RUNNING HEAD: GAUGING EFFECTIVENESS THROUGH A CLASSROOM FRAMEWORK 1

Gauging Teacher Effectiveness Through a Classroom Framework: Responding to a Deep

Urgency in Urban America

Scott Greiner

Oakland University
GAUGING EFFECTIVENESS THROUGH A CLASSROOM FRAMEWORK 2

Abstract

Throughout the 20th and into the 21st century, teacher evaluations have become a huge

presence at the forefront of teaching. Along with teacher evaluation, other issues in the system

have started to rise as well. In this company’s schools, they have high standards for teachers and

for students. The corporate offices have a goal for the company on student achievement. In order

to achieve this goal, they have set up checkpoints and components that measure how teachers are

getting to that goal. This plan, if implemented and followed with fidelity, will help the schools

and company reach the established goal. One component that has been reconfigured is the

teacher evaluation. Each school now has a company’s version of the Classroom Framework to

help evaluate teachers. Using Bolman and Deal’s Reframing Organizations (2013) there are

issues in all frame areas. Little to no data supports the effectiveness scales based off of the

company’s accommodated version of the Framework. Teacher morale is impacted because years

of experience no longer plays into who is the more effective teacher, one with less experience or

a veteran teacher. Politically, there are not enough qualified or experienced teachers applying for

teaching positions, especially in the urban setting. Symbolically, scores and rating numbers have

a negative connotation. In order to combat these dilemmas, the company must ensure that

teachers are ready to teach in urban settings, there must be partnerships built up, and lastly when

there are teachers in place, sufficient training and coaching must be available to help those

teachers that receive a rating of “developing or ineffective” improve their skills.

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Introduction

The company has been around since 1995. The company is built on four pillars: academic

excellence, moral focus, parental partnerships, and student responsibility. In order to ensure these

pillars are in each and every school, it is essential to develop great teachers, teach creativity and

commitment, and provide guidance to students and staff. As of the 2016-2017 academic year,

there are eighty-one schools in nine states. The company is the largest charter company in the

United States.

In order to reach the high expectations of the company, schools are measured on their

effectiveness as a whole. As of a couple of years ago, the company decided that they were going

to introduce an implementation plan that created a picture for everyone to see how the goal was

going to be met. One of those components was a new way to gauge teacher effectiveness. As a

result of the constant changing evaluation system in America, the company decided their version

of the Classroom Framework was something that would evaluate a teacher on culture, student

learning, and preparing for learning and teaching. Each of these categories has different

subtopics that help a teacher know where he/she is performing during observations. The

problem that has begun to occur is that teachers with multiple years of experience and teachers

who are newer to the job are getting similar ratings. Veteran teachers should be outscoring newer

teachers on effectiveness due to their experience in teaching. However, that is not the case with

this new evaluation system. No matter what the experience level, teachers throughout the schools

are receiving mixed evaluations. Training is needed so that administrators and teachers

understand the tool and it is used fairly and consistently to improve instruction. Along these

same lines, there is no evidence or data that supports the effectiveness scales in the company’s

Classroom Framework that accurately rates teachers in terms of improving student achievement..
GAUGING EFFECTIVENESS THROUGH A CLASSROOM FRAMEWORK 4

Another problem with this Classroom Framework and teacher effectiveness ratings is

there are not enough qualified or experienced teachers, especially in the urban setting. As a

whole, education is something that has been receiving the short end of the stick. There is so

much out there saying how horrible the system is, and it has begun to have huge ramifications on

the outlook for the system! It deters people from wanting to go into education; it gives people a

false sense of what schools are like, and most of all, even if they continue to go into education,

people want to locate the jobs that pay the most, are in the nicest areas, and have job security.

Unfortunately, urban schools are not always the highest paying, they are not in the nicest areas,

and turnover rates are usually on the higher side.

These problems have begun to impact the schools and company on different levels. It is

impacting progress towards student achievement goals. It is difficult meeting rigorous education

standards when there is constant turnover taking place in schools and classrooms. The schools

are not able to maintain morale in schools because students lose hope in having a quality

education when they go through seven teachers in one year, all of which have different

procedures and expectations. The problems impact parent relationships because the parents want

to know why there is so much turnover or why their child is not receiving the same education as

one of their friends in another classroom in the school. These situations have created problems

across the board, across the states, and across the company as a whole. It is imperative to find a

way to fight back against these problems to ensure that student achievement is at the front of

teachers’ minds, and the school is reaching the highest possible education level by recruiting

teachers with high expectations and effective training that teaches them how to teach at a high

level of rigor and a higher level of thinking.

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Structural Frame

When looking at the company’s Classroom Framework from a structural side, it is

important to look at how the Framework ties in with the mission, values, goals, roles of the

company, and how different tasks are completed around the company. All of these components

will create a greater understanding of the school; as well the parts will help look at the

company’s Classroom Framework's ratings on effectiveness.

The company’s mission is to “challenge children to achieve their greatest potential”. The

vision of the company says “Our shared vision is to build a national organization of over 200

charter schools that become the finest K-8 schools in the country. Using a partnership with

parents as the foundation, this will be achieved by combining rigorous, "back-to-basics"

academics, strong moral development, and a universal commitment to all children”. Looking at

these two items, it is apparent that the company is dedicated to achieving high student

achievement and in order to do this must provide a rigorous education. In order to give this type

of education, it is important to have “highly effective” and “effective” teachers that demonstrate

this type of education and teaching. There must be a structure throughout all of the schools that

promotes higher level thinking and teaching.

Bolman and Deal (2013) explain “Organizations exist to achieve established goals and

objectives. Effective structures fit an organization’s current circumstances including its goals,

technology, workforce, and environment” (p. 45). This is very crucial to the success of the

company’s Classroom Framework being implemented in the schools across the country. This

Classroom Framework must be something that relates to the Company’s goals and objectives,

but it also must fit into the environment and workforce. One thing that can be observed at some

of the schools, mainly the inner city schools, is that this is not always the case.
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As a school, when gauging effectiveness of teachers, the measurement tool must able to

assess multiple aspects of the school. Medley (1971) summarizes “In order to assess

effectiveness you would have to assess the appropriateness of the plan and the ability of the

teacher to achieve it” (p. 5). It’s important to see that when the effectiveness of a teacher is

evaluated, it is an assessment of how they achieve a certain task or assignment. Medley (1971)

makes the point that when looking at assessing competence, effectiveness, and skill, it is

important to look at what is being asked. So in the sense of this Framework, is it correctly

gauging effectiveness on the indicators of the categories or looking at what the teachers are

doing to ensure that they are successful and educating children to guarantee they are working

towards the goals and missions of the school and company?

There are multiple schools that go part of the year without a full staff. Whether the school

has a staffing shortage in the Special Education department, Specials, or even the General

Education setting, this becomes a major worriment for schools. How is it that this Framework

will accurately rate teachers on effectiveness successfully, if the teachers are taking on extra

students from another class that does not have a teacher? How is this Framework fairly applied to

teachers who come into the school year with only months left, when the students’ education has

pickled between three other teachers? In order to achieve the effectiveness expected of all

teachers, there must be an assurance that they are developed, supported, and coached

accordingly.

The company’s Classroom Framework is the new idea that is used for those purposes.

This Framework is to be used in a way that teachers will know where they need more

development; it’s for deans to know where they need to support and coach the teacher as well. It

becomes more of a structural topic at this level. Who is going to be in charge of what, and how
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are the teachers going to be held accountable? Bolman and Deal (2013) go into detail about

coordination levels. At the company’s schools, there is a little of both, lateral and vertical,

coordination. There is the vertical that tells the important information and how teachers are to

use the resources and information. Then there is the lateral that includes committees, meetings,

and roles of the staff in the building.

It is important that teachers see that this Classroom Framework is both lateral and

vertical. It is lateral in the sense that it wants to ensure that teachers are being rated correctly. Is

the teacher ineffective, developing, effective, or highly effective? Is the teacher creating a culture

in the classroom that promotes learning? Is the teacher engaging and promoting differentiated

learning and personalized instruction? Overall, is the end result what administrators are wanting

to see? This Framework also has the lateral side where it discusses collaboration with teammates,

looking at data and making data driven decisions.

All of this ties in with Bolman and Deal (2013) explaining “Schoolteachers may feel

lonely and unsupported because they work in self-contained classrooms and rarely see adults.

Yet efforts to create closer teamwork have repeatedly run aground because of teachers

difficulties in working together” (p. 72). If all teachers in the school are working towards the

same goals and mission, then they must all be willing to work together. This Framework

evaluates teachers on how they collaborate with others to develop lessons that are engaging and

rigorous. Developing these types of lessons and engaging with this type of collaboration is part

of being an effective or highly effective teacher. When this is demonstrated, teachers are all

working towards those end goals and vision/mission.

Bolman and Deal (2013) also explain about the hierarchies of leadership or the boss. In

order for there to be clear communication of this Classroom Framework’s expectations and
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goals, the leadership must be the ones responsible for implementing the program. With the

schools, there is a mix of the circle network and all-channel network (pp. 102-103). It is

important to understand these links because working together with all channels and all levels of

the teams at a school, helps develop teachers and helps with improving student achievement.

While looking at this Classroom Framework, teachers have to be able to make data driven

decisions, utilize data to create differentiated and individualized learning for students, and they

must be able to create a positive classroom culture. By having the networks in place, each school

has an open feel that allows teachers to observe others, allows for the openness of the deans

doing weekly observations, and finally the communication flows from all aspects of the school

whether it be from the principal, deans, teacher leaders, or even other teachers.

When looking at the ramifications of the overall structure of the Framework,

administrators are looking at what impact is it going to have on teachers? Does a “developing”

rating impact all teachers the same? Probably not. A teacher that has a strong drive and wants to

excel in the classroom is not going to be fine with a developing; however, a teacher who is fine

with being a teacher to just get by will be fine with that rating. There is no consequence for

teachers who are in the “developing” category. The implication for teachers with higher levels of

effectiveness ratings is that they may have more of a say when approached by leadership in

discussions. That teacher may be asked to participate in more school related meetings or

planning times. Teacher leaders cannot be at all grade level planning meetings, so an effective

teacher from another grade level may be asked to take notes to report back on what was

discussed in their meeting. Other than that, there are no big ramifications for the rating system,

unless a teacher is “ineffective” or continues to show little development.

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Overall, the structural side of the company’s Classroom Framework has many different

components to it. The company and administrators must look at the way it is helping teachers

work towards the goals and missions of the school and the company. As well, they have to

ensure that this Framework promotes progress towards teacher effectiveness on multiple levels.

There are challenges that arise along the way, and the company must figure out how to solve

these issues, so they do not put a damper on the implementation of this Classroom Framework.

Human Resource Frame

When looking at the Human Resource frame, the Classroom Framework has many

correlations to the frame. Bolman and Deal (2013) justify that “People and organizations need

each other. Organizations need ideas, energy, and talent; people need careers, salaries, and

opportunities” (p. 117). While diving deeper into this Framework and effectiveness ratings,

teachers must understand the Framework but leadership must also meet the needs of the teachers.

This Classroom Framework was introduced to the schools of the company a couple of

years ago during Professional Development week. The principals shared it out with their staffs as

a way that fits into each school’s implementation plan for the company’s goal. It was discussed

that this new system allows for there to be a push on effective teaching, but also allows a teacher

to be developing and not be penalized for it. It used to be teachers were ranked on a scale of 1-5

and from there if he/she received a one or two he/she was put at risk of being let go. Under the

Classroom Framework scale of 1-4, a 2 would be “developing”. While this seems to be a good

thing, administrators still are looking at building all teachers to the effective level. Throughout

regional Professional Development, the references back to this Framework continued. It was a

process the company made sure to relate back to whenever possible. They still continue doing
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this even into the Professional Development this year. As a whole, the company wants to ensure

that every employee is fully aware of how to achieve effective ratings across this Framework.

While looking at the Human Resource Frame and its ties to the company’s Classroom

Framework and effectiveness ratings, there must be understanding of how hiring takes place in

the company. The company has a rigorous hiring and recruiting process. There are multiple

screenings and interviews that take place before a candidate is even given an interview. Once an

interview has taken place, there may be a follow up interview, a lesson that must be taught,

before an offer is extended to the candidate. This process ensures that leadership is hiring

effective teachers from the start.

That sounds like a great plan, and it does lead to some really great teachers; however,

there are teachers that can say all the right things and then get in the classroom and realize that it

is not the place for him/her. This frequently happens in urban schools. Teachers see that the

setting is much different than they expected and begin to doubt themselves and their own well-

being. This is where the company’s Framework is a perfect tool to utilize and discuss with the

teachers. By following the different categories and rankings, one may see how he/she needs to

progress in order to become effective in his/her own classroom. The needs of the people become

more important and it is up to the organization to meet those needs by explaining the process,

using the process with accuracy and fidelity, coaching through the evaluation process, and being

able to ensure that all needs are met to help that teacher become the most effective he/she can be

in the classroom.

As the schools and company look to hire and retain “effective” and “highly effective”

teachers, they must look at what draws teachers to schools. One of the issues discussed earlier

was the fact that teachers are not drawn to the inner cities. It takes special people with big hearts
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and open minds to work in inner city schools. There are many problems that come with inner city

schools, but if teachers can get through the stereotypes and insecure moments, then they can

begin to look at what matters most, student achievement through effective teaching.

Human resourcing and gaining and attracting excellent teachers is something that comes

with the right incentives and the right brand to offer. Not only does the company have to fit the

teacher, but the teacher has to fit the company. Pillsbury (2005) outlines that “All too often

district budgets are heavy in the curricular areas, leaving human resources struggling with a

miniscule budget and lacking the most effective selection tools” (p. 1). This is an important note

to the idea behind hiring effective teaching, because as a company, there is a lot of money spent

on resources to ensure that there are teachers who have a plethora of resources to achieve high

student achievement. However, Human Resources needs to be allotted financial support to

ensure that the teachers that are put in front of students are the most effective they can be. There

could be many implications of this on the Framework and effectiveness ratings of teachers.

The company’s Framework is meant to be a tool that guides teachers throughout their

day, week, month, and even year. It evaluates teachers on their effectiveness but also gives them

coaching feedback to help them grow. While looking at Bolman and Deal (2013), they

rationalize that there must be a connection made with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and

employees (pp. 120-122). In order to attract teachers into the urban school setting, there must be

a way to ensure that the basic physiological needs are met by providing the building and room

for the teacher to be successful. From there, there must be a way to make them feel safe and

secure through procedures and routines, have the staff feel like they belong at the school, and

move up from there. Through the use of this Framework, teachers can then have higher self-

esteem knowing they are effective or knowing where they need to focus more in order to become
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more effective, and finally there is self-actualization that helps teachers realize that the hard

work they have put in throughout a school year has paid off with their final evaluation.

Another way to tie the human resource frame with the company’s Classroom Framework

is being able to see how groups and teams work together to help everyone involved become more

successful. Part of the Framework is being able to work as a team to ensure high student

achievement. Groups are what people are put in and everyone does their own thing with no clear

way of getting to the end results. Teams help people define where they are headed, what they

need to get there, and solutions of how they are going to get there. Bolman and Deal (2013) point

out that “In groups and teams, individual roles are often much more informal and implicit on

both task and personal dimensions” (p. 175). Educators must see that they have an important

role to play, and if they take the informal and implicit way, then little can be done to help them

be successful in the classroom. There must be roles assigned so that all teachers are equally

involved and equally playing a role in student achievement.

Overall, the company’s Classroom Framework has many ties to the Human Resource

Frame. It is imperative that organizations and people work together to achieve the end result. In

order to do this, the people must care about the organization, and the organization must care

about its people. The company’s Framework helps teachers measure their own growth through

observations and feedback/coaching. But it is also up to the leadership team to ensure they are

meeting the individual’s needs to help them feel like they have worth in the workplace. If these

two things do not balance, then there is no sense of achievement or progression towards the end

results. Human resources involves hiring effective teachers that are going to be engaging and

provide rigorous lessons, but it is also up to the uppers in command to develop the teachers the

correct way that follows the guidance of the Classroom Framework.

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Political Frame

While looking at the company’s Classroom Framework and the political frame, there are

a couple of issues that arise through this frame. The first problem is the obvious political

ramification of what the government has done to the system of teaching and schooling when

looking at teacher effectiveness. The other problem that consists in this category is the fact that

the Teacher Evaluation process is not always the same across the board. If this is the case, then

there is a problem not only in government but also in schools. When looking at this, the

organization has not looked at how to manage all aspects of the business/school.

When looking at the political side of effectiveness and teacher evaluations, one can look

no further than the state government. With significant cuts to education, unions and tenure,

Michigan has seen some extremes in education due to the current legislature and Governor.

Mead (2012) explains that “These bills resulted in a relatively strong set of teacher effectiveness

policies in Michigan” (p. 69). This is important to know because with all of the cuts and new

bills passed in Michigan, the bills have helped boost effectiveness of teachers. While teachers are

graded upon a lot more, teachers have flourished by doing so. In the company, these bills have

helped create the Framework that works both politically and structurally in each school’s and

company’s agendas.

Bolman and Deal (2013) summarize the following “Organizations are coalitions of

different individuals and interest groups. Coalition members have enduring differences in values,

beliefs, information, interest, and perceptions of reality” (p. 188). This is a huge point that could

summarize the effectiveness of using the classroom framework. When looking at a teacher’s

effectiveness, he/she is gauged on the culture of his/her room, his/her planning, his/her teaching

style, and data analysis. Looking at the second statement about differences, many teachers have
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differences in the way they teach students. What matters is how engaged are the students. How

are the students learning? So while it is important to use standardized testing to measure

effectiveness, schools should also be looking at what is actually taking place in the classroom.

This Classroom Framework came about by part of the company’s goals. With all of the

trends in updating evaluation systems, the company felt this was the better way to go about

changing and bettering the system. Using Bolman and Deal’s (2013) idea of the different groups

in an organization, becomes a problem. There was not a lot of communication on how this was

going to look. The idea of so many components in the Framework means that the teachers have

to wear so many hats in order to be considered effective. However, the sustainability of the

Framework comes into question when we look at teachers with less experience scoring as well as

or higher than teachers with more experience. The varying groups, in this case based on

experience, both have their own ideas of what teaching is and both have similar ratings.

There is little data that supports the idea of this Framework, adapted by the company, is

an effective tool to use to gauge teacher effectiveness relative to high levels of student

achievement, which is a company goal. It could also be the sense that teacher preparatory

programs are doing their jobs in building strong willed teachers that are willing to do everything

they can do to ensure students are learning. When we have a teacher with over ten years of

experience at other schools and then comes to one of the schools of the company and ratings are

different, administrators have to look at where the data is skewed in different ways. Maybe the

problem is no longer just a company issue but more of a system issue in the sense that teachers

are being rated on varying degrees of teaching, but those are not consistent across the board in

cities, regions, or even across the state and states.

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Bolman and Deal (2013) explain “Structurally, an agenda outlines a goal and a schedule

of activities. Politically, an agenda is a statement of interests and a scenario for getting the

goods” (p. 209). When looking at the development and implications of the Classroom

Framework, one begins to look at a top-down approach through the company. On the forefront,

the staff is looking at the creation of this Framework as a tool used to measure effectiveness of a

teacher based on what the government says is mandated to evaluate teachers. This consists of an

agenda that follows a goal and a schedule of activities to meet those goals. In order to be

“developing”, “effective”, or “ highly effective”, one must meet certain criteria on the company’s

Framework. By doing this, a teacher is working towards goals with certain activities in his/her

mind of how to achieve the goals.

Politically, this Framework is an agenda that the company has developed in their best

interest to ensure that the most qualified teachers are in the schools teaching students. The

teachers rated “effective” and “highly effective” are the ones in front of students who are

working towards the school and company goal as well as their own personal goals. The company

has created a way to evaluate teachers that meet the government requirements, but they have also

come up with a way that looks at how teachers are doing working towards the company’s goals.

In this sense, the company has set up an agenda that works towards the goods of meeting that

end goal they want.

While this is a long stretch to get to, the implementation of this Framework shows that

the company has a strong drive to reach the goal and also ensure that they are gauging

effectiveness along the way. Again, there must be a connection back to the sense that the data is

not there to support this evaluation system increasing student achievement. The company is

seeing that the use of the Framework works for teachers, but it also requires a lot out of teachers.
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If they are ensuring that all of the teachers are following this Framework, working towards goals

of being effective, then they must ensure that this looks the same across the board. Teachers with

more experience should still be able to demonstrate higher levels of effectiveness over the newer

teachers.

The political side of the Framework has developed politics inside the school. When

looking at various schools including the inner-city schools, it is hard to achieve the results the

company is looking for on effectiveness. It takes a lot to teach and be effective, but teachers must

work towards the goal of student achievement every day, no matter what other small resistances

they many have to the area. Bolman and Deal (2013) explain that “Organizations are lively

arenas for internal politics” (p. 231). The schools are going to do what they need to do in order to

ensure that they are achieving high success rates. In order to do this, there must be politics that

follow the individual schools. The inner-city schools are working towards staying off of the

Focus School list, and they are also working on building their reputation in the community. The

internal politics play a huge role in gauging effectiveness of teachers and the effectiveness of the

school.

Symbolic Frame

There are many symbols that are represented in the education system today. Whether they

are the traditional symbol such as an apple representing teaching/teachers or the symbolic sense

of looking at work ethic between older generations and the current generation, the symbols in

education have a plethora of meanings. When looking at the effectiveness of teachers and

implementing the company’s Classroom Framework, one cannot look past the symbols

represented in these topics.

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Bolman and Deal (2013) clarify that “Symbols carry powerful intellectual and emotional

messages; they speak to both the mind and the heart” (p. 243). This is a powerful quote to

understand because teachers and administrators have come to learn that the one of the most

important symbols in education is a number. It is the number that represents each seat taken in

the classroom, each score every child has earned, and every data point that counts on an

evaluation. Numbers have become symbolic of teacher’s effectiveness. This is very hazmat for

teachers in today’s classrooms. Teachers are now being rated on what the numbers, their

symbols, represent.

The Data Quality Campaign (2010) states “Central to this agenda are developing robust

longitudinal data systems, and increasing the effectiveness of educators to improve student

achievement” (p. 2). This is primarily true when looking at the Framework and the symbol it

represents. The company’s Classroom Framework is being utilized to measure data and the use

of data to correspond with the effectiveness of the teacher being evaluated. In order to go along

with the points made in the article from Data Quality Campaign (2010), the company has put

their plan in play that gauges effectiveness based on the test scores of students and how those test

scores prompt the teacher to plan and teach. Student achievement should be driving instruction in

the classroom throughout the day.

When looking at this company and the schools in the company, one can see that there is a

wide range of symbols across the board. Some schools are constantly in the green showing vast

amounts of student achievement. There are other schools that show mixed data and have many

colors represented on their reports. These numbers and colors symbolize not necessarily teacher

effectiveness, but they represent challenges in the classrooms. This Classroom Framework is

supposed to be a tool to help eliminate these challenges. When an administrator walks into a
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classroom, he/she should be able to see evidence of teacher effectiveness in that visit. This

evidence then helps him/her process and understand how achievement is ranked in the

classroom.

This Classroom Framework is a symbol for the school and the company as well. The

Framework represents the progress the company is expecting to make over the next few years to

achieve their goals. It is used in the sense that the symbol provides information through each

school. It is a process monitoring tool and symbol. The company is able to look at each school

and track the data that is being collected. In a sense, the symbol is being used as a symbol for

other purposes. The Framework is a symbol representing the goal and map to get there, and then

the symbol is representing what is taking place in the schools. Each symbol has its own meaning

and its own way of representing the data that is needed.

When taking this symbol and looking at how it is being utilized to gauge effectiveness of

teachers, one must understand the following from Bolman and Deal (2013), “An organization’s

culture is revealed and communicated through its symbols” (p. 248). This company has a goal

that it is trying to achieve. In order to achieve this goal, one of the symbols the company has put

in place is a tool that will rate teachers on effectiveness. The symbol will then help rate the

culture in the school by looking at classrooms and leadership.

Culture is one-fourth of the Framework. Teachers are ranked on the culture of their

classrooms and how well they have developed the climate. Twenty-five percent of the evaluation

is looking at how effective a teacher establishes a positive climate in his/her classroom. This

symbol and data then goes back and represents how well the school, and overall the company,

has developed climate and culture.

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It is important that while we are gauging the effectiveness of teachers and administrators

in this category that we look at the diversity and makeup of the group. Bolman and Deal (2013)

explain “Diversity among the group’s other top engineers was evident in specialty as well as

personality” (p. 275). This is important to understand when gauging effectiveness with teachers.

The diversity of the group will explain why the teacher has certain routines in place. The

evaluating admin should be able to see this, and then in turn it should be used as a way to rate the

teacher. Overall, the symbols represented from the Framework show that effectiveness is a

symbol of who is successful in their practices, and who needs more coaching to become more

successful in teaching.

Another important symbol to understand in education in the present is the difference in

work ethics between older generations like generation X and the Baby Boomer generation

compared to that of the newer generation, the Millennials. So often there are articles out that the

Millennials have poor work ethics and are too needy. News Sites report on how the Millennials

need rewards and recognition for every small thing that they participate in and complete.

However, most often than not, there is nothing that reflects on the positive aspects of the

changing field of education and the impact that the generation gap has created.

The older generations, such as Gen X and Baby Boomers, do not have the same skills in

technology as the Millennials. One subtopic that teachers are rated on is technology

incorporation in lessons and in the classroom. Many older teachers do not possess the same skills

as the younger generation. This has helped with the development of technology in the classroom

to help prepare the students for the world they will be living in after they graduate. On the flip

side, the older generations possess many skills that the younger generation need to gain or
GAUGING EFFECTIVENESS THROUGH A CLASSROOM FRAMEWORK 20

improve on as well. The younger generation must not only rely on technology as tools but must

rely on older ways of teaching to help with student achievement.

It is important that every member involved in the schools and company understand the

other side’s ethics and what is important to each of them. Zemke, Raines, and Filipczak (1999)

explain “Each generation has a unique perspective on the world of work” (p. 48). This is

important for all educators and administrators to understand about each other. If the other side

does not understand where each other may be coming from, then there is bound to be conflict,

and this is not where the Framework is trying to go. The Framework and the generation gap are

two symbols that represent one commonality, ensure student achievement is at the forefront of

every educator and administrator in the school. No matter age or years of experience, one should

be effective to prove that he/she is doing all he/she can to prepare his/her students for

tomorrow’s world.

By looking at this symbolic item or generational gaps, one can see that while there are

pros and cons to both sides, in order to achieve an effective rating, both sides must learn from

each other. The Framework does not disenfranchise someone who is younger with less

experience or less of a work ethic, and it does not automatically mean that someone with more

experience will get a higher effective ranking either. This Framework represents and symbolizes

the practices of the teacher in the room being observed. It is a tool that is being seen as a

continuous improvement guide. Not every teacher is going to be rated effective every time

he/she is observed, but the Framework should be used to ensure that teachers, no matter what

their age/years of experience, is doing all they can to ensure student achievement is at the

forefront of every decision being made in the classroom and school.

GAUGING EFFECTIVENESS THROUGH A CLASSROOM FRAMEWORK 21

When looking at this topic as a whole, Zemke, Raines, and Filipczak (1999) explain it

best “Assume the best about people” (p. 54). No matter how many years of experience, the age

or gender of a teacher, administrators must assume that each person involved in the school is

there for the same reason, to help prepare the students for the future as well as working towards

making the school a well-known establishment. Using this Classroom Framework and gauging

teacher effectiveness are ways of measuring how well the staff is doing working towards this

common goal.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Overall, the company’s Classroom Framework is a tool that is effective in gauging

teacher effectiveness. The tool has its flaws, but overall with some minor adjustments, this

Framework could be something that builds strong school culture and a stronger name for the

company involved. When looking at the Framework and Bolman and Deal’s Four Frames, one

can see that the Framework is connected to each Frame.

The structural component is there in the Framework, but the company must figure out

how it is ensuring that every teacher is meeting the effective rating and promoting student

achievement in every decision. In order to do this, teachers who are hired after the school year

has begun must be given opportunities to observe teammates and other teachers in the school

who exemplify the effective/highly effective ratings. This should occur over the course of the

trimester the new teacher was hired in to ensure the teacher is being set up for success in his/her

room. Other teachers who are in developing and ineffective can pick an area of growth to focus

on in a time period. Over the course of the next school year, Professional Development

opportunities should be offered to teachers in these rating levels in order to ensure adequate

training and modeling is taking place to help these teachers become more effective. While
GAUGING EFFECTIVENESS THROUGH A CLASSROOM FRAMEWORK 22

working on that focus area, these teachers could observe teacher leader classrooms as well as

observe other teachers who are demonstrating effective and highly effective ratings.

With the Human Resource frame, the Framework is a tool measuring effectiveness, but

there must be more focus on the candidates being considered and why he/she is being considered

for the job. As well, administration should be focused on how the implementation of the

evaluation system is being implemented and how it is being implemented the same across all

grade levels. Deans and other members of the leadership team could attend trainings and

developments in the school and company that allow them to collaborate with peers to observe

and discuss ratings for the observed classrooms. This would allow for there to be more

consistency not just in the school but also in the company. Throughout the rest of the school

year, deans should complete duo observations with another dean. After both deans have taken

notes, the deans should meet to discuss commonalities and differences to decide on an agreeing

rating. Along with the leadership team working on improving and collaborating together to

improve the system, teachers should be given time to collaborate with each other more and

observe classrooms that would help the teachers gain more insight into what teaching looks like

at an effective/highly effective area. There should be set times in the schedule during staff

meetings, following the first and last observations, in order for staff and teachers to meet with

deans and leadership as well as other teachers to discuss questions, comments, and concerns

about the evaluation system.

The political side of this analysis is strong because the Framework is meeting the criteria;

however, cuts in education and spending put a damper on how much money is being paid to

teachers and staff. In order to balance the cuts and minimize the effects of the cuts, schools must

create partnerships with local colleges and universities that would build connections for student
GAUGING EFFECTIVENESS THROUGH A CLASSROOM FRAMEWORK 23

teachers. By the spring of next year, the principal should establish at least one new connection

with a college/university in the area to help start building connections with student teachers and

students needing educational hours. This would have a double effect because the schools would

be getting additional help, along with not having to pay for it, and the student teachers would

have exposure to the evaluation system and expectations of the school. Eventually, it could lead

to the student wanting to work in the school or district/company. By building these partnerships

as well, the school and/or company would be able to take part in workshops and professional

development where they could discuss the Framework and evaluation system.

Finally, the Symbolic Frame represents so much in education, and it is important that the

Classroom Framework be viewed as a positive symbol that represents the growth of the school

and company. In order to achieve this growth, the administration team should work to create

goals about how to increase the number of effective/highly effective teachers in the school.

These goals should be developed and reviewed on a regular schedule just as the students have

report cards on a regular schedule. This should begin by the third trimester this year, and then

should be a scheduled occurrence starting next school year. Teachers should focus on an area to

begin with and focus on that focus area. Once he/she has reached his/her goal in that area, then

he/she picks another area to focus on and continues this process. This would hold the

administration team accountable for growing and coaching their team members to achieve

effective/highly effective ratings. As well, it would hold teachers accountable for their ratings as

well. When evaluation time comes around, it would be a good thing for the school to celebrate

how many teachers are in the effective and highly effective areas. In order to do this, the schools

should start off by focusing on one part of the Framework. Celebrate the successes and gains
GAUGING EFFECTIVENESS THROUGH A CLASSROOM FRAMEWORK 24

gained throughout the months in between evaluation times. Then at the end of the year, the staff

could celebrate growths and goals accomplished.

Using Bolman and Deal’s Reframing Organizations (2013) as a tool of reference has

helped identify these areas of concern and areas of possible improvement. Bolman and Deal

(2013) made a very good point explaining “Many change efforts are jumps backwards rather

than steps forward” (p. 372). This is important in understanding these recommendations and plan

of action. While implementing these changes, the company must make sure that the changes are

going to be effectively used. Teachers, leadership, and stakeholders must understand “Why?” the

changes are about to happen. There must be a time frame to follow that introduces the staff to the

upcoming changes, and finally there must be buy-in. If the company throws everything on the

school leadership team and teachers all at once, then there will be major failures. In order to

avoid the backward steps, the company must think through how they want to implement the

changes, and then prioritize the changes in order to introduce them to the schools as a way of

change that promotes teacher success.

The Data Quality Campaign (2010) also helped guide these possible implementations.

Linking successful teachers and successful students is something that is imperative. If schools

and in specific the schools of this company are going to continue to work towards being

successful and having the best name in the charter schools around the country, then they must

ensure that they have the most effective teachers in front of every student. One way to help the

teachers is by using common practices. Data Quality Campaign (2010) explained “Incorporate

common practices found in schools, including virtual classes, labs and team teaching” (p.1).

Common practices are going to ensure that the effective teachers are helping the teachers rated

ineffective and developing to become more effective. Using the practices that they learn about in
GAUGING EFFECTIVENESS THROUGH A CLASSROOM FRAMEWORK 25

other classrooms, will ensure that these teachers are learning new and different ways to teach

students.

In order to overcome the problems stated at the beginning of this analysis, lack of data

that supports the use of the company adapted version of the framework closing the achievement

gap, years of seniority impacting effectiveness, and the lack of the Company’s qualified

candidates, the company must build upon what it has already. It must use schools who are doing

an effective job with hiring effective teachers and promoting student achievement to serve as

model schools. It must provide a way for teachers to observe what is taking place in these

schools to bring back ideas to their own classrooms and schools. The same standards must be

held for every teacher no matter age or years of experience. No matter what classroom an

administrator walks into, the same expectations are there, and if they are not there, then that

teacher must be coached on how he/she should improve his/her practices. Finally, there must be

more advocates for preserving the educational budget and advocating for teachers. These cuts

need to stop, and there need to be advocates that are advocating for the education system. If there

continue to be cuts, there will be fewer and fewer ways to promote the schools to teachers who

need jobs. There will be less ways to make the schools look like quality schools without the

money being there or the incentive to be there to promote that the teachers are trying their

hardest (day in and day out) every day they come to work.
GAUGING EFFECTIVENESS THROUGH A CLASSROOM FRAMEWORK 26

References

Bolman, L.G. & Deal, T.E. ( 2013). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership,

5th ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Effectively linking teacher and student data: The key to improving teacher quality. (2010).

().Data Quality Campaign. 1250 H Street NW Suite 825, Washington, DC 20005.

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Mead, S. (2012). Recent state action on teacher effectiveness: What's in state laws and

regulations? ().Bellwether Education Partners, e-mail:

contactus@bellwethereducationorg; Web site: http://bellwethereducationorg.

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Medley, D. M. (1971). Indicators and measures of teacher effectiveness: A review of the

research

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