Artifact Guide
Artifact Basics
What are artifacts?
Artifacts are an important piece of evidence that helps to
determine formative and summative ratings. Both
teachers and evaluators may submit artifacts. These
are used to demonstrate your progress on goals and the
four teaching standards.
Why should I include artifacts?
It is a chance to tell your story and have your voice and your evidence included when determining your rating.
It’s one way to share elements of your practice that might not have been observed by your evaluators.
How many artifacts should I include?
The district recommends at least 8 artifacts during the typical evaluation cycle. Usually this means at least 4
are submitted before the formative evaluation. There’s no official maximum, but most evaluators say, “less is
more.”
When/how to submit artifacts?
Artifacts should be submitted on an ongoing basis throughout the year. Typically, teachers should submit
artifacts 2 weeks before the formative evaluation and 4 weeks before the summative evaluation.
Multiple artifacts/multiple tags?
You can have multiple artifacts that are connected to one another (a lesson plan and a piece of student work
for example). In your rationale, be sure to remind evaluators that these artifacts connect to each another. You
can also “tag” an artifact to count for more than one standard or goal. The district recommends that you have
at most 2 tags for any artifact.
Artifact Formats
Make sure to include file extension names on your artifacts (.doc, .pdf, .mov, .jpg, etc.)
Documents: You can include Word,
Excel, PowerPoint or Google Drive
files.
Movies: You can include video of your
practice. Short videos or small file
sizes will be easiest to upload.
Photos: You can include photos from a
phone or camera. This can be a great
way to show student work.
You can also take a screen shot by
using [shift]+[command]+[4].
Scanned Images: If you have access
to a scanner, this is a great way to
upload student work. Make sure to
save these as PDF or JPG files.
Emails: You can copy and paste
relevant sections of emails into a word
document.
Web Links: For online artifacts, like a
class blog entry, you can include the
link as part of your rationale paragraph,
but should also include a screen shot.
This guide was prepared by the Peer Assistance (PA) and the Peer Assistance and Review (PAR) programs using resources
from Charlestown HS, East Boston HS, Blackstone Elementary, the BPS Office of Human Capital and other sources.
EDFS Artifact Guide
1
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2
Artifact Menu
What artifacts to include? Make sure to include artifacts to
demonstrate competency is areas that may be difficult to see during a
classroom observation, like unit planning or parent/family
communication. In particular, you should think artifacts in these areas:
• Student Learning Goal: Show evidence and describe how you
have made progress towards your Student Learning Goal
• Professional Practice Goal: Show evidence and describe how
you have made progress towards your Professional Practice
Goal(s).
• Teaching (Standards I and II): Show evidence that adds to your
observations. See the chart below for suggestions.
• Family & Community Engagement (Standard III): Show
evidence and describe how you have extended support to,
communicated with and developed learning partnerships with
families.
• Professional Culture (Standard IV): Show evidence and
describe how you have contributed to the school community that
your evaluators might not be aware of or have observed firsthand.
Remember that artifacts
should demonstrate growth
as a result of your efforts.
Instead of uploading a PD
certificate, include student
progress data based on what
you learned in the PD.
Instead of uploading a blank
exit ticket, include two tickets
that show student
improvement or teacher
feedback.
Suggested Artifact Menu. This table displays some of the artifacts submitted during the 2012-2013 school
year:
Standard I:
Curriculum, Planning, and
Assessment
• Unit plans & assessments
-aligned to Common Core
• Lesson plans
- modified for specific student
populations
- indicating standards
addressed
- indicating methods of
addressing mastery
- that include text-based
questions
• Class activities/assignments
• Instructional materials
• Student work
• Formative and summative
assessments (e.g., student
writing, quizzes, tests, projects)
• Assessment data analysis
• Plans for re-teaching
• Observations/ notes from data
meetings
• IEP meeting observations
• Progress reports
• Written teacher feedback on
student assignments
• Exit tickets
Standard II:
Teaching All Students
• Exemplars/Rubrics/Criteria for
success
• Systems requiring students to
make up/revise work
• Lesson plans
• Student surveys
• Differentiated/modified
instructional plans and materials
• Class rituals, routines, rules,
norms
• Group work structures
• Student self-monitoring
• Culturally responsive
instructional materials
• Assignments with scaffolding
• Lesson plans for re-teaching
• Academic support opportunities
• PBIS interventions
• Visual aides
• Students work from centers
• IEP goals tracker
• Images of anchor charts or
word walls
• Student profile sheets including
potential accommodations
Standard III:
Family and Community
Engagement
• Clear communications in the
form of letters, emails, or
calendars to families about
class activities and invitations to
participate
• Multiple options for parents to
support student learning
• Progress reports
• Class-related activities for
families Progress reports
• Letters/phone calls to families
communicating expectations,
curriculum, and study strategies
• Log of contact with families with
descriptions of topics discussed
• Results from family surveys
• Letters to families in multiple
languages
• Analysis of impact of family
engagement on student
performance
• Participation in community
meetings
Standard IV:
Professional Culture
• Self-Assessment
• Student Learning and
Professional Practice Goals &
Action plan
• Written reflections on practice
• Reflections on participation in
PD & how it informed practice
• Plans for re-teaching
• Reflections on leadership roles
• Observations/records of
participation in/contribution to
team meetings
• Protocols used to analyze
student learning
• Plans/materials created
collaboratively
• Record of participation in school
events
• Record of input in decisionmaking
• Results from student surveys
• National Board Certification &
its impact on practice
• Role in district-wide initiatives
Want more help?
The BTU sponsors evaluation workshops to help members with artifacts and EDFS.
Teachers working with the Peer Assistance (PA) or Peer Assistance and Review (PAR)
programs will also have individualized support around choosing artifacts and writing
rationales. Learn more at btu.org.
EDFS Artifact Guide
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Artifacts Rationales
For each artifact, you should explain what it is, why you’ve chosen it, and how it
demonstrates your proficiency. Align each artifact to a rubric standard or a goal and
use the rubric language to help guide your rationale.
Rubric Language
You are encouraged to use language from the EDFS rubric of effective teaching when writing. If you’re
proficient, spell it out for your evaluator by including language from the rubric as part of your rationale (see how
rubric language is used in the last sentence of the example below). You may want to use the BPS Interactive
Rubric, which can be found at bostonpublicschools.org/ir to help you.
Well-written Rationale Method 1: From Charlestown/East Boston High
Here’s Charlestown and East Boston High’s guide to writing a rationale:
1. Identify the standard, indicator, element, or goal that the artifact addresses.
2. Describe the artifact and identify the section that directly connects to the standard, indicator, element,
or goal.
3. Highlight the artifact’s impact on student learning. How does it impact student learning and growth?
4. Specify the evidence of professional growth or proficiency in the standard, indicator, element the artifact
provides.
Sample
Name
Tags
Description
Rationale
Uploaded By
Meetingnotes.docx
IV-C-1.
Professional
Collaboration
Monthly meeting
notes with
mainstream
teachers
These notes from monthly meetings with mainstream
teachers demonstrate proficient practice in IV-C-1. I
have been meeting with mainstream teachers who
teach Spanish SEI students routinely since the
beginning of the year to discuss these students'
strengths and weaknesses and then what each of us
can do to better support these students. In the notes, I
included an explanation of how the Spanish SEI
students are doing in the mainstream class and also a
list of actions that the mainstream teacher and I will
each take to support the students’ achievement. These
notes from meetings with mainstream teachers are
strong evidence of how I consistently and effectively
collaborate with colleagues to analyze student
performance and plan appropriate interventions (IV-C1).
Teacher, BPS
2. Give a quick
description of the
artifact.
4. Use the rubric/goal text to
show proficiency.
1. Identify the
specific rubric
element(s) or goal.
3. Highlight the
impact on student
learning!
Well-Written Rationale Method 2: Hamburger/MEAL Paragraph
Some educators may prefer to use guiding questions as prompts to write their rationale paragraphs.
Section
Guiding Questions
Introduction
What is the artifact title?
What rubric element or goal are you addressing?
Description
What is it? Why did you choose it?
What should the evaluator notice/focus on in the
document?
Impact
How did the artifact impact student learning or
teacher practice?
Conclusion
How does the artifact show your proficiency?
(use language from the rubric or your goals)
EDFS Artifact Guide
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Artifact Table of Contents
You can use the table below to help you organize and keep track of your artifacts.
Artifacts
Name/ Description
Tags
What is it? What does it show?
Check standards/goals demonstrated.
❑
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❑
❑
Uploaded?
Uploaded?
Uploaded?
Uploaded?
Uploaded?
Uploaded?
Uploaded?
Uploaded?
Uploaded?
Uploaded?
Uploaded?
❑
❑
❑
❑
Standard I
❑
❑
❑
❑
Standard I
❑
❑
❑
❑
Standard I
❑
❑
❑
❑
Standard I
❑
❑
❑
❑
Standard I
❑
❑
❑
❑
Standard I
❑
❑
❑
❑
Standard I
❑
❑
❑
❑
Standard I
❑
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❑
❑
Standard I
❑
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❑
❑
Standard I
❑
❑
❑
❑
Standard I
Standard II
Standard III
Notes/ Rationale
❑
Student
Learning Goal
❑
Professional
Practice Goal
❑
Student
Learning Goal
Standard IV
Standard II
Standard III
❑
Standard IV
Standard II
Standard III
❑
Student
Learning Goal
❑
Professional
Practice Goal
❑
Student
Learning Goal
Standard IV
Standard II
Standard III
❑
Standard IV
Standard II
Standard III
Standard III
Student
Learning Goal
❑
Professional
Practice Goal
❑
Student
Learning Goal
❑
Professional
Practice Goal
❑
Student
Learning Goal
Standard IV
Standard II
Standard III
❑
Standard IV
Standard II
Standard III
Standard III
Student
Learning Goal
❑
Professional
Practice Goal
❑
Student
Learning Goal
❑
Professional
Practice Goal
❑
Student
Learning Goal
Standard IV
Standard II
Standard III
❑
Standard IV
Standard II
Standard III
Standard IV
Professional
Practice Goal
❑
Standard IV
Standard II
Professional
Practice Goal
❑
Standard IV
Standard II
Professional
Practice Goal
Professional
Practice Goal
❑
Student
Learning Goal
❑
Professional
Practice Goal
EDFS Artifact Guide
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