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Observations

An observation is a formal record of an evaluator watching an evaluatee's practice — a classroom lesson for a teacher, or leadership in action for a principal — and collecting evidence aligned to the evaluation rubric. Observations are one of the main sources of evidence that flow into the summative evaluation.

This page explains what an observation is and how it works. For the step-by-step process, see How to Conduct an Observation.

The Observation Cycle​

An observation typically moves through three stages:

StageWhat Happens
Pre-ConferenceBefore observing, the evaluator and evaluatee discuss the upcoming lesson or focus. The evaluator can send pre-conference prompts for the evaluatee to respond to.
ObservationThe evaluator watches the lesson or practice and records evidence — notes and evidence items aligned to rubric components.
Post-ConferenceAfterward, the two reflect on what happened. The evaluator can send post-conference prompts, and both can write conference summaries.

Not every observation uses all three stages — a district or evaluator may do a quick walkthrough without formal conferences, or run a full formal cycle.

Evidence in an Observation​

During and after the observation, the evaluator gathers evidence and aligns it to the rubric:

  • Evidence items — notes and observed details aligned to specific rubric components
  • Prompt responses — the evaluatee's answers to pre/post-conference prompts, which the evaluator can code into evidence
  • Embedded artifacts — supporting documents attached directly to the observation
  • Rubric notes — the evaluator's notes on a rubric component

All evidence is aligned to a rubric component so it can be reviewed by criterion. See Evidence Collections for how alignment and packaging work.

Reviewing and Scoring​

The evaluator reviews collected evidence in the observation's Evidence View — a two-pane workspace where evidence is organized against the rubric. If your district allows observation scoring, the evaluator can assign rubric component scores here.

The Evidence View and Report tabs stay private to the evaluator until shared or submitted, so the evaluator can work on scoring before the evaluatee sees it. See Evidence View.

The Evaluatee's Part​

As the evaluatee, your engagement in an observation centers on the conferences and the final report:

  • Conference prompts — Before and after the observation, your evaluator may send pre- and post-conference prompts. You write your responses and share them; your evaluator can review them (and may code them as evidence).
  • Conference summaries — You can write your own conference summary notes and share them with your evaluator.
  • The final report — When your evaluator sends the final report, you can review it. In Formal mode you acknowledge it before it locks; in Simple mode it's already locked and you're simply notified.

How It Flows to the Summative​

When the observation is submitted and locked, its evidence is published and aggregated into the Summative Evaluation's Evidence View, organized by the eight state criteria. The summative evaluator reviews all observation evidence — alongside the other collections — when scoring C1–C8. See Understanding Your Evaluation.

Workflow: Simple vs. Formal​

Observations use a completion mode set by your district:

ModeHow It Completes
Formal (default)After the evaluator sends the final report, the evaluatee reviews and acknowledges it before it locks.
SimpleThe evaluator submits and the observation locks directly; the evaluatee is notified and can view it.

See How Workflows Work for states, acknowledgment, and unlock requests.