, “Gathering Feedback for Teaching,” the CLASS method and the others were an effective tool in measuring a teachers effectiveness.
“Teachers who more effectively demonstrated the types of practices emphasized in the [observation] instruments had greater student achievement gains than other teachers,” the report reads.
The report also found that combining observation scores with student feedback and student achievement gains gave the most accurate reflection of a particular teacher’s student achievement gains.
Six minimum requirements were emphasized for high quality observations.
::Choose an observation instrument that sets clear expectations
::Require observers to demonstrate accuracy before they rate teacher practice
::Require multiple observations prior to high-stakes decisions
::Track system-level reliability by double-scoring some teachers with impartial observers
::Combine observations with student achievement gains and student feedback
::Regularly verify that teachers with stronger observation scores also have stronger student achievement gains on average
For more information on on the Classroom Assessment Scoring System, visit the Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning.
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Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation article
Education Week
Huffington Post
