4.3 Content Accuracy

4.3 Content Accuracy: Teacher written and verbal content information was accurate.

Written content information can include information provided by the teacher on tests, quizzes, worksheets, handouts, dry erase boards, PowerPoint presentations, overheads, etc. Verbal content information is anything the teacher says out loud during the class period. Since it is essential that content information be communicated in a clear, accurate, and unproblematic manner, this item assesses the teacher’s ability to provide accurate written and verbal content information.

In mathematics, an example of ambiguous or unclear written content that would be applicable to this indicator would be if the teacher used the same letter to represent two different variables in the same problem. If no errors, ambiguities, or other issues are observed in the written or verbal content information of the lesson, this indicator should be rated as a 5. If there are errors with the written or verbal content of the lesson, the rating for this indicator may be reduced based on the severity of the violation of content accuracy and/or the level of ambiguity. When considering worksheets, it does not matter whether teachers actually wrote the content information themselves; they are responsible for the accuracy and clarity of the written content communicated during the class period. This indicator does not include written content in a textbook. As shown on the rubric, it is important to note whether the mistake was caught and corrected when determining a rating.

General Rubric

1. This item should be rated a 1 if there was a major instance of incorrect written or verbal content information communicated by the teacher that was not corrected, and this mistake had a large negative impact on student learning.
   
    
2. This item should be rated a 2 if there was a major instance of incorrect written or verbal content information that the teacher caught and corrected, or if there were a number of minor written or verbal content mistakes, inconsistencies, and/or ambiguities that negatively impacted learning.
   
    
3. This item should be rated a 3 if there were minor written or verbal content issues, and the teacher did not correct or catch all of them.
   
    
4. This item should be rated a 4 if there were only minor content mistakes or ambiguities that were corrected by the teacher.
   
    
5. This item should be rated a 5 if there were no examples of incorrect or ambiguous written or verbal content information communicated by the teacher during the class period.

Specific Examples of Supporting Evidence

1. During the observation, the teacher wrote the equation for the slope of a linear function as the change in x divided by the change in y, and then worked the problem set on the board using this formula.
   
    
2. The teacher made one major mistake on the board that was eventually caught. When a student brought it up, the teacher seemed to know what the student was talking about and was then willing to address the mistake.
   
    
3. The teacher gave the students a handout with problems that she immediately realized did not correspond to the day's objectives and then attempted to alter the problems. The alterations had some mistakes in them, and the students were left confused, as these mistakes were not noticed.
   
    
4. There was a mistake in the test review where the teacher had written out the answers to the problems and had written the wrong letter. The teacher corrected this mistake with the class, and all other written content information was accurate.
   
    
5. The examples the teacher worked on the board were correct. The handouts were clear and well organized. There were no examples of written inaccuracies during this lesson.