Observation
T-TESS
eLearning:
Options
TEA-approved forms are available in T-TESS for Observations (including the final/summative).
There is more than one option for T-TESS schools when determining the end-of-year appraisal ratings for teachers. Districts can keep the ratings disaggregated and provide individual ratings for teachers for each of the sixteen dimensions on the T-TESS rubric. For schools that adopt this method for summative ratings, student growth acts like the seventeenth dimension and is not weighted--as weighting does not apply to disaggregated ratings.
For T-TESS schools that decide to provide teachers a single overall summative rating, student growth must count as at least 20% of the overall summative rating. In that sense, student growth acts like the fifth domain with the four rubric domains accounting for the other 80% of the teacher’s overall summative rating.
Use the New > Observation option from a teacher’s page to start new documentation. The functionality works the same as the Informal Walkthroughs.
Enter Scripting Notes, Files and Ratings. The Scripting notes can be imported into the Evidence section for Ratings. Click the title of the dimension on the left of the Ratings page to see the full rubric including a sliding scale that will help Appraisers determine which rating is appropriate for the Teacher.
Observations also include a Post Conference section. Use the Import button to pull in previous data or click the Add New button to include up to two Reinforcement areas, Self-Analysis Questions or Evidence.
Click the Save Ratings button and then Exit Observation, when finished. Click Yes to Publish the document making it available for Teachers to view and sign.
Final/Summative
Use the New > Final/Summative option from a teacher’s page to start the Final/Summative. The functionality works the same as the Informal Walkthroughs and Observations.
A new column (*) is included which pulls in the average rating for each dimension from all counted documentation.
Save Ratings and Exit Final/Summative, or continue on to Post Conference
At the bottom of the Final/Summative, there are two important sections related to Student Growth and TIA.
Count Student Growth as: 17th Dimension (no overall rating will be available) or % Domain (must be between 20 and 99). If 17th Dimension is selected, a warning message appears if any dimensions are missing ratings.
Note: The % will default to 20 if no other value has been entered and the other dimensions will be calculated evenly (ex. user selects 40% for Student Growth. All other dimensions will be calculated at 15% each). User will not be able to calculate the overall rating until all ratings are selected.
Districts can keep the ratings disaggregated and provide individual ratings for teachers for each of the sixteen dimensions on the T-TESS rubric. For districts that adopt this method for summative ratings, student growth acts like the seventeenth dimension and is not weighted, as weighting does not apply to disaggregated ratings.
For T-TESS districts that decide to provide teachers a single overall summative rating, student growth must count at least 20% of the overall summative rating. In that sense, student growth acts like the fifth domain, with the four rubric domains accounting for the other 80% of the teacher’s overall summative rating.