Best Practices for Feedback Loops in Evaluations

One of my biggest learnings from leading summer professional development for teachers? If you want a culture of feedback, you have to intentionally do so. The first step is to have short and sweet surveys (daily for summer PD, weekly thereafter). Most leaders do this. But to ensure the survey truly builds a culture of feedback and continuous improvement, I've learned three things: ✅ Ask focused questions. Simply, we get the data that we ask for. Ask both about the content and the general format of PD. For content, a few questions can be: What is one practice you are excited to try?; What is one thing you remain unclear on? What is one thing you know you will need further support on? For format, a simple Keep-Start-Stop can be super helpful. ✅ Review the data with your leadership team- This will allow you to process the feedback, add any additional color based on observations, and design a game plan. This can include differentiating groups, shifting a summer PD schedule or changing up future case studies and role plays to better address where the team is at. During the year, it will help you focus your observations. ✅ Respond to the feedback-It's not enough to make changes to the day based on the feedback. If you are giving people surveys, you must discuss the trends you saw and address these so that folks know they are being heard. Articulate how you are shifting things or if you can't, address where concerns or confusions will be addressed. When folks hear how their feedback is being heard they are more likely to be honest in the future. For concerns or feedback that only 1 or 2 folks have? Follow up individually. The time invested early on will pay dividends later. I know these tips don't only apply to school leaders, though Summer PD is definitely top of my mind. What are your tips and 1% solutions in building a culture of feedback and continuous improvement?

In almost every school I've ever visited, the issue isn't the teachers. It's not the leaders. And it's definitely not the kids. But here's the reality in too many schools: inconsistent instruction, stagnant student achievement, frustrated teachers, and overwhelmed leaders. That story was no different in a network of 7 schools we've been working with this year. But it's not the story now. Let me share what we did, not because I think it's magic, but because I think anyone can do it. Here's what we did: 1. Defined the vision for every block of the day: We mapped out what excellence looked like in every key instructional block: - What should an effective reading lesson look like? - What are non-negotiables in math instruction? - How do we leverage history to build background knowledge? - How does science become high rigor and high engagement? - What does student engagement actually look like, sound like, and feel like when we walk into any space in the school? That level of clarity removed guesswork for teachers and gave leaders a shared framework for observations. 2. Every teacher was coached, every week. - Short, focused observations (15-20 minutes, not full-period evaluations) - Immediate, actionable feedback on one key lever, not a laundry list of suggestions - Weekly one-on-one coaching meetings held sacred 3. Set weekly goals to measure progress: Instead of waiting for benchmark assessments, we built simple, weekly indicators of progress: - Are students engaged in learning in every block of the day? - Are students getting plenty of time to independently practice? - Are math exit tickets showing mastery of the lesson objective? - Are teachers implementing feedback from the last coaching session? Small wins led to big momentum. A narrow focus helped teachers and leaders stop feeling like they were doing the most and not seeing any progress. 4. Action planning based on data: No more “data meetings” that were just numbers on a slide. - We reviewed student work together, identified breakdowns, and built immediate next steps. - Teachers left each meeting with a plan they could apply the next day, not vague goals for next quarter. The results: Student proficiency increased by double digits in both reading and math benchmarks within one year. Teachers felt more supported and reported higher confidence in their instruction. Leaders shifted from putting out fires to proactively coaching and driving instructional improvement. If your school or network is struggling with initiative overload, the answer isn’t more programs. It’s more clarity. And the discipline to do some simple things really, really well.

A pattern all too familiar in American schools: The more influence your position holds, the less feedback you get on the core work of your role. Students get more feedback than teachers. Teachers get more feedback than Assistant Principals. APs get more feedback than principals. Principals get a teeny tiny bit of real job-focused feedback, and nobody actually observes the quality of the work of the principal manager/superintendent. There are schools out there breaking this cycle. At Tulsa Legacy Charter School last week, I observed classes with principal Bri Brinkley and her leadership team. Bri led her team to score these lessons on a simple rubric ... and to then name the precise praise, gap, and action step for each lesson. I gave Bri real-time feedback on leading this walkthrough, sharpening her (already strong) instructional vision and walkthrough leadership. (Picture 1) Then, Bri and I planned and practiced a coaching meeting for one of the teachers we observed that she directly coaches. (We used a shared Google doc to plan.) Through lots of sparring on the plan and multiple rounds of practice, Bri went to the "leader gym" and quickly got better. (Picture 2) Then, Bri did the same thing for her APs. Bri led them through planning and practicing a coaching meeting for a teacher they observed, with each AP "working out" through multiple rounds of practice. Later that day (or the next day), the leaders all led practice-based coaching meetings with their teachers. They reversed the troubling feedback trend. The principal got the MOST feedback, then the APs, then the teachers. It's just one reason why Bri's school and others that embrace a culture of feedback -- for leaders, teachers, and students -- are making real progress while others stagnate.