Trellis vs TeachBoost: Comparing Teacher Observation Platforms

What TeachBoost offers

TeachBoost is an instructional leadership platform designed to help school leaders manage observations, coaching cycles, and teacher development. Originally built as a standalone product, TeachBoost is now part of EAB (the organization that previously acquired Schoology). The platform has been in the market for over a decade and is used by schools and districts across the country.

One of TeachBoost's core strengths is its flexibility in configuring observation workflows. Administrators can build custom observation forms, define coaching cycles, and set up structured rubrics that align with their district's evaluation framework. The platform supports pre-observation conferences, observation documentation, and post-observation follow-up, giving leaders a structured way to manage the full coaching conversation.

TeachBoost also provides reporting tools that help district leaders track observation frequency, rubric scores, and coaching activity across schools. For organizations that have invested in structured coaching models and want a platform to manage and track that work, TeachBoost provides a well-established solution with deep configurability.

What Trellis offers

Trellis approaches the observation challenge from the feedback side. Rather than starting with forms and rubrics, Trellis starts with the raw observation data itself. Leaders can capture observations through typed notes, document uploads, or audio recordings, and then Trellis uses AI to generate feedback drafts aligned to the leader's chosen framework, whether that is Danielson, Marzano, CSTPs, UDL, or a custom rubric.

The platform's AI does not just summarize notes. It generates feedback in the leader's own voice and adjusts the tone based on the teacher's needs through a feature called ToneBoost. Feedback follows a positive-first structure, highlighting strengths before growth areas, which helps build the trust necessary for teachers to act on suggestions. This approach is intentionally non-evaluative, keeping informal feedback separate from formal evaluation processes.

Trellis also builds longitudinal growth profiles for each teacher, connecting observations over time so leaders can see development trajectories rather than isolated snapshots. Schools using Trellis report saving over 500 admin hours per site and conducting five times more observations, with 95% teacher satisfaction. The platform is secured with SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, ISO 42001, HIPAA, and FERPA compliance, along with Google and Microsoft SSO, role-based access, and audit logs.

Key differences at a glance

Both platforms serve instructional leaders, but they differ meaningfully in approach. Here is how they compare across the most important dimensions.

Where Trellis stands out

• AI-powered feedback generation eliminates the hours spent manually writing up observation notes, letting leaders give feedback the same day
• Audio recording lets leaders stay fully present during classroom visits instead of typing on a device
• ToneBoost adjusts feedback language to match what each teacher needs, from encouraging to direct
• Non-evaluative by design, so teachers see feedback as supportive rather than as part of a formal rating process
• Minimal setup required — leaders can start observing and giving feedback without extensive form configuration
• Longitudinal growth profiles connect observations over time into a clear development narrative

Which is right for you?

TeachBoost and Trellis solve overlapping but distinct problems. The best fit depends on how your school or district approaches observation and coaching.

Choose TeachBoost if your school or district has invested in a structured coaching model with defined cycles, pre- and post-observation conferences, and detailed rubric scoring. If you need a platform to manage and track the full coaching cycle workflow, including scheduling, form completion, and compliance reporting, TeachBoost's deep configurability is well-suited to that use case. Schools that already have strong coaching infrastructure and primarily need a tool to organize that work will find TeachBoost a natural fit.

Choose Trellis if the bottleneck in your feedback process is the time it takes to turn observations into clear, actionable feedback. If your leaders want to be in classrooms more often but struggle with the writing-up process, Trellis directly addresses that challenge. The AI-powered approach works especially well for leaders who want to increase observation frequency without increasing their administrative burden. Schools that prioritize a positive, growth-focused feedback culture over formal evaluation tracking will find Trellis aligns with that philosophy.

Some schools may find value in both approaches: using a coaching management platform for structured cycles and Trellis for the high-frequency, informal observations that happen between those formal touchpoints.