Frequently Asked Questions TELL Texas Survey 2014 February 2014

Frequently Asked QuestionsTELL Texas Survey 2014

February 2014

Copyright © 2014 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved.

What is “TELL Texas” ?

TELL Texas is an anonymous statewide survey of all school-based teachers, administrators, counselors, and other professional employees to assess teaching conditions at the school and district level.

The state’s education leaders want to ensure that every educator has the supportive environment necessary to help students achieve at the highest levels!


The 2014 TELL Texas Survey is a statewide opportunity for all school-based teachers, administrator, counselors, and other professional employees to provide input on teaching conditions such as:

• Time during the day for collaborative instructional planning • School and teacher leadership • Facilities and resources • Professional development • And other supports needed for educators to do their jobs well.

The main intent is to provide additional data for school and district improvement. The survey is required by House Bill 2012 (83rd Legislative Session).

What is the purpose of the 2014 TELL Texas Survey?


TELL Texas is an anonymous, online survey of all school-based teachers, administrators, counselors, and other professional employees in the state

The survey will be live from April 7-May 31, 2014. ***Access codes will arrive by USPS the week of March 31 addressed to

the principals.***

Educators can access the survey via any Internet location, using an individual, anonymous access code.

Anyone can view the response rate at any school during the survey window to make sure every school reaches the minimum response rate needed for data (50%).

Results will be available on line for schools reaching the 50% minimum response rate and minimum of 5 educators about 5 weeks after the survey closes.

Can you tell me about the basics of the survey?


How can I take the survey?

Once you receive your anonymous access code, visit www.telltexas.org

24 hours/day

Use any Internet location

View the survey questions

Read about the research

Take the survey!


TELL Texas takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. You must complete it in one session and be sure to click “submit” when you are finished.

How long does it take to complete the survey?


The principal in each school will receive a packet of letters the week of March 31st.There will be a bright sticker on the envelope for each school. Packages are delivered via USPS.

How will educators receive their anonymous access codes?


In each packet, there will be a Letter of Instruction. The principal in each school is asked to:

Set up a faculty meeting to take place between April 7th and May 1st.

Share key talking points about the TELL Texas Survey.

Disseminate the letters randomly. Educators can switch their letters once received with other licensed educators based in their same school.

Meet personally with anyone not in attendance to explain the process.

How will educators receive their anonymous access codes?


Your individual, anonymous

access code!


2. Help Desk phone: 1-800-310-2964 (7:30 AM-4:30 PM Mon. – Fri. during the survey window)

3. Help Desk email: [email protected]

What if I misplaced or never received my anonymous access code ?

1.


If your entire school did not receive access codes- the administrator should contact the Help Desk

1. Website: www.telltexas.org

2. Phone: 1-800-310-2964 available 7:30 AM-4:30 PM local time, Monday through Friday during the survey window.

3. Email: [email protected]

What happens if a school did not receive access codes?

http://www.telltexas.org/


What should we do if the website has the incorrect number of people for my school?All requests for headcount changes must be submitted via website by the school principal.* 1. Visit www.telltexas.org and click on the “Need

Help?” button then the click the ‘headcount’ link.

2. Include the name of the school and district as well as the corrected headcount.

It may take as long as 48 hours for the change to be reflected on the website.

* Or designee

The Help Desk!


How will I know my responses were submitted successfully?

When your responses arrive safely in our database you will receive a "Thanks! Your survey is completed”


Who can participate in the survey?

All school-based

teachers,

principals,

counselors, and

other professional school-based employees in the state

Itinerant teachers should complete a survey for their home-based school but may also complete a survey for any other school in which they work

Licensed school-based part-time teachers can participate


Do administrators and teachers receive separate codes?

No. They will use the same website (www.telltexas.org) to access the survey using one of the anonymous access codes on the letter. At the very beginning of the survey the participant will be asked to select his/her school position.

When the principal selects “Principal” he/she will then receive many of the same questions as teachers, but will receive an additional bank of questions that has been specifically designed for administrators.


What are access codes and are they really random?

• They are randomly generated codes, that provide confidentiality for the educators, created by the New Teacher Center, and associated to school buildings so that schools can use the results from their own respondents.

• Codes are NOT linked to any individual. • It is impossible to trace to an individual before, during, or

after the survey is completed.• It does not matter which educator uses a particular code

within a school building. • Each code can only be used once.


Can you ensure that this is anonymous?

We are confident the survey is anonymous because: The survey is about the school environment - not about

any one person or individual.

There are NO questions asked that refer to an individual educator or administrator; rather, questions refer to “leadership” at the school.

There are no questions on the survey that specifically ask about subject areas or grade levels.

When the letters with the unique, anonymous access codes are distributed in the school, educators are encouraged to switch letters, thereby demonstrating the codes are anonymous.


Can you ensure that this is anonymous? (cont.)

When the school reports are released (for all schools with a minimum of 5 educators and 50% responding) there is nothing to indicate any type of teacher or any one administrator in a school or district.

There are two demographic questions on the survey (years of experience and position) used for routing. The answers to these questions are only reported at the state level, and not at the district or school level.

There is no way that any connection between a teacher or principal at a certain school and a certain response can be made.


What if I’m the only new teacher? How will my response really be anonymous?

There is a minimum sample size of at least 5 educators and 50% responding for any school level report; So, unless there are at least 5 teachers within their first three years of teaching, no data will appear on the school report for the “New Teacher Section,” if the school reached the 50% response rate.

Additionally, individuals can feel even more secure about their anonymity being protected because:

• It is not possible to view data by role, years of experience, or any other demographic information at the school or district level.

• Demographic data will only be reported at the state level.


When will the results be ready and how can they be viewed?

All data will be available on the www.telltexas.org website approximately 5 weeks after the close of the survey window;

• Results show answers to every question by school* and district• Results can be downloaded in Excel format

There will be Guides posted on www.telltexas.org for districts and schools on how to use the data for improvement planning.

*Results for schools reaching the minimum, 50% threshold for response and having a minimum of 5 educators.


The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has contracted with the New Teacher Center (NTC) to administer the state’s survey. NTC is a national organization dedicated to supporting the development of a high-quality teaching force. NTC has conducted similar surveys in other states and provides induction and professional development for teachers and principals across the country.

Since 2008, the NTC has collected more than one million surveys in 20 states, providing critical information to the faculty in more than 26,000 schools about issues such as planning time, facilities and resources, professional development, school and teacher leadership, and other aspects of the school environment that can influence teacher effectiveness.

Learn more at: http://www.newteachercenter.org/tlcsurvey/index.php

Who is administering this survey?

http://www.newteachercenter.org/tlcsurvey/index.php


Why are teaching conditions important?

Research has shown that the quality of teaching conditions can encourage or constrain good teaching and have a powerful influence on student achievement. Understanding and improving teaching conditions can result in:

• Increased student success• Improved teacher efficacy and motivation• Enhanced teacher retention• Recruitment strategies targeted to bring educators to

hard-to-staff schools

The work is research driven and is now part of national education reform initiatives.


• A growing body of research shows the importance of positive teaching conditions to student learning and teacher retention. (http://www.newteachercenter.org/tlcsurvey/index.php#tlc)

• Education leaders want to hear from every teacher and administrator in order to make the best decisions about facilities and resources, professional development, time for collaboration, and ways for improving instruction. TELL Texas will provide that data and much more.

• YOUR voice will help inform the decisions that are made not only at your school, but also in your district.

Why is it important to complete the TELL Texas Survey?


Thank you, Texas Educators!

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Frequently Asked Questions TELL Texas Survey 2014 February 2014