Faster, Better
Teacher Evaluations

Teacher evaluations are necessary, but they often don't feel worth the effort—and who has time to put in even more effort?

To become more than a formality, teacher evaluation needs an overhaul—but what can we change while respecting established contracts and policies?

In Evidence-Driven Teacher Evaluation, we focus on our task itself: how we observe, document, discuss, and rate teacher practice. 

We can follow the existing rules, but get superior results. 

We have the opportunity to conduct dramatically better observations and evaluations in less time, through a combination of time-tested and innovative approaches, aided by new technology.

At the heart of this approach is evidence—that's why we call the whole process evidence-driven.

Evidence isn't a hammer—the proof we need for a "gotcha" evaluation. It's how we uphold our "Hippocratic Oath" as instructional leaders: 

Seek first to understand, then to be understood.

Changing the way we think about evidence is the shortcut to faster, better teacher evaluations.

Evidence-driven feedback conversations use observable evidence—the kind of low-inference notes you're already taking—as an entry point into conversations about the hidden elements of practice. 

When combined with your teacher evaluation criteria, these conversations give us unprecedented insight into teacher thinking, allowing us to make sound evaluation decisions in less time than ever. 

But technology also plays a role in helping us access our evaluation criteria, take timestamped notes, and write final evaluations in a fraction of the usual time. 

Improve Teacher Retention

Evidence-driven teacher evaluations improve teacher retention in two ways.

First, they can provide targeted support for people who are struggling.

Second, they can build trust and commitment.

People quit because they don't feel successful, or because they don't feel supported.

Traditionally, the evaluation process is designed to rubber-stamp most people, and move a few toward dismissal—NOT to help and retain people.

But if we focus on evidence and expectations, new possibilities open.

We can use evidence to show people what they're doing right, and how to do more of what works (and less of what doesn't).

We can stop the adversarial tug-of-wars: "I'm Level 4" vs. "No, you're not"

We can get on the same page with people about where they are, and how to move to the next level.

Build Trust by Taking Practice Seriously

Too often, the evaluation process is both high-stakes and arbitrary—a combination that damages trust. 

Leaders who see evaluations as the exercise of arbitrary judgment miss the chance to build trust and advance a shared vision for professional practice. 

Evaluations don't have to be a tug-of-war between teacher and evaluator. Instead, they can be a collaborative, trust-building exercise that helps everyone get better.

Instructional leaders who follow the "Hippocratic Oath"—seek first to understand, then to be understood—take teacher thinking seriously, and build trust with each observation. 

Final Evaluations with GSIR:
Generalization, Specifics, Impact, Rating

The ultimate test of your work as an evaluator is the argument you can make about a teacher's performance in each domain of practice. 

If you can make a well-supported argument, aligned with the criteria and backed with evidence, you're in great shape. A complete argument has four parts:

• A generalization about the teacher’s practice in a specific area
• Specifics—evidence & examples supporting the generalization
• The impact of this practice on relevant outcomes, such as student learning
• The final rating in that specific area of practice—e.g. exemplary, satisfactory, developing, or unsatisfactory. 

Building on Jon Saphier's (1993) CEIJ model, GSIR makes it easy to tell if you have the evidence you need, or if you're drawing conclusions that can't be supported. 

To help you construct airtight evaluations, we've created the ultimate tool: the GSIR Final Evaluation Builder.

The GSIR Final Evaluation Builder is our drag-and-drop, multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank tool for constructing evidence-driven final evaluations.

You supply the evidence, and the Builder supplies the language, so you can quickly find the descriptions that best fit the evidence.

Typically, the hardest parts to write are the generalization and impact statements. Thankfully, these statements don't need to be unique—they just need to be customized to fit the individual situation.

For example, the Builder includes the following Generalization statements about lesson planning—with the teacher's name and other details already filled into each phrase: 

Simply choose the phrase that best fits the individual teacher—the writing is done for you. All you have to add is your evidence. 

Plus, you can use our A.I. to generate even more custom wording to match each teacher's situation. 

Evidence-Driven Observations with Repertoire

The GSIR Final Evaluation Builder is part of Repertoire, the professional writing app for instructional leaders.

Repertoire speeds up every stage of the observation and evaluation process, including:

• Taking low-inference notes, with automatic timestamps
• Writing flawless feedback using specific language from your evaluation criteria
• Producing airtight final evaluations with the Builder

Repertoire's timestamp feature makes it easy to take evidence-rich, low-inference notes, so you can easily reconstruct the lesson's most important details in your postconference, written report, or final evaluation. 

Get access to Repertoire when you join the Spring 2023 cohort of Evidence-Driven Teacher Evaluation—and use it for your 2023 and 2024 evaluations. 

You'll get 12 months of Repertoire access—a $1,584 value—so you can do all of your '23-24 walkthroughs, observations, and evaluations with these time-saving tools. 

Pareto Optimization:

Prioritizing High-Risk Evaluations

It's essential to devote enough time to high-risk evaluations using the 80/20 Pareto Principle. 

High-risk evaluations include teachers who are:

• Likely to receive an unsatisfactory rating
• Likely to resign at or before the end of the year
• Teaching a new course or grade level

To have enough time to handle these high-priority evaluations effectively, we need to free up time on low-risk evaluations. 

How? By using the GSIR Evaluation Builder and other strategies you'll discover inside the program.

You'll also get a 1:1 consultation to identify your high-risk teachers and develop a plan for ensuring you've covered all the bases. 

Our Process + What's Included

First, we’ll set up your evaluation criteria in Repertoire, and we’ll import your staff roster.

No tedious data entry–just send us what you have, and we’ll take care of the rest.

You can start using Repertoire immediately to take low-inference notes, provide criterion-aligned feedback, and assemble the evidence you need for rock-solid final evaluations.

We’ll help you get organized and work through your punchlist of remaining evaluation tasks, like meetings, observations, and paperwork—so you can meet all of your district’s requirements.

Next, we’ll talk about your staff and identify high-risk evaluations—people who are at serious risk of quitting or getting unsatisfactory ratings.

Then, we’ll develop a plan to provide the support each teacher needs, based on the strategies in Mapping Professional Practice.

Finally, we’ll sprint toward the finish line—an evidence-driven final evaluation for each teacher.

We’ll use the GSIR Final Evaluation Builder to make an airtight, evidence-driven case about each teacher’s performance, in a fraction of the usual time.

It’s fast because most of the writing is already done—just plug in specific evidence, pick from our multiple-choice phrase bank, and copy and paste.

Spring 2023 Live Cohort + On-Demand Modules

Evidence-Driven Portfolio Tasks

The Evidence-Driven Teacher Evaluation Certification Program will dramatically strengthen your instructional leadership skills, and allow you to provide highly effective feedback to teachers at all skill levels.

We're fully confident that it's the most powerful professional development for instructional leaders anywhere—but don't take our word for it. Try the program for yourself, and experience the transformation that it brings to your leadership.

If you're not 100% satisfied with the our program for any reason, contact us within 30 days for a full refund.

Full Certification Program

$1999

Register for the Evidence-Driven
Teacher Evaluation
Certification Program