1.3 Classroom On-Task

1.3 Classroom On-Task: The majority of students were on task throughout the class.

This indicator measures the proportion of time students in the class remained engaged in the day's learning activities. On-task behavior can include students participating in the lesson by asking questions and paying attention during a lecture, participating in class or small group discussions, providing answers to teacher questions, turning in assigned class work in a timely manner, and assisting other students. The raters should note any examples of off-task behavior, such as students being engaged in off-topic conversations, writing notes/text messages, putting their heads on the table, or doing work for another class. The usual benchmark used for this indicator is that if 75% of students appeared to be on task for most of the class period, the indicator should be rated as a 3. Higher or lower overall engagement would elicit numerical ratings as described in the General Rubric.

General Rubric

1. This item should be rated a 1 if less than half (0–49%) of students were on task, on average, throughout the class period. Please weight appropriately if many students were on task for one portion of the lesson while few were on task for another portion, to obtain an overall estimate of the percentage. For this rating, there must be consistent off-task behavior that affects the majority of the class.
   
    
2. This item should be rated a 2 if at least half but less than three-quarters (50–74%) of students were on task, on average, throughout the class period. There were regular instances of off-task behavior that lasted for several minutes in this classroom.
   
    
3. This item should be rated a 3 if around three-quarters (75%) of students were on task, on average, throughout the class period. There were some instances off-task behavior that lasted for no more than a few minutes in this classroom.
   
    
4. This item should be rated a 4 if more than three-quarters (75–90%) of the students were on task, on average, throughout the class period. There were only occasional instances of off-task behavior in the classroom, and/or there were only a couple students who were not fully participating in the lesson on occasion.
   
    
5. This item should be rated a 5 if most or all (90–100%) of the students were on task and engaged throughout the lesson. There were rare or no instances of off-task behavior in this classroom.

Specific Examples of Supporting Evidence

1. The majority of the students (more than 75%) were not on task throughout the class. Many students were being disruptive, fighting, yelling things across the room, moving around the room to socialize, having off-topic conversations, and sleeping or listening to music at their desks. There was one point when only three students were writing their answers on the worksheet while all of the other students were off task. Students in one corner of the room were making phone calls throughout the class period.
   
    
2. There were a number of instances of off-task behavior in this classroom. Many students (more than 50%) did not seem to be attempting the warm up at first, but as the class session progressed, the number of students on task increased to approximately 70% for several minutes. However, students were repeatedly observed stopping productive work to socialize with each other. One student was observed searching inappropriate and unrelated websites on a computer throughout the entire class period.
   
    
3. There was no significant evidence of off-task behavior, as most students (75% or more) were working productively most of the time during this lesson. The observer did note one student with her headphones on, listening to music while working independently at her desk. Not all students were observed to be copying down the teacher’s explanation of the homework problems, but this could have been because they already understood the problems.
   
    
4. The majority of the students (75–90%) were observed taking down the notes the teacher was giving, and when the class was given the opportunity to work problems at their desks, most students actively engaged in the assignment and made legitimate attempts to work the problems. The observer did not find evidence for any major off-task behavior or students refusing to participate during this activity.
   
    
5. There was not any off-task behavior observed during this class. When students were presenting their lab results and analyses of their data, their classmates were attentive and considerate, asking focused questions for clarification that showed they were paying attention. One group continued to work on their own data analysis (drawing graphs of their results) during one of the presentations, but they did this in a non-disruptive way that demonstrated their concern for finishing their assignment more than off-task behavior. All students were engaged in and thinking about the concepts and content for the length of the lesson.