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included the grade levels and subject areas the participants taught. Of the four Grade
3 teachers, two taught math and science and two taught English/Language Arts.
Two out of the three Grade 5 teachers taught math, with the third teacher being a
special education teacher. The remaining six participants taught subject areas across
all three grade areas. Two of the six taught gifted and talented, and the remaining
four included special education teachers.

Evaluation and Support
Two of the survey questions canvassed teachers’ perceptions of evaluation and
support through T-TESS. One question enabled teachers to provide their understanding
of student-centered in
response to the following
open-ended question: “To
...although many of the achieve a higher performance

teachers understood the level on the T-TESS, teaching
practices should be more
T-TESS rubric, most teachers ‘student-centered.’ What does
mean?”
‘student-centered’
lacked a perception of the The major themes of “roles”
T-TESS as being a valuable and “focus on teaching and
emerged
learning”
from
tool for providing relevant responses highlighting the
importance of putting students
trainings and support for at the center of the learning
process. One teacher stated,
growth. “Student-centered means that

the students are leading the
activities and are taking the
active role in the learning
tasks. Teachers in a student-
centered classroom act as facilitators.” The first theme of “roles” emerged from
responses depicting the idea that students take an active role in their learning. Eleven
responses included phrases specifically aligned to roles, such as “students leading”
and “taking an active role” while the “teacher guides” and “provides feedback.”
Regarding the second theme, “focus of teaching and learning” emerged in verbiage
that addressed the concept of tailoring instruction to students’ needs with words and
phrases that included “exploring” and “discovering” in which students engage in
“discussions” and “problem-solving” tasks.
Teachers utilized a scale (Agree, Neither Agree nor Disagree, Disagree) to
respond to the second question on teachers’ perceptions of evaluation and support
through T-TESS: “What are your perceptions of the following statements?” (Table
2). One teacher disagreed and 16 teachers agreed to “I understand the T-TESS
rubric.” Seven teachers neither agreed nor disagreed and 10 teachers agreed that
“T-TESS is a valuable tool for my growth as an educator.” Similarly, 6 teachers
neither agreed nor disagreed and 11 teachers agreed that “The trainings and support
are relevant to my role as a teacher and goals for improvement.” The data suggest
that, although many of the teachers understood the T-TESS rubric, most teachers
lacked a perception of the T-TESS as being a valuable tool for providing relevant
trainings and support for growth.

Promoting Professional and Personal Growth of Educators and Excellence in Education 39