Key Strategy: Useful Appraisals
- Designing a New Approach
- Appraisal and Development Cycle
- Campus Spotlights
- Resources for Teachers and Appraisers
- End of Year Survey on the Teacher Appraisal and Development System
- Year One Summary Report
HISD is committed to the success of each one of its 203,000 students, which means every HISD teacher receives the individualized feedback and support necessary to set students up for success. HISD’s new teacher appraisal and development system is an important step toward helping teachers advance their practice and achieving our goal of placing an effective teacher in every HISD classroom.
HISD’s former appraisal system, PDAS, rated 97% of all teachers “proficient” or better. PDAS lacked clear and rigorous standards, and the majority of teachers said that it failed to provide them meaningful feedback to help them improve their instruction. Most professional development treated teachers as if they were all the same, leaning heavily on one-size-fits-all workshops that did not fully take account of a teacher’s unique strengths and development needs.
“Houston is providing a model for the state and other districts to follow.”
- Arne Duncan,
U.S. Secretary of Education
In 2011, HISD launched a new, community-designed approach to appraisal and development. Under the new system, all teachers have clear and rigorous standards that serve as a guide to effective teaching. Teachers now receive regular feedback throughout the year to help them continually improve their instruction. They also meet regularly with campus-based appraisers to reflect on their teaching practice, finalize an individualized development plan, and track their progress toward professional learning goals. Through conferences and post–observation feedback, teachers have regular opportunities to engage in dialogue with appraisers about their instructional practice and the impact they are having on their students.- Arne Duncan,
U.S. Secretary of Education
2011-12 Highlights
- HISD hired 130 new Teacher Development Specialists (TDS) to provide more individualized support to teachers.
- All HISD teachers now have individualized development plans.
- Teachers had at least five face-to-face opportunities to reflect on their practice with their appraiser.
- Appraisers and TDS conducted over 57,000 total observations in 2011-12, all followed by feedback.
2010-11 Highlights
- HISD designed a new appraisal and development system with input from teachers, administrators, parents, and community members.
- HISD trained 800 appraisers and 11,000 teachers on the new appraisal and development system.
- The Professional Support and Development Department was restructured to provide a variety of ongoing, job-embedded development opportunities that are tailored to teachers’ specific professional needs.
- HISD created the role of the Teacher Development Specialist (TDS), an experienced educator who partners with teachers to support their continuous growth and development through observations, feedback, and coaching.
Key Strategies
“[The new system] keeps you thirsty for more knowledge and thirsty to change things up in your classroom….”
- Sarah Izquierdo, Teacher, Lyons E.S.
“[HISD’s appraisal and development system made me a very powerful leader on my campus. I’m able to communicate exactly what the teacher needs in order to increase the student achievement inside of their classroom.”
- Felicia Adams, Principal, Lockhart E.S.
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