The case study of the use of a classroom observation technique to evaluate the abilities and performance of a bilingual kindergarten student previously assessed as a low achiever is described. There are three objectives: to show the validity of the ethnographic monitoring technique, to show the value of teachers as collaborating researchers, and to demonstrate how information gathered in a natural classroom setting is useful as immediate feedback and can be incorporated into ongoing planning. Ethnographic monitoring, or focused ethnography, takes personal observation of social behavior and constructs a social theory of the working of a particular culture in terms as close as possible to the way its members view the universe and organize their behavior, and focuses on particular aspects of variation in observations that are theoretically and practically salient. The approach was applied here by videotaping a low-achieving student's behavior outside the teacher's view and immediately presenting it to the teacher, expanding her awareness of the child's communicative competence and other positive social qualities. The process resulted in an improved student-teacher relationship, changed instructional strategies and teacher expectations, and improved student performance. (MSE)