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Theendof
outstanding?
WhyOfstedshouldstop
gradingteachers
We’ve seen Ofsted make many
reforms to their observation and
grading process over the last few
years, but is it time they stopped
grading teaching altogether?
Dominic Brockway explains why
he believes the current methods
of observation and grading are
unhelpful, even harmful – and it
seems Ofsted agrees.
O
ne often cited justification for assessing
teacher competence through teaching
and learning observations is the difference
a teacher makes in the classroom.The
competence of the teacher and quality of their teaching
explains up to a 34 per cent variance in student
achievement.
Despite this,many teaching staff are uneasy about
their professional competence being judged in this
way.This fear could be valid given that a‘satisfactory’
observation is no longer good enough – indeed,Ofsted
no longer uses the grade‘satisfactory’,only‘requires
improvement’– and could trigger employer competency
proceedings against a teacher if he or she fails to
improve to at least‘good’.

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As a teacher trainer,I have spoken with many trainees about observations
undertaken as part of their workplace quality assurance process.When observed
by their placement school or college,they will often mention to me the differences
in opinion as to how‘good’their teaching is between one observer and another.
These reflections are backed up by research which has documented differences in
interpretation of teacher performance during lesson observations.
Some trainees have also talked about instances when they have been observed and
given a‘satisfactory’grade,and when asked what they could do to improve,were not
given any useful feedback.These same trainees have talked about the need for your
‘face to fit’within a school or college.The message has been clear that this is not always
about competence,but about whether you fit within the culture of the workplace.
This is not a situation that should occur.In 2004,Shulman wrote:‘Too often,the
typical observation method for evaluating teaching has been like photographing the
Mona Lisa with a black and white Polaroid camera,or like tape-recording the most
sumptuous performance of Carmen with an office Dictaphone.There is so much
potential in direct observation,but typically so limited a harvest.’1
Many researchers have discussed problems with regard to the accuracy of
capturing useful data during the lesson observation process.But why can we capture
so little and what problems are there with grading?
A snapshot of learning
It’s an uneasy realisation for some,but the quality of the students is more important to
achievement than the quality of their teachers.John Hattie has found in his research
that what the student brings to the table – their prior
cognitive ability and disposition to learn – accounts for 50
per cent of the variance in achievement.2
This may be something the lesson observer does not
take into account – for example,when assessing a tutor
teaching a well-behaved class,an observer may identify
outstanding learning,but in another class with the same
teacher but unruly learners,may perceive the learning to be
unsatisfactory.Is this the fault of the tutor,the management
team,the students or their parents? My suggestion is all
should have some input regarding this situation.
Along a similar vein,many of my teacher trainees have
made comments to me such as:‘I have one class that is really
challenging,but it’s the only class I struggle with.I hope
I’m not observed during this class.’What if the teacher is
observed during that difficult class,but that class represents
a small proportion of his or her teaching? If the teacher
is found unsatisfactory,is that representative of his or her
teaching practice as a whole? Nobody is suggesting that an
unruly class should be left without intervention,but this intervention should involve
the management team of the school or college in addition to its teachers.The grading
of this teacher should be proportionate and within a range of his or her teaching
practice.
Observers do well to remember that an observed lesson is only a snapshot of the
teacher and the learning that goes on in his or her classroom.The observer is unlikely to
know the students in the same way the teacher does,and will often attempt to evaluate
the observee without fully knowing his or her decision-making process within the
lesson.The grade for the lesson can also be impacted by factors outside of the teacher’s
control,such as the time of the class or the size of the teaching room.
Moreover,the presence of an observer in class often impacts the trajectory of the
lesson.Both the observee and the students can act differently and make the lesson
untypical of the teacher’s usual style of teaching.This,however,may or may not change
should the pressure of grading be removed.
The potential for bias
Another problem inherent in grading lesson observations is that the observer can be
under pressure to articulate a weakness within the lesson and to find a developmental
objective for the session or the department as a whole.
I have one class that
is really challenging,
but it’s the only class I
struggle with. I hope I’m
not observed during this
class.
“”

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Another less acknowledged fact is that all assessment is subjective,based on a
person’s subjective interpretation of objective criteria applied to the lesson observed.
Often,subject specialists are not available to observe a lesson and,therefore,may not
fully understand issues involved with the teaching of the subject observed.
There are always going to be differences in opinion regarding what constitutes
good practice and in what context this should be applied.Managers and teachers
sometimes talk about various teaching approaches as‘best’and‘good’,and use these
terms interchangeably,regardless of the teaching context.Frank Coffield who has
researched in this field suggests such terms are‘flabby’and lack meaning without a
useful context.
Fixated on the grade?
During my role as an observer,the first question I am often asked by a trainee teacher is
with regard to the grading:Is it‘good’or‘outstanding’? Surely,teachers should be more
concerned with what they did well and how they can improve.
As a result of Ofsted grading,staff will often fixate on the grade received rather than
the more useful developmental commentary regarding how they can improve.There
is the risk that,instead of valuing observation feedback,they then pay lip-service to
the whole process,knowing the type of teaching inspectors prefer and delivering this
on the day of their observation.Grading can also be divisive between staff,creating a
climate of competition rather than co-operation.
These factors associated with grading have been acknowledged in many schools
and colleges where they have introduced‘comment only’marking for students,so that
they can focus on how they can improve rather than on a grade.This approach has
been widely advocated in schools by Professor Dylan Wiliam.3
Why can we not apply
the same ideology to observations of teaching staff within schools and colleges?
How is Ofsted responding to this debate?
Clearly,there are problems with the current observation and grading process.In fact,
it begs the question:Should Ofsted stop grading teaching altogether? If their latest
Ofsted pilot is anything to go by,this is what they appear to be considering.
From 9 June last year (2014),inspectors across the Midlands region stopped
entering a grade for teaching on each individual lesson observation form.Instead,they
will now record their observations about what is going well and what is going less well,
before using this to provide feedback to teachers (if teachers want this) or even groups
of teachers.This new approach means inspectors will not feed back a specific teaching
grade or use grades to arrive at an overall judgement.

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According to former National
Director for Inspection Reform,
Michael Cladingbowl,‘Inspectors
do not need to ascribe a numerical
grade to the teaching they see in
each classroom they visit’.
He adds:‘Evaluating teaching
in a school should include looking
across a range of children’s work,
establishing how well children
acquire knowledge,understanding
the teachers’own views,observing
direct practice,and checking on the
views of children and parents’.
In his official statement about
the reasons behind the launch of the
pilot, Cladingbowl acknowledges
teachers’concerns that teaching is
evaluated too narrowly, and that
they are told by senior staff to plan
lessons in a particular way, or even
to adopt a specific way of teaching,
because‘that’s what Ofsted wants’.
He goes on to explain that it is
equally unhelpful to advocate
traditional methods as it is to favour
only progressive ones.
Cladingbowl states that‘teachers
and schools must be allowed to
teach as they see fit’.He is correct.
Teachers do teach differently and this
is not a problem as long as students
learn.Ofsted’s recognition of this may
offer a concession to many teachers
who have felt de-professionalised
by an idealised model of teaching
practice.They should be able to use
their own professional judgement to
make informed decisions regarding
choosing the teaching methods
which have the most impact in a
specific learning environment.This
represents a significant ideological
shift from Ofsted.
The question that every teacher
must be asking now is:what are
Ofsted looking for when inspecting
teaching? Michael Cladingbowl
provides some insight.He highlights
that inspectors will consider,for
example,‘Is the work hard enough
and do the children work hard at
it?’,as they do under the current
grading system.But Cladingbowl
also says he hopes this pilot will see
more reporting of‘teachers’subject
knowledge,the children’s sense of
routine,the ability to turn direction
mid-sentence,a common sense
approach to differentiation,the sense
of humour,the infectiousness of the
explanation’.
The Ofsted pilot is a promising move towards more effective lesson
observation,but in the meantime,there are a number of ways schools
can make sure their teachers get the most out of internal observation and
assessment.
Some of the following ideas can be carried out on a small scale between
observer and observee,while others will require implementation at
system level by the school leadership team.
■■ Lesson observers must be carefully trained and ideally,experts within
their subject area.Too often,staff training is inadequate and observers
are left feeling unclear regarding the differences between‘requires
improvement’,‘good’and‘outstanding’teaching.
■■ Multi-modal methods of teacher evaluation should be used – for
example,student focus groups and consideration of assessed work.
The observation of teaching and learning is just one part of this
picture.
■■ Teachers need to feel trusted before the benefits of observation can
be reaped.Staff should be given the opportunity to discuss their
observation with the observer and provide feedback regarding their
performance which should become part of the lesson feedback.
■■ The conversation between the observer and the observee after the
lesson should clarify what actually happened within the lesson in
cases where it is not clear.This is to avoid making assumptions in place
of real evidence.
■■ Immediately after the observation,the observee might be nervous
and not have had time to reflect adequately.It is often helpful to get
the observee to provide a thinking commentary on their lesson a few
days afterwards,explaining the rationale for their actions during the
session.
■■ Lesson observations above all should be supportive and
developmental rather than managerial.If grading must be used,there
should be safeguards in place to ensure that the process is as fair as
possible.For example,an independent observer could be used in cases
where the observee objects to the person chosen to observe them
due to personality differences.
■■ Ask staff what could be done differently with regard to improving the
teaching and learning observation process.Not all answers will be
practical,but all ideas that offer the potential for improvement should
be considered.
■■ Ensure systems for behaviour management are followed consistently
throughout the organisation.Good teachers need to have good
behaviour management skills where appropriate.(Some trainees
have talked about systems within schools and colleges to report
bad behaviour that do not work,are ignored or not implemented
consistently across the educational organisation).
■■ Ensure that staff are properly supported.New staff with relatively
little teaching experience should be given a lot of direction from their
managers.Those staff that have some experience should be coached.
It is not just the individual teacher who has the responsibility for the
behaviour of the students in his or her class.A blame culture is not
helpful.The whole school must work together to create a good ethos.
■■ Teachers should be given the opportunity to team-teach and to
observe other experienced staff teaching.If you want,for example,
a teacher to improve their behaviour management within a class,
that teacher needs to see a successful and experienced teacher
implementing behaviour management techniques within their
teaching.
How can we improve observation now?

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References
1. Shulman, L.S. (2004). The Wisdom of Practice: Essays on teaching, learning, and learning to
teach. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
2. Hattie, J. (2003). Teachers make a difference: What is the research evidence? In: Australian
Council for Educational Research Annual Conference on: Building teacher quality. Melbourne,
Australia, 19-21 October 2003. Auckland: University of Auckland. Available at: <cdn.auckland.
ac.nz/assets/education/hattie/docs/teachers-make-a-difference-ACER-(2003).pdf> [Accessed
26/08/2014].
3. Wiliam, D. (2006) Assessment for Learning: why, what and how. In: Excellence in assessment:
Assessment for learning. London: University of Cambridge. Available at: <www.assessnet.org.
uk/e-learning/file.php/1/Resources/Excellence_in_Assessment/Excellence_in_Assessment_-_
Issue_1.pdf> [Accessed 26/08/2014].
Knowledge trails
1. Watch and learn: CPD and lesson observation – Could asking teachers to observe their col-
leagues be an effective way to encourage self-reflection and development? Jayn Witt thinks it can.
library.teachingtimes.com/articles/watchandlearncpdandlessonobservation
2. Observing classrooms – A powerful shift in emphasis – Alison Peacock describes how using
Lesson Study in place of traditional classroom observations has allowed her school to place the
focus firmly back where it belongs – on students’ learning and what can be done to enhance it.
library.teachingtimes.com/articles/observing-classrooms
He adds that inspectors‘will summarise the strengths and weaknesses of the
teaching they encounter,along with plentiful other evidence from the scrutiny of
books,discussions with teachers and children,the school’s own view of teaching and
so on.Taken together,this will provide a catalyst for discussion and allow inspectors to
form a view about teaching overall.’
This approach appears to offer more opportunities for genuine dialogue and
debate between the school or college and the inspection team.Some schools are now
also introducing similar observation systems within their schools to align with the pilot
model.But it remains to be seen how this will work in practice.
Dominic Brockway is a Teacher Educator at Leeds City College,West Yorkshire.