Austin ISD, a TIF grant
recipient, is building a new
evaluation system for teachers
and principals. The proposed
system for teachers includes
a student growth component
weighted at 40 percent of the
overall result, observations
of instructional practice and
classroom climate conducted
by colleagues and administra-
tors worth 50 percent, and an
evaluation by their administra-
tor on professional expecta-
tions worth 10 percent of the
overall score. Austin ISD plans
to pilot the new system at
priority campuses in 2011-12.
15th Annual
&WINTER GOVERNANCE Legal Seminar
From one room to one world
CALL FOR PROGRAMS
Submission deadline is November 1, 2011.
Go to LTS.tasb.org to submit a breakout session
application and for more information.
Omni Bayfront Hotel • Corpus Christi, Texas
February 16–18, 2012
Tried and True TAP
The Teacher Advancement Program (TAP) has
a tried and true model for
teacher appraisal that has
been road-tested in approximately 230 schools for 10
years. The program has been
implemented in about 50
schools in Texas since 2005—
with great results.
TAP schools are largely
high-need schools, and TAP
is a comprehensive school
reform model that integrates a
structured evaluation process
with ongoing observations
and professional development
using mentor and master
teachers.
In TAP schools, teachers feel that the evaluation
process gives them useful
feedback. In a 2009 survey,
more than 88 percent of Texas
TAP teachers said that TAP
changed their instructional
practices. Evaluation results
yield a more realistic distribution of teacher performance
ratings, and there is a definite
impact on student learning.
Teacher evaluations in
TAP schools are not inflated
like the PDAS. On a 5-point
rating scale, most teachers
rate a 3. 5, and all scores are
more widely distributed.
All Texas TAP schools met
or exceeded student growth
expectations in a 2009 study,
most by two standard
deviations.
The TAP evaluation
model depends on two types
of measures. One consists of
classroom observations by
