Early Adolescence/English Language Arts Classroom Observation Study

The Technical Analysis Group of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) contracted with the Center for the Study of Evaluation (CSE) to develop and validate a classroom observation system for possible use in the certification process for accomplished teachers. The present report reflects results of a study dramatically down-scaled from that originally proposed. The major research questions addressed in this study involve the reliability and cost of classroom observation and the extent to which observation scores are consistent with candidate certification decisions. CSE developed and piloted an observation system that is based in the Early Adolescence/English Language Arts (EA/ELA) Standards for National Board Certification. We trained observers in the use of the system, and, in the fall of 1994, we observed and scored the teaching of 15 candidates for EA/ELA certification in 1993-94. We analyzed scores for reliability and for the degree to which they were grounded in the EA/ELA Standards. We compared candidates’ scores on observation with their scores on the EA/ELA exercises. We also interviewed the teachers, asking them for their perception of the validity of classroom observation.