The Swiftscore Blog

Notes on evaluation, coaching, and the practice of teaching well

Practitioner essays, research notes, and product updates from the team building Eval at Swiftscore — for principals, instructional coaches, and district leaders.

Featured · District Leadership

How a Philadelphia Principal Cut Evaluation Writing from 30 Minutes to Three

Kelly Espinosa runs Fanny Jackson Coppin Elementary in Philadelphia. Four evaluations a week, 30 minutes each, plus coaching plans. Here is what changed when she stopped writing them from scratch.

Matt Krasnow

May 13, 2026 · 6 min read

Above the Line

Not a Level Playing Field

Research

Not a Level Playing Field

Johnson County Central has eighteen first graders. On a staffing sheet that looks like one class. Jon Rother may still split it into two. When more than half a roster carries poverty, language, or special-education needs at once, "small" stops meaning what the number says.

Matt Krasnow

June 26, 2026 · 4 min read

Above the Line

The Visit Has to Go Somewhere

Research

The Visit Has to Go Somewhere

DeSmet School in Montana was 638th out of 649 districts when Matt Driessen arrived. He rebuilt it from the board and community up, then made classroom visits the engine of feedback. His version of the walkthrough is plain enough to miss: one thing, try it, I’ll come back.

Matt Krasnow

June 22, 2026 · 6 min read

Above the Line

Evidence-Backed Feedback

Research

Evidence-Backed Feedback

In a small Arkansas district, a leader trusts his read on classrooms. He also wants more behind it. Palestine-Wheatley is building a disciplined system where learning-walk notes, formal evaluations, value-added measures, and attendance converge so teacher support rests on evidence, not instinct.

Matt Krasnow

June 22, 2026 · 4 min read

Above the Line

Artificial Intelligence, Not Artificial Ignorance

AI & Education

Artificial Intelligence, Not Artificial Ignorance

Dr. Reza Namin, superintendent of Maine Indian Education, gave me a phrase for the AI he worries about in schools: artificial ignorance. The risk is not students cheating. It’s adults using a tool before they have done enough of the thinking themselves. His test for any AI is simple: it has to help the adult see the child more clearly.

Matt Krasnow

June 22, 2026 · 5 min read

Above the Line

A Framework Too Big

Research

A Framework Too Big

Jason Kjos's problem with Marzano was not the ideas. It was the size. At Menahga, the framework can stay big, but the next step a teacher is asked to take cannot.

Matt Krasnow

June 22, 2026 · 5 min read

Above the Line

The Table She Asked For

Research

The Table She Asked For

A child cried at dinner because no one waited to eat together, the way her class does at lunch. At Alief Montessori, independence is taught by arranging the room so the habit gets practiced again and again.

Matt Krasnow

June 13, 2026 · 4 min read

Above the Line

Greensburg Lets Students Teach the Adults

Research

Greensburg Lets Students Teach the Adults

I went to Greensburg, Indiana looking for teacher coaching. Superintendent Tom Hunter kept pointing at the children. The throughline: invest in students, then let their success teach the adults.

Matt Krasnow

June 13, 2026 · 5 min read

Above the Line

An Introduction

Research

An Introduction

An interactive look at which schools outperform what their poverty rate would predict in third-grade reading. Each dot is a school; the schools above the line are doing something worth studying.

Matt Krasnow

June 2, 2026 · 5 min read

Stories of Success

How real districts use Swiftscore

Case studies from principals and district leaders, in their own words.

Wall of Love

What educators are saying

Quotes and shout-outs from the people using Swiftscore every day.

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