The Conceptualization Implies the Statistical Model: Implications for Measuring Domains of Teaching Quality

Classroom observation rubrics are a widely adopted tool for measuring the quality of teaching and provide stable conceptualizations of teaching quality that facilitate empirical research. Here, we present four statistical approaches for analyzing data from classroom observations: Factor analysis, Rasch modelling, latent class or profile analysis, and formative measurement models. Each statistical model conceptualizes the latent variable differently, which may or may not align with the observation rubric’s conceptualization of teaching quality. We discuss the differences across these models, focusing the alignment between the rubric’s conceptualization of teaching quality and the model’s modelling of the latent variable. We discuss the need to align model selection with observation rubric so that the measured teaching quality reflects the theoretically conceptualized teaching quality.