The topic of teacher evaluations often stirs a mix of anxiety and debate among educators. I feel the stress and anxiety in classrooms all around the country. While these assessments aim to measure teaching effectiveness, they tend to (more often than we’d all like to admit) promote a culture of “performance” lessons—special classes designed to impress school leaders.
This raises a critical question: Shouldn’t every lesson be worthy of observation?
The Pitfall of Performance Lessons
Consider this common scenario: You schedule an observation of one of your teachers, prompting the teacher to meticulously plan an exceptional lesson. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the observation is postponed a day, and that teacher ends up thinking, “I’ll just save this lesson for tomorrow’s evaluation.”
This mindset implies that the regular lessons in that classroom aren’t up to the same standard. But if a lesson isn’t good enough for when you visit, how is it good enough for students?
Striving for Consistency, Not Perfection
It’s essential to recognize that not every day in every classroom is going to be extraordinary. That’s just the reality of our work. It’s unreasonable, and unhelpful, to expect your teachers to have a great day for observing every day. There will be review sessions, testing days, and other routine activities. And there will be good days and bad days.
However, the overarching goal should be for teachers to provide engaging, high-quality instruction consistently, regardless of whether you’re observing them or not. After all, their most important audience is not us…it’s the students. And those students deserve all of our best efforts every day, not just when we decide to visit a classroom.
Challenges with the Current Evaluation System
The existing evaluation framework has its shortcomings. An overemphasis on rubrics, data, and quantifiable metrics can lead to a narrow view of teaching effectiveness. Additionally, the inclusion of standardized test scores in evaluations introduces variables that may not accurately reflect a teacher’s performance. These factors can contribute to a culture where teachers feel compelled to “put on a show” rather than focus on authentic teaching and learning.
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Embracing Authentic Teaching
To counteract these tendencies, we often encourage schools to consider adopting a mastery-based instructional approach, like The Grid Method. By focusing on student understanding and progress, teachers can create meaningful and engaging learning experiences every day. This shift not only benefits students, but also ensures that the quality of all lessons in all classrooms remain consistent and genuine, regardless of external evaluations.
This alignment of the instructional approach with mastery allows teachers to ensure what students are doing in class is leading to their success on state standards. Beyond that, it can also help teachers align their day-to-day instruction and set them up for success on their evaluations. We’ve worked with teachers all around the state of Ohio to align their work with the statewide teacher evaluations. [Here is our OTES 2.0 alignment guide.]
Final Thoughts
While teacher evaluations are an integral part of the educational system, they shouldn’t dictate the quality of daily instruction. By creating a culture of trust and understanding that we don’t expect perfection, but rather strive for a commitment to excellence in every lesson, we can shift the view of teacher evaluations as opportunities for growth rather than stress-inducing performances.
By focusing on daily instructional quality and viewing evaluations as tools for professional growth, educators can create a more meaningful and impactful classroom experience for their students.
About Chad Ostrowski
Chad Ostrowski is the co-founder of the Teach Better Team, and creator of The Grid Method. He is also a co-author of the Teach Better book. But Chad is a middle school science teacher at heart. He now travels the country sharing his story, working with teachers, schools, and districts to help them to reach more students. Chad is also a member of the Teach Better Speakers Network.
