Districts design a local designation system that recognizes their most effective teachers by using a combination of student growth data and teacher observation scores. This system is developed with input from key stakeholders to ensure it aligns with the district’s mission and vision. The Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) is designed to identify and reward top-performing educators based on measurable classroom impact.
House Bill 3 provides districts with local control and flexibility in choosing how to evaluate teachers and assign designations. Developing a local teacher designation system requires significant planning, robust stakeholder engagement, adequate time to prepare all necessary materials for rollout, and a strong communication plan prior to the first implementation year,. Once a local designation system is approved, districts may recommend their effective teachers for designation. There is no limit to the number of teachers that a district may designate as long as their teachers meet the district’s designation criteria and the eligibility requirements under the rules defined by TEA.
At a minimum, the designation system must include both a teacher observation and a student performance component:
Teacher observation based on T-TESS or a third-party rubric, such as the NIET TAP, Marzano, or Danielson rubric. District application must show evidence of validity and reliability.
Student growth measures determined by district. Can include pre-and post-tests, value-added measures, student learning objectives (SLOs), and portfolios. District application must show evidence of validity and reliability.
Districts can use other factors in determining the teachers eligible to receive a designation, such as student surveys, teacher leadership responsibilities, teacher mentorship responsibilities, family surveys, demonstration of district core values, teacher peer surveys, and contributions to the broader school community.
Local designation systems include a two-part verification. The system must be submitted to TEA for approval before undergoing a data-validation process, which will be conducted by Texas Tech University. As part of the validation process, Texas Tech will:
Review alignment between teacher observation ratings and student performance ratings.
Review alignment between student performance ratings and value-added ratings for applicable teachers.
Review data validity by appraiser/rater, by campus, across campuses in a district, and by teaching assignment.
Compare district data to state data by comparing the percentage of teachers a district puts forth for designation to overall district performance.
Determine the eligible teaching assignments that will be included in your first application. Remember, this can be expanded and modified later.
Teachers must be coded as 087 in PEIMS to qualify.
Determine the student growth measure that will accompany each eligible teaching assignment. What weight will you choose to give to student growth and T-TESS observations?
What percentage of the funds will be allocated to the teacher? At least 90% of funds must go to instructional-facing staff at the campus where the designated teacher is assigned. The district may retain up to 10% of the funds to support TIA development.
Money earned from designations can be spent in many different ways. The district is allowed to retain up to 10% of the funds for allowable purchases, but 90% must be distributed to student-facing staff.
Spending decisions can be modified each year during application submission.