Classroom observation of teachers is an important tool for education policy and research. By observing teachers in the classroom, it is possible to measure the impact of training programs and other interventions on teachers and on student learning.

Classroom observation can help education managers benchmark the performance of schools and school systems in important areas such as teachers’ use of instructional time and educational materials, student engagement, and use of best-practice teaching techniques. It can provide school directors and mentors with formative feedback for individual teachers. And for school systems moving toward performance-based promotion and compensation, classroom observation is an essential element of a comprehensive evaluation of the performance of individual teachers.

However, in order to generate useful data, classroom observations must use a standardized method and be carried out by trained observers.