Evaluation & Assessment | T-TESS

Starting with the 2016-17 school year, many districts began using the new state-recommended teacher evaluation system: the Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System, or T-TESS.

Teachers may be appraised annually, through either a locally developed process approved by the district and campus site-based decision-making committees, or the commissioner-recommended appraisal process —T-TESS.

Read more about T-TESS in TCTA's Survival Guide

TCTA's T-TESS Tools video series

TCTA's legal department put together this series of videos in 2016 to help explain the requirements of T-TESS.

PART 1: LESSON PLANS

• In the first installment, Dohn Larson, Director of Legal Services, debunks the myth that T-TESS requires teachers to prepare scripted, multipage lesson plans.

PART 2: PRE-CONFERENCES

• In the second installment, Dohn Larson, Director of Legal Services, discusses the anatomy of the T-TESS Pre-Conference, explaining why it's needed, when it should take place, what teachers should expect and how to prepare.

PART 3: OBSERVATIONS, PART I

• In the third installment, Dohn Larson, Director of Legal Services, starts a four-part look at T-TESS Observations. In Part 1, he presents an overview of observations and explains how T-TESS aims to put focus on teacher growth.

PART 4: OBSERVATIONS, PART II

• In the fourth installment, Dohn Larson, Director of Legal Services, continues a four-part look at T-TESS Observations. In Part 2, he discusses who can appraise teachers and how appraisers use the rubric to evaluate teachers.

PART 5: OBSERVATIONS, PART III

• In the fifth installment, Dohn Larson, Director of Legal Services, continues a four-part look at T-TESS Observations. In Part 3, he explains how T-TESS appraisers are taught to use scripting to gather evidence and apply it to the rubric to determine a teacher's performance rating.

PART 6: OBSERVATIONS, PART IV

• In the sixth installment, Dohn Larson, Director of Legal Services, continues a four-part look at T-TESS Observations. In Part 4, he discusses how teachers can prepare for an observation.

The material presented in this video series does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. TCTA provides this for information purposes only. Members with questions about appraisals should call TCTA's Legal Department at 888-879-8282 to speak with a staff attorney.