On the road to TEI: A look back at how we got here

Dallas ISD’s groundwork on the Teacher Excellence Initiative paved the way for the district’s implementation of a fair, accurate and rigorous evaluation system and strategic compensation model that has been continuously molded by those it impacts most directly—teachers. Let’s revisit Dallas ISD’s timeline on the Teacher Excellence Initiative from conception to implementation.

Following the Texas Education Agency’s announcement that the PDAS, or Professional Development Appraisal System, which was the traditional means of teacher performance evaluation, would cease, state school districts were given the option to create their own evaluation system.

In 2011, Dallas ISD leaders proposed a pay-for-performance model that would reward teachers for effectiveness. Following board approval to implement and design a new teacher evaluation system, Dallas ISD went to work researching and defining teacher effectiveness, including participating in the Bill Gates Foundation’s MET Study. The study’s findings stated that as many as three factors should be considered when evaluating teachers—regular classroom observations, student achievement data and student surveys.

On Aug. 23, 2012, Dallas ISD’s Board of Trustees voted to approve TEI as part of the district’s action plan, Destination 2020.

TEI replaced the long-established method of compensating teachers by tenure and college degrees with a system that rewards teacher performance, student perceptions, and student achievement. The strategic compensation plan in TEI gives teachers the opportunity to significantly increase their salaries in shorter spans of time based on teacher effectiveness.

Below is a look at the timeline detailing how TEI came to be. And, remember, TEI is a continuous improvement model, which means the initiative will be continually refined based on input from teachers and principals.