The Teaching, Empowering, Leading, and Learning (TELL) Texas Survey is a statewide survey of school based licensed educators to determine if they have the supports necessary for effective teaching. The survey requirement was created by House Bill 2012 (83rd legislative Session). The online survey was administered in the spring of 2014 by TEA. The intent of the TELL survey was to provide additional data for school and district improvement. During the course of the two-month survey period, 83,103 (approximately 20%) of school-based licensed educators responded to the survey. Ninety-one percent of respondents were teachers.
Educators in Texas expressed concern that the survey would take a minimum of thirty minutes to complete and had to be completed in one session. The survey time frame, April 7–May 5, overlapped with STAAR testing dates, which was another significant issue for the education community. The TELL Texas survey did not ask the teacher how much time he or she spends delivering instruction to students, but rather focused on time spent on other tasks. This concern was shared with TEA by TASA but no changes were made in the TELL Texas survey content as a result of TASA’s efforts.
Among the teacher response highlights:
- 88% agreed or strongly agreed with the statement: Teachers are encouraged to try new things to improve instruction.
- 63% agreed or strongly agreed with the statement: Teachers are allowed to focus on educating students with minimal interruptions.
- 60% agreed or strongly agreed with the statement: Teachers have sufficient instructional time to meet the needs of all students.
- 52% agreed or strongly agreed with the statement: Efforts are made to minimize the amount of routine paperwork teachers are required to do.
For more information about the 2014 TELL Texas Survey, please visit www.telltexas.org
