Questions to Ask a Teacher's References
For principals, hiring committees and district HR staff calling the people a teacher candidate has named: a former principal, a department head, a mentor teacher. The list runs in the order of a good call, from how well the reference knows the candidate's classroom, through instruction, classroom management, relationships and professionalism, to child safety and whether they would hire the teacher again. What a former employer is allowed to tell you differs by country, state and district, so where a note touches on that, it says to ask how it works where you are.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
How you know them
In what role did you work with this teacher, and for how long?
Why ask it
A principal who evaluated them, a department head who shared planning time and a mentor down the hall each saw a different slice of the job. Place the reference first, then ask which school years they overlapped, so you know how current the picture is.
How often were you in their classroom while they were teaching?
Why ask it
This sorts teaching the reference watched from a reputation picked up in the teachers' lounge. Ask whether the visits were scheduled observations, unannounced drop-ins or both: an announced lesson shows the ceiling, and a drop-in shows an ordinary Tuesday.
What grades and subjects did they teach during that time?
Why ask it
Set the answer beside the application and beside the position you are filling. Glowing words about a seventh-grade science teacher say less about a second-grade opening, so ask whether the reference ever saw them with students close in age to yours.
Did you write or sign off on their formal evaluations?
Why ask it
An evaluator can speak to ratings and the evidence under them, where a colleague can only give an impression. If the answer is yes, ask how evaluation worked at that school and where the candidate landed, since the scale may not match yours. Some employers limit what an evaluator may share, so ask what they are free to discuss.
Why did they leave your school, or why are they looking to leave now?
Why ask it
You are checking the reference's version against the one the candidate gave the committee. A contract that was not renewed, a resignation in the middle of a year and a family move are three different stories. If a term such as non-renewal comes up, ask what it meant in that district, because the process is not the same everywhere.
What was the school like: its size, its students, the support a teacher had there?
Why ask it
Class sizes, how many students were learning English and how many aides were in the building all change what a good year looks like. Once you have the picture, describe your own school in two sentences and ask how the candidate would need to adjust.
Did their teaching assignment change while you worked together, and whose idea was it?
Why ask it
A principal who hands a teacher the hardest group is showing trust. A teacher moved off a team or away from a tested grade may have been moved for a reason nobody wrote down. Who asked for the change usually tells you which it was.
Instruction
What are their greatest strengths as a classroom teacher?
Why ask it
Notice whether the first thing named is about teaching, such as clear explanations, sharp questioning or pacing, or about the person, such as kind, organized or hard-working. Both count, but only the first kind shows up in your students' work. Follow with 'When did you last see that in a lesson?'
Think of one lesson of theirs that you watched. What were the students doing?
Why ask it
Pointing the question at the students gets you past 'engaging' and 'well prepared'. A reference who can say what was on the desks and who was doing the talking has been in that room. If no single lesson comes to mind, give the rest of the call less weight.
How well did they know the subject they were teaching?
Why ask it
This matters most for secondary and specialist positions. Find out whether colleagues came to them with content questions, and whether any of their classes sat outside the field they trained in, which would explain a weaker year.
How was their planning across a whole unit, not just the lesson you observed?
Why ask it
One polished lesson can be staged; six weeks that build on each other cannot. Check whether the reference read unit plans or only watched single periods, and whether the school handed teachers a set program or left them to build their own. A candidate crossing from one arrangement to the other has more to learn than the interview showed.
What evidence did you see that their students were learning?
Why ask it
Let the reference choose the evidence: growth on assessments, reading levels, work samples, portfolios. What a school may share about results depends on where it is, so take what is offered and ask how those classes compared with similar ones in the same building.
How did they use assessment results to decide what to teach next?
Why ask it
A quiz that led to regrouping the class, an exit slip that changed the next morning's opener, a unit test that sent them back over fractions: any one of these is an answer. A reference who can only say the grades went in on time is describing record keeping, which is a different skill.
When a lesson was not landing, what did they do in the moment?
Why ask it
The answer shows whether this teacher notices a lesson failing while there is still time to act. Some stop and reteach, some regroup the next day, and some press on to keep up with the pacing calendar. A supervisor who watched them will know which was the habit.
How did they teach students who were far behind, or far ahead of, the rest of the class?
Why ask it
'They differentiated' is the stock reply, so ask what it looked like on a normal day: small groups, different tasks, extra time before school. A teacher who served the middle well and lost both ends tends to be described in careful, general terms.
How did they work with students who had individual learning plans, and with the specialists who supported them?
Why ask it
In the US this usually means an IEP or a 504 plan; other places have their own paperwork and names, so let the reference describe it in that school's terms. What matters is the same anywhere: did they come to plan meetings prepared, carry out the agreed supports in the room, and treat co-teachers and aides as partners?
Where does their teaching still need work?
Why ask it
Ask it flat and wait through the pause. If the reference says there is nothing, try 'Most evaluation forms have a box for an area of growth. What went in theirs?' Whatever comes back is the start of your coaching plan if you hire.
Classroom management
How would you describe their classroom management?
Why ask it
Most references open with 'calm', 'firm' or 'well run', so ask what the room looked and sounded like on a day they walked in unannounced. Quiet is not the test: could students say what they were supposed to be doing, and did the teacher's manner change when an administrator appeared? A reference who never dropped in is passing on reputation, so weigh the rest of what they say about behavior with that in mind.
What did they do about a student who disrupted class again and again?
Why ask it
Listen for a sequence: a private word, a changed seat, a call home, a plan made with a counselor. A reply that jumps straight to the office shows you where their toolkit ended.
Compared with other teachers in the building, how often did they send students out or write referrals?
Why ask it
The number means little without the reason. A stack of referrals for minor things suggests a teacher who hands problems on, and almost none can mean a calm room or one where incidents went unreported. Ask what the typical referral was for.
How did they react when a student challenged them in front of the class?
Why ask it
This is where you hear about a raised voice, sarcasm or a standoff, if there was one. Push for an actual incident. A teacher who stays level in that moment and deals with it privately afterwards is easy for a supervisor to describe.
Was there a class or a year that got away from them, and what did they do about it?
Why ask it
Nearly every teacher has had one, so 'never' deserves a gentle second try. What counts is whether they asked for help early, changed something and finished the year in better shape than the middle of it.
How did their class run on days when a substitute covered?
Why ask it
Routines that survive the teacher's absence belong to the students, which is about the strongest sign of management you can get by phone. The plans left for the substitute are a second answer inside the first: thorough, thin or missing.
How did they supervise students outside the classroom: hallways, lunch, recess, dismissal?
Why ask it
Duty is unglamorous and revealing. A teacher who is at their post on time and watching the students, not a phone, is one who takes supervision seriously. For younger grades, and for any job with trips, labs or workshops, press for detail.
How closely did they follow the school's behavior policy, and where did they go their own way?
Why ask it
A teacher who quietly ran a private system is not always wrong, but you want to know before they join a staff that has agreed on one. Tell the reference in a sentence how your school handles behavior and ask how the candidate would take to it.
Relationships
How would you describe their rapport with students?
Why ask it
'The kids loved them' needs a second question. Ask which students sought this teacher out at lunch or after class, and which ones they never quite reached and what they tried. Getting along with the easy students is not much of a test.
How did students talk about this teacher?
Why ask it
Students are blunt, and a principal hears it in the hallway, in the office and from parents. 'Strict but fair' and 'fun' describe different teachers. Ask what a student who disliked them would have said, too.
How did they keep parents and guardians informed?
Why ask it
Ask about the ordinary contact, not the crisis: how often families heard from them, in what form, and whether good news went home as well as bad. A teacher whose first call to a family is about a problem starts every hard conversation from behind.
Tell me about a hard conversation they had with a parent. How did it go?
Why ask it
You want one real case with a beginning and an end. Notice whether the teacher handled it alone, brought in an administrator at the right point or needed rescuing. If your community has demanding or anxious families, say so and ask how the candidate would cope.
Did families bring complaints about them to you, and what were they about?
Why ask it
The subject matters more than the count. Grading disputes and homework load are one kind of complaint; tone with students, or a child afraid to come to class, is another, and that second kind needs a follow-up question before you move on.
How did they work with their grade-level team or department?
Why ask it
Shared planning only works when people bring something and take something. Did they share materials, arrive at team meetings ready, and leave the team better or more tense for having them on it?
How did they treat aides, office staff, custodians and other non-teaching staff?
Why ask it
The front office knows things the principal does not. A reference who can answer this quickly has heard about it, one way or the other. Weigh a dismissive streak here alongside what you heard about parents.
When they disagreed with a decision from administration, what did they do?
Why ask it
Disagreement itself is healthy. The route it took is what you are after: a direct conversation in the office, a fair point raised in a staff meeting, or grumbling in the parking lot. Ask how it ended and whether they carried out the decision anyway.
What did they contribute to the school beyond their own classroom?
Why ask it
Clubs, coaching, committees, mentoring a new teacher, running the science fair. If your position comes with expectations of this kind, name them and ask whether the candidate would take them on willingly. Now and then a reference says the teacher took on too much, which is also worth hearing.
Professionalism
How was their attendance, and how did they handle a day they had to miss?
Why ask it
Keep this to the effect on students and leave the reasons for any absence alone; your HR office can tell you what is off limits where you are. The useful details are how much notice they gave and what they left for the class.
Were grades, report cards and required paperwork accurate and on time?
Why ask it
Late grades and missing records land on the principal's desk, so the reference will remember. For jobs with heavy documentation, such as special education, ask about that paperwork by name.
How did they take feedback after an observation?
Why ask it
The answer worth hearing is a specific change the reference saw on the next visit. 'Very receptive' with no example can mean the teacher nodded and carried on as before, so ask what was different a month later.
How careful were they with confidential information about students and families?
Why ask it
Listen for where they talked about students: in a closed meeting, or in the staff lounge and the pickup line. One specific lapse, and how they responded when it was pointed out, is worth more than a general 'very professional'.
How did they hold up during the hardest stretch of the school year?
Why ask it
For most teachers that means testing season, report card week or the last days before a long break. The point is whether pressure reached the students as a short temper or dropped preparation. Ask what support helped, since you may need to offer the same.
Did they finish every school year and every contract they started with you?
Why ask it
A mid-year departure leaves a class with a string of substitutes, and schools remember it. There can be good reasons, so if the answer is no, ask how much notice they gave and how they handed the class over, then hear the candidate's side.
Were they ever on an improvement plan or given a formal warning that you are able to talk about?
Why ask it
The closing words give the reference room to say that policy stops them, which is itself something to write down. If there was a plan, ask what it covered and whether they came off it. Whether a former employer may share this varies, so do not read a refusal as a yes.
As far as you know, is their teaching license or certification in good standing?
Why ask it
The reference is not the record. Whatever they say, confirm it with the body that issues the credential where you are, and ask your HR office how that check is done. It is still worth asking, because surprise in the reference's voice is a reason to check sooner.
Safety and rehire
Did you ever have a concern about how they behaved with a student?
Why ask it
Use these plain words and then stay quiet. A reference who would never volunteer a worry will sometimes answer when asked outright. If you hear hesitation, say 'You paused. What came to mind?' and bring whatever follows to your HR office before the process goes further.
Were they ever the subject of a complaint or investigation involving a student, whatever the outcome?
Why ask it
'Whatever the outcome' matters, because a reference may otherwise count only the complaints that were upheld. What a former employer can disclose depends on local law, policy and any agreement made when the teacher left, so if they say they cannot answer, note that and ask your district how to follow up.
How were their boundaries with students around messaging, social media and one-on-one time?
Why ask it
Naming the areas makes it easier for the reference to recall something small that never became a formal matter; gifts and obvious favorites are two more to try. A teacher who kept doors open, stuck to school channels and did not single students out is simple to vouch for, and the reference will say so without a pause.
When a student told them something worrying, what did they do with it?
Why ask it
The hoped-for answer is dull: they followed the school's reporting procedure and did not try to investigate or keep the secret themselves. Reporting duties are set locally, so ask the reference how it worked at their school and judge the teacher against that.
Do you know of any reason this person should not be working with children?
Why ask it
It sounds blunt, and that is its use: nobody can say later that they were never asked. Record the answer word for word. Anything short of a clear no goes to whoever leads child safety in your school or district before an offer is made.
If you had an opening tomorrow, would you put them back in a classroom at your school?
Why ask it
Listen to the speed as much as the word. 'In a heartbeat' and 'I would have to look at the position' are both technically yes. Some employers only allow an official rehire status, so if that is all you get, ask whether there is anything they can add personally.
Would you want your own child, or a child you care about, in their class?
Why ask it
This moves the reference from a supervisor's judgment to a parent's, and the two do not always agree. A teacher can be compliant, punctual and well rated and still not be the one a principal would choose for a niece.
Where would you place them among the teachers you have supervised?
Why ask it
Ask for a rough third, top, middle or bottom, and then what kept them out of the group above. A reference who puts everyone in the top tier has told you about themselves, so the second half of the question is the part to write down.
What support would they need from me in their first year here?
Why ask it
'None' is not a believable answer for any new hire, and the question turns the reference from judge into adviser. What you hear often repeats the growth area in friendlier words, and you can hand it to whoever will mentor the teacher.
Is there anything I have not asked that I would want to know before putting them in front of students?
Why ask it
Leave a full silence after it. A reference sometimes holds one thing back through the whole call, waiting to see whether anyone asks. If all they add is praise, that counts too.
Who else watched them teach and would be worth a call?
Why ask it
An assistant principal, an instructional coach or a team leader may have spent more hours in that room than the person on the phone. Tell the candidate before you call someone they did not list, and check with your HR office whether you need their consent.
How to run a reference check on a teacher
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before you dial
Ask for supervisors, from more than one school
A reference list made up of teaching friends tells you the candidate is liked. Ask for at least one person who evaluated them at each recent school, and ask the candidate directly if a recent principal is missing from the list. There may be a fair reason, and it is better heard from them before you start calling.
Find out what your district requires
Many employers have their own reference form, a rule about how many references must be reached, or a set of child-safety questions that must be asked and recorded. Check with HR before the first call so that the questions on this page sit alongside the required ones and nothing has to be redone.
Pick twelve to fifteen, with safety fixed
Few references can spare more than a short call. Take two or three questions from each group, weighted toward whatever the interviews left open, and keep the direct questions under Safety and rehire in every call no matter how short it runs.
Describe the opening first
Spend the first minute on the job itself: the grade, the subject, the size of the school, anything unusual about the class. A reference who knows the opening is a combined fifth and sixth grade with no aide can say whether this teacher would manage it. One who knows nothing about the opening can only say they were good.
What to listen for on the call
Seen, or passed along
Keep asking 'Did you see that yourself?' A principal with forty staff may be repeating what a team leader said. That is still information, but it belongs in your notes as second hand, and it is a reason to call the team leader.
Warm words, nothing about teaching
'Wonderful person, the kids loved her, always willing to help' can be entirely true of a teacher whose lessons were thin. If the praise stays on personality, go back to the Instruction questions and ask for a lesson the reference watched, a result, or what the teacher did with a quiz that went badly.
The careful reference
Some references answer only what is asked, in short sentences, and confirm dates. That can be policy, an agreement made when the teacher left or plain caution, and you cannot tell which from the tone. Say you understand there may be limits, ask what they are, and then find a second person who supervised the same years.
A motive in either direction
A principal may be sorry to lose a strong teacher, or relieved to see a weak one move on, and either can color a reference. Rehire, ranking and 'your own child' are the three questions hardest to fudge, so set those answers against the tone of everything else you heard.
The safety questions
Every candidate, every reference
Put the direct questions under Safety and rehire to every reference for every finalist, including the candidate the whole committee already likes. Asking only when something feels off means the question arrives too late, and it makes the asking sound like an accusation.
Keep the wording plain
'Did you ever have a concern about how they behaved with a student?' is clearer than a hint about professionalism, and harder to answer vaguely. Read the question as written, let the silence run, and take down the reply in the reference's own words.
A phone call is one check among several
References do not stand in for the background, registry or credential checks that apply to school staff where you are. Which checks exist and who runs them depends on the country, state and employer, so ask your HR office for the full list and where the reference call fits in it.
If something comes up
Do not try to settle it on the call. Thank the reference, record what was said and when, and take it the same day to the person responsible for child safety in your school or district. They will know what has to happen next and what the candidate must be told.
Once the calls are done
Write it up before the next bell
Notes made within the hour keep the reference's phrases; notes made on Friday keep your impression of them. Record who you spoke to, their role, the date, and the answers to the safety questions in full. Ask HR where reference notes are filed and who may see them.
Lay the calls side by side
Two references agreeing on a strength, or on a weakness, counts for more than one enthusiastic call. Where they disagree, look at when each one worked with the teacher and how often each was in the room before deciding whose account to trust.
Take a doubt back to the candidate
If a reference raised something that could change the decision, give the candidate the chance to respond, without naming the source unless your process allows it. How a teacher explains a rough year is part of what you are hiring.
Use it after the hire
The answers on growth areas and first-year support are a ready-made induction plan. Pass them, in general terms, to the mentor or coach who will work with the new teacher, so the calls go on being useful after the contract is signed.