Includes bibliographical references (p. 239-245) and index

The challenge : closing the achievement gap -- Supervision and evaluation : why we need a new approach -- Mini-observations 1 : a system is born -- Mini-observations 2 : suggested best practices -- Curriculum design : the foundation of good teaching -- Interim assessments : using results to continuously improve instruction -- Rubrics : potent, time-efficient evaluation tools -- Time management : doing first things first -- Putting it all together

In this important book, education expert Kim Marshall shows how to break away from the typical and often ineffective evaluation approaches in which principals use infrequent classroom visits or rely on standardized test scores to assess a teacher's performance. Marshall proposes a broader framework for supervision and evaluation that enlists teachers in improving the performance of all students.
Emphasizing trust–building and teamwork, Marshall's innovative, four–part framework shifts the focus from periodically evaluating teaching to continuously analyzing learning. This book offers school principals a guide for implementing Marshall's framework and shows how to make frequent, informal classroom visits followed by candid feedback to each teacher; work with teacher teams to plan thoughtful curriculum units rather than focusing on individual lessons; get teachers as teams involved in low–stakes analysis of interim assessment results to fine–tune their teaching and help struggling students; and use compact rubrics for summative teacher evaluation.

This vital resource also includes extensive tools and advice for managing time as well as ideas for using supervision and evaluation practices to foster teacher professional development.