---
title: Demystifying the Mysterious Master Coding Process
description: Demystifying the Mysterious Master Coding Process
image: https://info.teachstone.com/hs-fs/file-2553063290-jpg/blog-attachments/photo-11-1024x7681.jpg
---

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# Demystifying the Mysterious Master Coding Process

 November 11 2013 by [Nikki Croasdale](https://info.teachstone.com/blog/author/nikki-croasdale)

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Ever wondered about the master coding process at Teachstone? How does it work? Who is involved? How do master coders become master coders? If so, look no further than this blog post for exclusive behind-the-scenes access to information that will unveil the magic and mystery that is master coding.

The master coding group is comprised of [Teachstone staff](http://teachstone.com/about-teachstone/staff/) who have proven themselves to be expert CLASS™ observers. They have extensive experience coding using the [Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS)](http://teachstone.com/about-the-class/#What%20is%20the%20CLASS™%20Tool?), training others to use the CLASS measure, and developing CLASS materials. You might say that these coders eat, sleep, and breathe CLASS!

New master coders go through an intensive on-boarding process, which includes sitting in on a series of master coding sessions, practicing coding alongside the master coders, and achieving a high inter-rater reliability rate with the chosen master codes for these sessions before becoming an official master coder.

There are four to five master coders involved in each master coding session. The composition of the group varies from session to session to help combat *group coder drift*—the tendency for a group who codes together frequently to adapt to one another’s coding tendencies in a way that causes them to drift away from correct use of the tool.

Before the session, each coder watches and codes the video individually. All of the coders then congregate to discuss their codes for each dimension and come to consensus codes. Each code is thoughtfully deliberated and thorough evidence to support each code is recorded. If there are any discrepancies, a code may be flagged for further review by another master coder uninvolved in the session.

As you can see, master coding is not something we take lightly here at Teachstone—that’s for certain!

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