Evaluating Special Education Teachers’ Classroom Performance: Rater Reliability at the Rubric Item Level

Classroom observations are an integral component of teacher evaluation systems, but little is known about who is best qualified to observe and evaluate special educators, who have a specialized skillset, and whether observation instruments adequately reflect their instructional practices. In this study, 19 special education teachers in California and Idaho each contributed three video-recorded classroom lessons. Using rubric items designed to...