Defining Excellence
Dallas ISD is focused on improving the quality of instruction and placing an effective teacher in front of every child.
Defining Excellence
Dallas ISD is focused on improving the quality of instruction and placing an effective teacher in front of every child.
TEI defines and evaluates excellence through three lenses: performance, student achievement and student experience surveys that encourage and reward excellence in the classroom and beyond.
The rubric describes in detail the teacher and student behaviors of excellent teachers as well as the performance levels along the continuum for each indicator. The rubric is comprised of 19 indicators of teacher practice across four domains.
Student achievement is based on weighted sections focused on individual accountability and results in a testing environment. Dallas ISD uses not only raw scores but also relative growth measures as compared to their peers’ scores to measure student academic achievement. Through this system, TEI rewards significant academic improvement even if students are not yet proficient.
In an effort to encourage positive teacher-student relationships, students will have the opportunity to give feedback on their classroom experience with their teachers through student experience surveys.
These three components, teacher performance, student achievement and student experience surveys, are aligned with the Measures of Effective Teaching project and other research. Every teacher cannot be evaluated the same way due to the variety of subjects and grade levels our teachers serve. In conjunction with teachers, principals, and school leadership, four teacher evaluation categories were developed. The weight and inclusion of the evaluation components varies based on teacher’s category. The evaluation is based on a 100-point scale. The breakdown is as follows:
Category A teachers include most third- through 12th-grade teachers, most kindergarten through fifth-grade specials teachers whose students take ACP or STAAR.
Category B includes most kindergarten through second-grade teachers. Students of Category B teachers generally participate in TerraNova/Supera and ACP assessments.
Category C teachers–for example, Career and Technology Teachers–include third through 12th-grade teachers whose students don’t take ACP or STAAR. The school’s STAAR results and Student Learning Objective determine the Category C achievement points.
Category D teacher include prekindergarten teachers and teachers not-of-record, such as special education inclusion and TAG teachers. Students of Category D teachers don’t take ACP or STAAR. Achievement will be measured based on Student Learning Objective and school’s STAAR results. If school’s STAAR results are not available, the 20 percent will be based on the SLO.
The Teacher Performance Rubric is the district’s foundational definition of effective teaching.
SLOs are measurable goals created by the teacher and approved by the evaluator, pinpointing objective(s) that align to student needs and school goals.
Through the Distinguished Teacher Review Process, TEI recognizes teachers who demonstrate leadership, encourage lifelong learning, and promote academic excellence.
