Evaluating special education teachers with the Danielson Framework

A special education teacher carries a caseload as well as a classroom. IEP development and compliance, specially designed instruction, progress monitoring, co-teaching in someone else classroom, and supervising paraprofessionals.

A general classroom rubric scores the teaching and silently ignores the caseload, which is often the larger and more legally consequential half of the job.

What we provide

A rubric written for this role on the same four-domain structure your administrators already use, in both the 2013 and 2022 editions.

• Components cover IEP quality and compliance, not only lesson delivery
• Co-teaching can be observed without the rubric assuming sole control of the room
• Evidence can come from IEP meetings and progress data, not only scheduled visits
• Caseload management is visible in the evaluation rather than invisible

The rubric derives from Danielson consulting work published by state education agencies. The 2022 edition is our own.

The 2022 rubric at a glance

26 components across 5 domains, written for this role rather than borrowed from the classroom teacher rubric.

Planning and Preparation

• 1a Applying Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy
• 1b Knowing and Valuing Students
• 1c Setting Instructional Outcomes
• 1d Using Resources Effectively
• 1e Planning Coherent Instruction
• 1f Designing and Analyzing Assessments

Learning Environment

• 2a Cultivating Respectful and Affirming Environments
• 2b Fostering a Culture for Learning
• 2c Maintaining Purposeful Environments
• 2d Supporting Positive Student Behavior
• 2e Organizing Spaces for Learning

Learning Experiences

• 3a Communicating About Purpose and Content
• 3b Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques
• 3c Engaging Students in Learning
• 3d Using Assessment for Learning
• 3e Responding Flexibly to Student Needs

Principled Practice

• 4a Engaging in Reflective Practice
• 4b Documenting Student Progress
• 4c Engaging Families and Communities
• 4d Contributing to School Community and Culture
• 4e Growing and Developing Professionally
• 4f Acting in Service of Students

Student Performance

• 5a Constructs Appropriate Assessments
• 5b Demonstrates Appropriate Student Achievement
• 5c Demonstrates Measurable and Significant Academic Growth
• 5d Uses Data to Modify Instruction and Assessment

Each component carries level-of-performance descriptors in all four levels, written in first, second and third person so self-assessments and evaluations read correctly from the same source. Ask us for the full rubric and we will walk you through it.

More than the rubric

Evidence can come from IEP meetings and progress data, not only scheduled classroom visits. The rubric is not a document you print and fill in. It is built into software that runs the whole cycle: observations scheduled and recorded, rubric language inserted into the evaluation for you, self assessments and professional development plans running against the same rubric, and district reporting at the end of the year.

Plenty of districts already have the right rubric sitting in a filing cabinet. The work is in running the cycle with it. See how the software works → See the other 13 roles

Evaluating special education teachers this year?

Tell us how you currently handle the caseload half of the job, and we will show you what it looks like when IEP work is part of the evaluation instead of a separate conversation. If we are not the right fit for your district, we will tell you that too. Talk with us about special education evaluation →