Building a Valid TSDL

The path to valid data links between students and educators begins with clear, unambiguous definitions of the terms involved. Without a common definition or understanding, any conclusions about teacher effectiveness are open to interpretation or doubt. Terms such as teacher of record or class roster often have no common definition from state to state, or even from school district to school district.

Just as the current Common Core State Standards work is establishing a consistent, clear understanding of what students nationwide are expected to learn, the TSDL Project is developing a framework to define the basic concepts, including teacher of record (TOR) and class roster verification, that will establish a common understanding of those terms.