Teacher observations are essential for ensuring that teachers are successfully preparing students for success. Teacher observations should be conducted frequently, and serve as a way for teachers to improve upon their own practices as well as implement new and innovative strategies within’ the classroom. Unfortunately, this is not translated across all education institutions. What is being found is that a lot of schools are either not conducting them frequently and/or properly. This policy memo seeks to address the effects of decreased informative observations, and proposing a few recommendations for improving observation quality at a public charter school in NE, Washington, DC.

1. Tiffany Brooks
Edu 696
April 26, 2016
Teacher Observations:
The Case for Arts for All Public Charter School
Policy Brief

2. Abstract
Teacher observations are essential for ensuring that teachers are successfully
preparing students for success. Teacher observations should be conducted frequently, and
serve as a way for teachers to improve upon their own practices as well as implement
new and innovative strategies within’ the classroom. Unfortunately, this is not translated
across all education institutions. What is being found is that a lot of schools are either not
conducting them frequently and/or properly. This policy memo seeks to address the
effects of decreased informative observations, and proposing a few recommendations for
improving observation quality at a public charter school in NE, Washington, DC.

3. Introduction
Arts for All Public Charter School is located in the northern part of Washington,
DC and serves as one of the only free performing arts school that one can attend within’
the district. Unfortunately, the school has experienced a high turn over rate in teachers as
well as administrators. This has caused many within’ the charter school sector in DC to
view Arts for All as a negative environment.
One major transition that negatively affected the school has been its high turnover
rates of administration and teachers. Also, the school has consistently received low PMF
(Performance Management Framework) scores. In order for the school to improve, the
new administration is required to ensure the retention of staff, as well as effectively coach
them. This is largely done through consistent and successful implementation of
observations. Observations are important for coaching teachers, which correlate with
student performance that affect the schools overall PMF scores. Unfortunately, this has
not been a successful process for Arts for All Public Charter School. Many have
complained that the observations are intimidating, inconsistent, biased, uncomfortable,
and has not translated into productive coaching from administration.
Analysis
Research shows that there was a time when teachers were only rated on their
content knowledge, but in recent years there has been an increased focus on the
experiences of teachers and students within’ the classroom as well. This is to ensure that
there is a holistic view and improvement in teacher development. One way that has been
suggested in improving teacher development is conducting teacher observations.
Traditionally classroom observations were based on 3 core objectives: provide
professional development, create a reward system for teachers, and ensure continuous
promotion for teachers. Over time those objectives have been reduced to 1 core objective,
providing professional development, which is thought to be the most effective use of
observations. Data has proven that successful teachers have significant effects on student
achievement.
Research conducted within’ the Cincinnati Public School District by Kane et al.,
found that students achievement scores increased by one seventh of a standard deviation
when taught by teachers whose overall observation score moved from “Proficient” to
“Distinguished. This research also found that students who begin the school year at the
50th percentile improves and scores 3% higher in reading and math when assigned a
highly ranked teacher. This information along with other research samples has led federal
policy makers to shift their focus towards evaluating teachers on classroom performance
versus evaluating only on credentials and an incentive based reward system for states.

4. It is understood that formal observations are important for providing feedback,
what is misunderstood is how they should be implemented. A few causes for the
unsuccessful implementation of observations is the lack of trust amongst administrators
and teacher relationships, administration conducting observations based on their own
personal beliefs and a lack of consideration for student diversity across classrooms.
Careful research has offered a number of suggestions to ensure that observations are both
beneficial and productive for all parties involved.
What has been seen to be largely necessary for successful implementation is an
established atmosphere of trust between the observer and the observed. Teachers should
be given the opportunity to be active participants in pre- and post-observation
conversations as well as provided with opportunities to build a support network amongst
other teachers. When discussing logistics it is suggested that formal classroom
observations should be conducted two to three times annually, and once by an external
observer. Whether informal or formal, they should always be announced, that classroom
characteristics should always be considered, and that peer-to-peer observations should be
considered as well.
Recommendations
In analyzing and comparing research to the ongoing issues at Arts for All Public
Charter Schools below is a list of suggested recommendations for improving the overall
perception of classroom observations as well as improve teacher retention rates.
 Re-establish trusting relationships between staff and administration by
reintroducing the processes behind teacher observations, engaging in more
meaningful and purposeful coaching sessions as well as understanding and
providing ways to help teachers feel more comfortable.
 Ensuring that everyone is held accountable to the observation time that has been
carved into the schedule of the school year
 Conducting a formal survey to understand the diversity of the student by
including parents, and if necessary special education coordinators, prior to
beginning observations.
 Frequently reminding teachers of observations and what is to be expected of them
when conducted.
 Constant discussion between administration and staff on what is observed
 Teacher pairing and an increase in peer to peer observations in order to create a
supportive network of teachers who are able to share best practices
 Allow teachers more autonomy in dictating what is to be observed during
informative observations
 Coaching and feedback sessions should be followed through immediately after
observations are conducted. If they cannot be held in person there should be a
platform for digital conversations i.e. utilizing google documents, hangouts and/or
skype
 Create a survey for teacher feedback gauging their observation experience

5.  Recreate an evaluation system that is specifically tailored to the demographics of
each teacher’s classroom
Objections:
 Ensuring that these new systems don’t create animosity or dissention amongst
staff and administration.
 Finding the adequate time for implementing these new changes. With a lack of
adequate administrative support, conducting a survey and creating time to review
the data would add to the work that has to be done while managing the building
and the relationship with the charter school board.
 Developing protocol for ensuring that coaching and feedback sessions have
immediate follow up when most of the time is spent “ putting out fires” with
students who aren’t provided with the necessary supports in place to ensure that
their needs are being appropriately met.
Conclusion:
Though these recommendations seem to be most fitting one must expect that there
will be objections. It is believed that if these recommendations are considered for the
following school year and prepared ahead of time the school would see an increase in
teacher comfort as well as retention.

6. Annotated Bibliography
Grimm, E. D., Kaufman, T., & Doty, D. (2014). Rethinking: Classroom Observation.
Educational Leadership, 71(8), 24-29.
The article, “Rethinking: Classroom Observation,” offers an alternative to traditional
classroom observations. It discusses a model that gives teachers more autonomy in
determining how they would like to be assessed. The model suggests that observations
would be conducted by peers in order to create a more “classroom-embedded process”
that would help in restructuring instruction within’ the classroom. The model allows
peers to collect and analyze data that would be only based on the context of the other
teacher’s particular classroom. The teachers whose classroom would be evaluated would
identify the focus of the observation and then it would move forward from there.
This idea of peer observations is an excellent suggestion that has proven to be more
effective. The policy research that will be conducted will highlight the effects of
inconsistent teacher observations and how it affects a school’s climate. This model
suggests that observations would be more consistent if allowed between peers, as well as
create an environment of camaraderie, and an improvement in teacher instruction.
Kane, T. J., Wooten, A. L., Taylor, E. S., & Tyler, J. H. (2011). Evaluating Teacher
Effectiveness. Education Next, 11(3).
The article, “ Evaluating Teacher Effectiveness,” focuses on the Cincinnati
School District and the research conducted showing a connection between classroom
practices and student achievement. The article focused on the use of Cincinnati's
particular TES model that serves as an example of a high quality teacher evaluation
program. Cincinnati’s teacher evaluation system is unique in that it is a year long process
that includes four observations. Teachers are to be evaluated three times by an external
peer evaluator and once by a local school administrator. The external peer evaluators are
experienced and highly effective teachers, and are chosen partly based on their own
evaluations. This particular system gives teachers within’ the Cincinnati School District
an opportunity to be leaders, and create a more unified school district.
The Teacher Evaluation System that Cincinnati uses has proven to be highly
effective and is an accurate assessor of student achievement. Though not the focal point,
it is imperative to note that the effectiveness of their system is also based on the actions
that are taken after each observation and the support that teachers are given in order to
improve or remain successful. This policy research includes data that aids in
strengthening the argument on why Arts for All Public Charter School should improve
their teacher evaluation system, and offers suggestions on how.

7. Millis, Barbara J., (1992). Conducting Effective Peer Classroom Observations. To
Improve Academy.Paper250.https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/podimprovecad/250
The article, “Conducting Effective Peer Classroom Observations,” focuses on the
purpose of classroom observations, the challenges that arise when conducting
observations, and offers suggestions for ensuring their success. The article highlights that
observations should be summative and formative and that they should be reflective of the
changes that happen within’ teaching. Observations are viewed as a great tool for
documenting teaching strategies and improving teaching performance. The barriers that
prevent observations from being successful are misunderstandings to what constitutes
good teaching, their disruptive influences, observer bias and/or leniency, not
understanding student demographics, and not being clear on expectations and what is
being observed. The article also offered few suggestions that would combat these
challenges such as building a climate of trust and respect, providing training on how to
conduct an observation, using a consulting model, and a host of many others.
It is imperative for schools to provide a clear outline of the goals and expectations
of classroom observations. The policy research that will be conducted will analyze the
current model of observations at Arts for All Public Charter School, analyze its
challenges with comparative study, and include suggestions that would fit the
demographics of the school.
Pianta, R. C., & Hamre, B. K. (2009). Conceptualization, measurement, and
improvement of classroom processes: Standardized observation can leverage
capacity. Educational researcher, 38(2), 109-119.
The article, “Conceptualization, Measurement, and Improvement of Classroom
Processes: Observation can Leverage Capacity,” discusses that classrooms observations
should be a central focus to any education institution. The article also suggested that
observations are a tool for improving accountability amongst staff and administration,
and promoting teacher improvements as well as provides understanding for teaching
instruction. These conclusions were made based upon a system researchers used to
analyze observation effectiveness. Researchers implemented standardized protocols,
analyzed the sources of instructional and observational errors, analyzed effective support
systems, and reviewed data on student gains. Researchers also analyzed the challenges of
implementing these protocols at such a large scale.
Classroom observations should be one of the main focuses of all school districts,
however in order for there to be success one must analyze the potential challenges that
would prevent a school from implementing specific protocols. This policy research will
identify the current protocols for classroom observations at Arts for All Public Charter
School, and seek to identify whether or not they have been successful.

8. Russ, Whitehurst, G. J., Chingos, M. M., & Lindquist, K. M. (2015). Getting Classroom
Observations Right. Education Digest, 80(7), 20-28.
The article, “Getting Classroom Observations Right,” suggests that academic
achievement shouldn’t be solely determined on the scores of standardized assessments,
but on what is happening inside classrooms. Researchers suggests that focus should be
placed on conducting effective classroom observations to gain a larger outlook on how
and why students achieve at different levels. It is suggested and offers suggestions on
how to improve teacher evaluation systems that would provide opportunities for more
effective feedback.
Teacher evaluation systems have proven to be more successful when they account
for classroom challenges, and provide teachers with the supports they need to be
successful. This article offers that perspective, and highlights what improvements can be
made to ensure that teachers aren’t being negatively impacted due to unfairness. This
policy research will include some policy improvement suggestions that could benefit
educational institutions on a larger scale.