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Abstract Research on teachers' judgment accuracy has focused on teacher judgments of single student characteristics. We analyzed differences in teachers' judgment accuracy concerning students with consistent and inconsistent cognitive and socio-emotional profiles (i.e., profiles of cognitive abilities, self-concept, motivation, and anxiety). Based on test scores and self-reports of N = 743 students, we identified one inconsistent and two consistent profiles. Judgments of N = 43 teachers yielded only three consistent student profiles, indicating that teachers perceived student profiles to be more consistent than they really were. Contrary to our expectations, teachers' judgments were not more accurate for consistent student profiles. Highlights • Prior research has investigated teacher judgments concerning single student characteristics. • Because teachers perceive many student characteristics at the same time, it is important to investigate students' profiles. • We studied actual and perceived consistency of student profiles in relation to teachers' judgment accuracy. • Teachers perceived student profiles as being more consistent than indicated by measured student characteristics. • Contrary to our expectations, teachers' judgments were not more accurate for consistent student profiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In this article, we present a new model of teachers' assessment competence. The model is based on the educational competence concept, thus defining competences to be context-specific, learnable cognitive dispositions that are needed to successfully cope with specific situations. Integrating research on assessment processes, practices, and products, we specify the range of situations our model applies to, and discuss how its elements may become involved and measurable in a variable assessment process. The model aims to inspire future integrative research on the description, explanation, prediction, and promotion of teachers' assessments in various situations. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • A new conceptual model on teachers' assessment competence is introduced. • Competence, as its base, is a learnable situation-specific cognitive disposition. • The model integrates research on assessment processes, practices, and products. • We discuss how its elements become measurable in a variable assessment process. • The model aims to inspire integrative research on assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teachers differ considerably in their judgment accuracy of motivational student characteristics. Thus far, only few investigations have focused on explaining these differences. In this study, we investigated to what extent groups of characteristics (i.e., student, information, teacher, and class characteristics) derived from the Realistic Accuracy Model ( Funder, 1995 ) are relevant for explaining differences in teachers' judgment accuracy regarding students' school-related self-concept and autonomous motivation. Data from 1239 students and 341 teachers were analyzed using a Bayesian cross-classified multi-level modeling approach. Our analyses showed that variance in teacher judgments is largely due to variation at the level of judgments and less due to variation in the slope (i.e., the accuracy of teacher judgments). Teachers' judgment accuracy varied to a comparable degree across teachers and classes. Significant determinants for these differences were teachers' subject and students' grade point average. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teaching-related motivations are often assumed to influence teaching quality; however, the empirical evidence regarding the directionality of such influences is scarce. The present study thus examined the reciprocal links between teaching-related motivations (self-efficacy and enthusiasm for teaching) and student-reported teaching quality (classroom management, learning support, and cognitive activation). Two-level cross-lagged panel analyses across three time points (with an initial sample of 165 secondary-level mathematics teachers and their 4273 students) revealed no significant cross-lagged effects when teachers' stable inter-individual differences are taken into account. Our findings suggest that teachers' motivations are remarkably stable over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers use various classroom observation frameworks and instruments to assess teaching quality. This jeopardizes the development of a comprehensive and cumulative understanding of teaching quality. Promoting collaboration between the proponents of different frameworks could help remedy the situation. For this special issue we offered three groups of researchers, each representing a different framework category (content-generic, content-specific, and hybrid), a chance to collaborate, and this paper summarizes and discusses the ideas which emerged. There were significant overlaps between the groups, but also notable differences in how even frameworks in the same category conceptualized, operationalized, and measured teaching quality. These differences have implications for research and practice. They also highlight the need for developing and using frameworks that synthesize across existing teaching-quality work. Using MAIN-Teach as an example, we reflect on the possibilities and limits of such frameworks and outline directions for advancing work on developing such frameworks in the future. • Comparing frameworks facilitates rich collective discussions on teaching quality. • Differences found within and across categories of classroom observation frameworks. • Differences matter for research and formative/summative evaluation purposes. • Both single and synthesized frameworks are needed and can serve different purposes. • Conceptualization warrants notable attention in developing (synthesized) frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Judging students' academic self-concepts accurately is assumed to be a necessary condition for adaptive classroom instruction. Previous studies found moderate correlations between teachers' judgements and the self-reported self-concepts. Reference values for interpreting these correlations are missing. In the present study, self–other agreements with a zero-acquaintance premise (see Ambady & Rosenthal, 1992) were proposed as such a reference value. A total of 88 teachers judged the self-concepts of their own students. Additionally, 97 persons judged students' self-concepts based on 30-second videos of the students. Intra-individual correlations were calculated between judgements and actual self-concepts. The analyses showed that agreements in the natural classroom setting and in a zero-acquaintance setting both displayed generally moderate correlations and did not differ significantly from one another. Based on the results, the accuracy of teachers in judging students' self-concepts is considered to be low. Possible reasons for the low accuracy of teachers' judgement accuracy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Observer ratings are often used to measure instructional quality. They are, however, usually based on observations gathered over short periods of time. Few studies have attempted to determine whether these periods are sufficient to provide reliable measures of instructional quality. Using generalizability theory, this study investigates (a) how three dimensions of instructional quality – classroom management, personal learning support, and cognitive activation of students – vary between the lessons of a specific teacher, and (b) how many lessons per teacher are necessary to establish sufficiently reliable measures of these dimensions. Analyses are based on ratings of five lessons for 38 teachers. Classroom management and personal learning support were stable across lessons, whereas cognitive activation showed high variability. Consequently, one lesson per teacher suffices to measure classroom management and personal learning support, whereas nine lessons would be needed for cognitive activation. The importance of advancing our theoretical understanding of cognitive activation is discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Despite considerable interest in the topic of instructional quality in research as well as practice, little is known about the quality of its assessment. Using generalizability analysis as well as content analysis, the present study investigates how reliably and validly instructional quality is measured by observer ratings. Twelve trained raters judged 57 videotaped lesson sequences with regard to aspects of domain-independent instructional quality. Additionally, 3 of these sequences were judged by 390 untrained raters (i.e., student teachers and teachers). Depending on scale level and dimension, 16–44% of the variance in ratings could be attributed to instructional quality, whereas rater bias accounted for 12–40% of the variance. Although the trained raters referred more often to aspects considered essential for instructional quality, this was not reflected in the reliability of their ratings. The results indicate that observer ratings should be treated in a more differentiated manner in the future. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Scholarly collaboration can help accumulate knowledge on teaching quality. • Five challenges impeding such collaboration are identified and discussed. • Some possible solutions for addressing each of them are offered. • Offering incentives for such collaborative work is emphasised. • Striking a balance between inclusivity and group functionality is highlighted. Given the need to develop common frameworks for conceptualizing teaching quality and common instruments for measuring it, the current paper brings together a small group of interested scholars who have used generic, content-specific, and hybrid frameworks and classroom observation instruments to reflect on how collaboration can be enhanced in research on teaching quality. Five categories of challenges that inhere in such collaborative work are identified and discussed: establishing common goals and agendas; resolving differences in terminology and structure; addressing issues of operationalization and measurement; dealing with insufficient transparency and the need for sharing information; and attending to issues of limited funding. We also offer some possible solutions for dealing with these challenges. These solutions are envisioned to contribute toward moving the field forward by supporting more scholarly collaborations in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Systematic scholarly discussions and collaborations on teaching quality are needed. • This special issue offers a forum for fostering such discussions and collaborations. • A model taking stock of existing work is offered to facilitate these discussions. Several frameworks and models have been developed to conceptualize teaching quality. Despite their merits, the field seems to be lacking a common language and structure in how teaching quality is delineated. This special issue argues that progress can be made in this respect by fostering focused discussions and collaborations among scholars working on teaching quality. In this introductory paper, we first consider some initial steps made to examine teaching quality more collectively, discuss the importance of intensifying this effort, identify related challenges, and consider ideas for addressing them. Then, we outline a format for collaboration which brings developers together to discuss and reflect upon their work and present a model which can provide a platform for such focused discussions. The approach undertaken in this special issue to facilitate collaborative discussions among three groups of scholars is presented, alongside the guiding questions and the empirical data considered in the following papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teacher judgment accuracy is assumed to be positively related to student achievement; however, the empirical evidence for this assumption is inconclusive. Using two accuracy indicators measured at different levels (class/teacher- and student-level), we examined the theoretically hypothesized effects of judgment accuracy on German language achievement over a three-year period, and tested whether teaching quality mediates these effects. We applied multilevel mediation models and small sample methods to data from 35 language teachers and 646 students from 42 classes. While no mediating effects were found, the student-level indicator positively predicted achievement, suggesting that student-level accuracy measures should receive more attention. • Investigated whether teaching quality mediates effects of teacher accuracy on student achievement via different pathways. • Supplemented an established class-level accuracy measure (i.e., rank component) with a student-level measure. • Examined effects of teacher accuracy over a long period of three school years. • Underestimation was related to lower achievement and less favorable views of teaching practices regarding consolidation. • None of the examined mediation pathways was statistically significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achievement goal research often differentiates performance approach from performance avoidance goal orientations. On a conceptual level, both performance goal orientations are supposedly founded in a shared normative evaluation standard, and two diverging goal valence dimensions (approach/avoidance). The aim of this article is to put this dimensional model to the test. In a first cross-sectional study ( n = 321 pre-service teachers), we extracted all three underlying dimensions from items measuring performance goal orientations and successfully validated them with corresponding dispositional constructs (reference norm, regulatory focus). In a second longitudinal study ( n = 1290 secondary school students), we showed that the extracted dimensions are meaningfully associated with antecedents (perceived competence, perceived competitiveness) and consequences (performance anxiety, interest) of performance goal orientations. The result pattern of both studies shows that a dimensional approach can explain the characteristic associations of performance goal orientations to antecedents and outcome variables as well as their interdependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This systematic literature review was conducted in order to further the understanding of how learning processes act as mediators between teaching quality and student achievement. Eighteen quantitative studies were included for analysis. In 24 of 53 mediation paths (45%) learning processes were identified and confirmed as mediators and in 29 mediation paths (55%) non-significant mediating effects were found. The complexity of the included studies' context, methodology, conceptualization, and operationalization posed challenges for a quantitative synthesis. The findings provide some initial ideas for how to better design future research into indirect effects of teaching quality. • Indirect effects of teaching quality on student achievement are mixed. • The use and understanding of the constructs strongly differs across studies. • Further research should analyze specific teaching quality dimensions and mediators. • Collaborative work can reduce complexity while building synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study used an integrated theoretical approach to investigate teacher motivation and its influence on teaching quality. Drawing on Expectancy-Value-Theory and Achievement-Goal-Theory, a person-centered approach was used to investigate how multiple characteristics (i.e., self-efficacy, enthusiasm, and goal orientation) combined to form teachers' motivational profiles. The profiles were then analyzed to see if there was a link to teaching quality. Latent profile analysis for 156 secondary-level mathematics teachers identified three motivational profiles which differed only in their performance goals: low performance goal-oriented (49%), high performance goal-oriented (38%), and high performance-avoidance goal-oriented (13%). Multilevel path analysis showed that motivational profile membership was not significantly related to student-rated teaching quality when baseline teaching quality was controlled (N = 1497 available on both measurement points). The findings revealed that the link between teacher motivation and teaching quality was less clear than expected. Possible reasons for the results are discussed. • Latent profile analysis was used for identifying teachers' motivational profiles. • Teachers' motivational profiles mainly differed regarding their performance goals. • An integrated theoretical approach on teacher motivation indicated no added value. • Profile membership did not predict change in teaching quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correction is presented to the article "Content-specificity of teachers' judgment accuracy regarding students' academic achievement."

Teachers' accuracy in judging students' achievement is often assumed to be a general ability of teachers. Based on this assumption, teachers should be at least consistent in their accuracy across different content domains within a school subject. Yet, this assumption has rarely been investigated empirically so far. Data from 54 mathematics teachers (N = 1170 students) and 55 language teachers (N = 1255 students) were analysed using a Bayesian multivariate multilevel modelling approach. Results indicate that latent accuracy measures across content domains indeed are substantially correlated within both investigated subjects, but may still be considered to represent different dimensions. • Explored content-specificity of teachers' judgment accuracy in mathematics and German language class. • Modelled accuracy and the relationships between content domains simultaneously. • Used Bayesian multivariate multilevel models with latent predictor variables. • Found low to medium average judgment accuracy in all content domains. • Content domains were substantially correlated, yet empirically distinguishable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]