Where Curriculum Meets Instruction
INSTRUCTIONAL TIME GAP
47% vs. 4.2%
Across 277,000 classroom observations, teachers spent 47% of instructional time on lecture, practice, and review — while the cognitively complex tasks rigorous standards actually require (examining reasoning, testing hypotheses, revising knowledge) showed up in just 4.2% of observed lessons (Applied Research Center).
Applied Research Center, 2023 · Marzano Focused Teacher Evaluation Model
MODEL DESIGN
Built to work with what you already have
FTEM is designed to be agnostic to any curriculum: it recognizes effective instruction and student evidence as the throughline regardless of which curriculum sits underneath it, honoring the professional development a district has already invested in.
SUBJECT-LEVEL RESULTS
Strongest signal in mathematics
The Focused Teacher Evaluation Model’s own research shows its correlation to student achievement is consistently strong in math and ELa, exactly where the gap between curriculum design and classroom instruction tends to show up most.
Basileo & Toth, Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 2019 · 12,000+ teachers · Florida
CURRICULUM PLUS INSTRUCTION
The Gap, Explained
Two teachers can be handed the same curriculum, the same pacing guide, even the same training — and still produce genuinely different lessons in front of students. That’s not a reflection on either teacher’s ability. Every teacher filters new material through their own experience, habits, and instincts, and that’s simply why “we adopted strong curriculum” and “our classrooms are delivering it the way it was designed” aren’t enough.
FTEM is built to close that gap. Rather than replacing your curriculum, it focuses observation and feedback on the specific instructional moves that turn curriculum on paper into cognitively demanding work in the classroom — the difference between students practicing a skill and students actually reasoning through and applying it.
FRAMEWORK DETAIL
Framework Detail
Standards-based planning
3 elements
Standards-based instructions
10 elements
Conditions for learning
7 elements
Professional responsibilities
3 elements
Standards-Based Instruction is where curriculum meets instruction most directly — 10 of FTEM’s 23 elements sit here, walking directly from identifying critical content in the standards through helping students engage in cognitively complex tasks. This is the direct line from “the curriculum calls for this” to “here’s how we help teachers actually teach it.”
FTEM doesn’t ask districts to choose between their curriculum and their evaluation system — it’s designed to make the two work together.
THE RESEARCH
See the Data Behind the Gap
Download the same research brief the Applied Research Center uses to identify where instruction fall short of rigorous standards – and how FTEM is built to close it.
"We love the fact that the Marzano Focused Teacher Evaluation Model allows us to align multiple elements to a single quality standard - and in a state like Colorado - where you have mulitple quality standards - that's a huge help."
Mike Pickering
Superintendedn, District 49 Zone, CO
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FREE DIAGNOSTIC
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18 questions across 6 areas. Score yourself 1–4. Start the conversation with your leadership team.
Ready to build an evaluation system your teachers will actually trust?
Talk to one of our specialists about your district’s goals, timeline, and current system. No pitch decks. No pressure.
Talk to an Expert
No obligation. Response within one business day
FREE DIAGNOSTIC
Is your teacher evaluation system driving growth — or just documenting it?
18 questions across 6 areas. Score yourself 1–4. Start the conversation with your leadership team.
