Classroom Composition and Observational Ratings: Do Classroom Characteristics Predict Ratings?

• In Event: Roundtable Session 4
  In Roundtable Session: Teacher Agency/Empowerment in Assessment and Policy Making

Abstract

Accountability pressures and the recent movement to more fully document effective classroom practices have resulted in numerous instruments designed to assess classroom practice through observations by trained raters. However, little information is available concerning the validity and potential bias of these instruments. In this study, we will examine the association between teachers’ classroom observation ratings and the characteristics of students in their classes. This study focuses on the potential bias of classroom observation instruments by leveraging a random assignment experiment to determine if classroom and teacher characteristics predict ratings on classroom observation instruments. Our preliminary finding that higher proportions of minority students predict lower classroom observation ratings may be explained by a number of factors explored in the study.

Authors

• Kevin Fortner, Georgia State University

• Hongli Li, Georgia State University

• Mi-Young Lee Webb, Georgia State University

• Xiaoxuan Lei, Georgia State University