Just four little grades: 1,2,3 or 4?

Teacher observation takes on a myriad of forms and serves a multitude of purposes. Within UK further education (FE) colleges, lesson observations play a vital role in monitoring a college’s provision for the purpose of its annual self-assessment report; this in turn lays the foundations for its overarching quality improvement strategies. This short ‘thought piece’ identifies some of the current problems with the system of observing and grading teachers within UK FE colleges as viewed by a lecturer in teacher education for in-service teacher training programmes. Problems include observation validity, grading consistencies and teacher anxieties. It poses questions of observation reporting and whether what is seen by observers is a true reflection of a teacher’s practice. Furthermore, it considers some of the wider unseen consequences and implications that being observed can create. It concludes with the notion that more research needs undertaking if teachers and observers are to fully appreciate, celebrate and learn from observations.