What is 
?
RATE stands for Rapid Assessment of Teacher Effectiveness. It is a simple observation instrument that school administrators, mentors, and teacher educators can use. It predicts which teachers will need more support in order to be highly successful instructors. Knowing this allows school administrators to allocate support and resources where it is needed most.
What is the Project?
The RATE Project involves collaboration with researchers around the world who are contributing to the development of RATE. Currently, it includes research efforts in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Turkey. This website will present the results of these efforts as they become available.
Who is leading the Project?
RATE was conceived by Dr. Michael Strong, a senior researcher at the University of California Santa Cruz. He is directing the development of RATE with his colleague Dr. John Gargani, President of Gargani + Company, an evaluation consulting firm in Berkeley, California. John is also the 2016 President of the American Evaluation Association.
What is the research evidence for ?
Since its inception in 2008, the RATE Project has conducted seven separate validation studies of RATE that are described in an article by Gargani & Strong published by the Journal of Teacher Education in 2014. In these studies we have demonstrated that RATE is more predictive of student achievement gains than other widely-used observation measures, such as those tested in the Gates-funded Measures of Effective Teaching project. Our most recent research has tested the effectiveness of RATE with teacher candidates. We have also extended it beyond mathematics classrooms to English Language Arts and Science.
How can you help?
Start-up support was provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The completion of our work depends on the collaboration of researchers, the participation of school districts in which RATE can be pilot tested, and the financial support of funding agencies. Contact us to learn more about how you can help.