Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) & Growth Measures ‑ GISD 2024-25

National Board Certification (NBC)
- Rumor: TEA may eventually remove NBC from counting as a TIA designation.
- Could become a stand-alone designation with no funding weight.
- Presenter’s advice: If pursuing NBC solely for TIA money, first verify future rules; district will still support anyone seeking NBC for professional growth.

Current Gladewater ISD (GISD) application = 50 % student growth + 50 % teacher observation.
2024-25 is the first year using T-TESS (Domains 2 & 3 only) instead of NIET; weight percentages stay the same.
Students and staff info fed through DMAC ➞ sent to Texas Tech for validation ➞ funding routed back through TEA.
Separate designations
1. Recognized – baseline level
2. Exemplary – mid tier
3. Master – highest tier
4. Accomplished – NEW, cut scores TBD (may begin 25-26).

Growth source columns on shared Google Sheet: Department ▸ Course Name ▸ TEA Course # ▸ Growth Measure ▸ Extra Notes (e.g., test window).
Pre-K uses Circle assessment aligned to Circle curriculum.
6-8 & most HS core: STAAR remains default growth measure.
2025 and 2026 spring STAAR administrations will be the two points used to calculate growth (“start” and “end”).
- Benefit: students take STAAR more seriously than local May TIA tests, reducing “bubble-in apathy.”
DMAC report auto-compares prior-year vs current-year STAAR performance level, not raw scale score.
- Growth = maintaining or exceeding previous performance category, e.g. “Meets ➞ Meets,” “Meets ➞ Masters.”
- TEA defines this as “one year academic progress,” even if scale score numerically dips (post-equating).
- Example: RLA scale $1416 \rightarrow 1400$ can still count as growth if category unchanged after equating.
Teachers uncomfortable with STAAR-only method may still give pre-/post-tests in class; district will compare both sets of data and keep whichever yields stronger growth.

Existing local assessments remain valid unless Patty or Baggett contacts teacher about data skew.
All students on roster included; no cherry-picking periods or honors sections.
- Rationale: Larger denominator lowers weight of each individual outlier and includes all sub-pops.

Full chart provided in handbook; highlights:
- Low Did-Not-Meet ➞ Low Did-Not-Meet = $0$ points.
- Low Did-Not-Meet ➞ High Did-Not-Meet = $1$ point.
- High Did-Not-Meet ➞ High Did-Not-Meet = $0.5$ point.
- Similar one- and half-point rules continue up to Masters ➞ Masters.
Allows meaningful credit for non-passing students who advance within “Did Not Meet.”

Recognized: ≥ $55\%$ of students earn a growth point.
Exemplary: ≥ $60\%$ .
Master: ≥ $70\%$ .
Special-ed and other unique programs will get separate meeting to set new cut scores tied to IEP goals.

Minimum requirement: No rating below 3 (Proficient) on any dimension; anything <3 = automatic exclusion.
TEA designation averages (Domains 2 & 3 combined):
- Recognized: ≥ $3.7$
- Exemplary: ≥ $3.9$
- Master: ≥ $4.5$
To meet those averages, straight 3s will never suffice; some 4s required.
Observation schedule
- ≥2 informal walk-throughs (Fall & Spring)
- 1 formal observation
- No summative conference calculated for TIA; focus remains on coaching & growth.
DMAC dashboard continuously displays running Domain 2/3 average so teachers know status in real time & can request coaching.

Example table from slide:
- Teacher with $3.9$ T-TESS and $60\%$ growth
  $\frac{3.9\,\text{obs}}{4?} \Rightarrow 69\% \quad ; \quad \frac{60\%}{2} + \frac{69\%}{2} = 30\% + 34.5\% = 64.5\%$ (Recognized)
- Teacher with $4.5$ & $70\%$ growth = Master.
If either half misses its cut score, teacher receives no designation even if other half qualifies.

Aug ’24: Teacher orientation, choose assessments, set T-TESS goals.
Aug-Sep: Pre-tests / beginning-of-year benchmarks.
Jan ’25: Optional MOY assessment window; mid-year growth conferences.
Spring ’25: Formal observations + Post-tests or STAAR.
July-Aug ’25: District verifies PEIMS rosters (student must have BOTH test scores to count).
Feb ’26: District submits data to Texas Tech ➞ Validation ➞ Funding.
Summer ’26: Payouts for newly designated teachers (24-25 data) & begin 25-26 submission.

TEA wiring schedule: Usually Sept-Nov following Texas Tech approval.
Campus allotment amount varies by economically-disadvantaged tier; payout = state allotment × local formula.
Teachers who switch campuses: paid using campus where they earned the designation (winter roster).
Paraprofessionals
- May receive up to 10 % of teacher’s allotment, prorated to % of work time spent with the designated teacher.
- Rule applies only if they were assigned to that teacher during the earning year.
Retirees: Special sit-down to time payment so it bridges the no-check gap between last salary and first TRS warrant.

Special-Ed growth tied to IEP goal progress when STAAR not applicable.
Mobile students: must have beginning & end score; otherwise excluded from denominator.
High-school accountability triangulation: Texas Tech will look ONLY at Academic Growth sub-score (not CCMR or grad-rate) when checking validity.
New designation “Accomplished” adds another performance band—waiting on TEA to publish numerical targets.

Required file-name structure:
Campus_Course_Sect_Period_AssessmentName_Semester_Year
Example: GMS_6Math_P3_BoY_2024.
Improper names break Patty’s mass-upload macros ➞ phone calls in July.
Never colour-code or lock cells in shared Google Sheets; it corrupts submission formulas.

Current year can only file amendments; full rewrite due April ’25.
Topics to revisit:
- Continue/not continue paraprofessional split.
- Adjust growth cut scores or move to different instruments.
- Possibly integrate Accomplished designation.
Stakeholder meetings (late Fall ’24 – Spring ’25) will gather feedback before new submission.

Verify you received HR update email; if not, email Patty to be added to “All Staff.”
Review Google Doc with course & growth-measure list once shared.
Reflect on whether STAAR 25/26 approach or local pre-/post-test yields best growth for your roster.
Begin drafting T-TESS goals aligned to high-leverage dimensions (know 2.1–2.4, 3.1–3.4).
Familiarize yourself with DMAC navigation and naming protocol during today’s training.
Submit any lingering questions to Patty’s FAQ document for transparent answers.

Growth credit rewards maintaining category, not raw score jumps.
No rating below 3 on any T-TESS dimension or you are automatically out.
Both halves (growth & observation) must individually meet thresholds.
STAAR is preferred because students exert more effort, but alternative tests allowed.
Accurate file names & untouched Google Sheets = smoother, error-free submissions.
Big application rewrite coming; teacher input will shape next phase of GISD’s TIA plan.