Is your school still grading lesson observations?
This is old news, but it’s something we shouldn’t stop talking about because 40-45% of headteachers STILL IGNORE the evidence which I find abhorrent.
The research is clear on this – if your school is grading teachers (or the teaching – same thing) in one-off lessons or over time, you are simply choosing to beat teachers over the head with a stick.
If a lesson is judged ‘Outstanding’ by one mentor/observer, research suggests that the probability that a second person would give a different judgement is between 51% and 78% (Measures of Effective Teaching Project).
In other words, as Professor Robert Coe writes from CEM, “if your lesson is judged ‘Outstanding’, do whatever you can to avoid getting a second opinion: three times out of four you would be downgraded. If your lesson is judged ‘Inadequate’ there is a 90% chance that a second observer would give a different rating”.
Jury: If your school still grades lessons, it’s not a school I’d like to teach in.
Read the rest of the Teaching Ideas that TT thinks we should Bin in 2018!
Any examples of what it has been replaced by and how it is linked to PM and accountability if needed?
Chris Moyse and I have done much work on coaching models and how to reframe PM policy. All on this blog.