For Georgia principals and assistant principals
TKES walkthroughs, done in 10 minutes and tagged to TAPS
Teachers on the Full process get at least four walkthroughs a year, and GaDOE says they inform the Formative Assessment. Walk from your phone, tag what you see to the TAPS standards, and send the feedback the same day.
Your first TKES walkthrough, today
1
Sign up free
No credit card. Every feature is open while you try it.
2
Add a TAPS template
Pick it from the template library. All ten TAPS standards are already built in.
3
Walk your first classroom
Open it on your phone, tag what you see to the standards, and send the feedback to the teacher.
Enter your email and we'll send you the template, plus everything you need to get started.
Georgia TAPS templates, ready to use
- TAPS Streamlined: one question for each of the ten standards, using the four GaDOE levels your teachers already know
- TAPS Performance Standards: the full rubric, when you want every indicator
- Teacher Clarity Focus Walk: learning targets, success criteria, and student interview questions
- Add comments, photos and video, then send the feedback before dismissal
Go deeper
The 10 TAPS standards, and what you can see in 10 minutes
Walkthroughs are at least 10 minutes and look at a few standards. Formatives are at least 30 minutes and cover all ten. Here is what to look for when you walk.
Planning, Instructional Delivery, and Assessment
1 Professional Knowledge
Accurate content and connections to what students already know.
2 Instructional Planning
A clear goal for the lesson, with the activities lined up to it.
3 Instructional Strategies
Are students doing the thinking? Look for questioning, student talk, and active engagement. Where growth shows first.
4 Differentiated Instruction
Flexible groups and scaffolds. Watch what the rest of the class is doing while the teacher runs a small group.
5 Assessment Strategies
Quick checks for understanding while the lesson is happening.
6 Assessment Uses
The teacher uses what students show to regroup, reteach, or move on.
Learning Environment, Professionalism, and Communication
7 Positive Learning Environment
Routines, respect, and a room that runs smoothly. Catch it happening and tell the teacher before the day ends.
8 Academically Challenging Environment
High expectations and students working on their own.
9 Professionalism
Mostly happens outside the room. Leave it for the formative and your conferences.
10 Communication
Mostly happens outside the room too. Your walkthroughs focus on the standards you can see.
From walkthrough to Formative to mid-year conference
GaDOE says walkthroughs inform the Formative Assessment. Start them in October, not December, and the evidence is ready when you need it.
1
Walk early
Short visits during reading blocks, a few per teacher before December, while there is still time for teachers to act on the feedback.
2
Tag it to TAPS
Each walkthrough is tied to the standards it covered, and the teacher sees the feedback the same day.
3
Bring it to the conference
By the Formative and the mid-year conference, you and the teacher are looking at real classroom evidence, not one lesson.
How Georgia schools are organized
Georgia has 16 Regional Educational Service Agencies, or RESAs. Each one provides shared services that help the local school systems in its area improve their educational programs, and every school system in a RESA’s service area is a member.
Find your RESA
Built for every grade level
Under the Georgia Early Literacy Act, every K-3 student is screened three times a year, so your fall screener data is already in hand. The screener tells you who. A walkthrough tells you why.
Look-fors for your next K-2 reading block
- The teacher runs small groups while the rest of the room works on its own (Standard 4)
- Students are doing the talking and the thinking (Standard 3)
- Routines run without the teacher stopping the lesson (Standard 7)
- A student can tell you what they are learning today (Teacher Clarity)