APPENDIX G

DISTRICT INTERVIEW PROTOCOL1 TIF DISTRICT INTERVIEW PROTOCOL

I ntroduction

T his is _________ from Mathematica. As you know, The U.S. Department of Education has contracted with
Mathematica to conduct the national e valuation of the Teacher Incentive Fund

. The information we will obtai n from this interview is extremely important for us to fully understand your TIF program, your implementation experiences and challenges, how you met those challenges, and to learn about other district improvement effor t s. This i nterview should take about 45 minutes. Before we proceed, I would like to confirm that this is still a good time for you.

(If a good time, proceed with text below; if not, ask: when would be a good time to call? On what date? Then repeat time and date to respondent .)

I would like you to know that r esponses to this data collection will be used only for statistical purposes. The reports prepared for this study will summarize findings across the sample and will not associate responses with a specific district or individual. We will n ot provide information that identifies you or your district to anyone outside the study team, except as required by law. Additionally, no one in your district will see your responses. While cooperation with this activity is a condition of your grant, we ap preciate your time.

(If the person asks, you can indicate that EDGAR: part 75.591, Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1221e

– 3 and 3474 requires they cooperate with this activity.)

Program name:

________________________________ ________________________________ _____ District Name :

________________________________ ________________________________ ______ Date:

________________________________ ________________________________ _____________

Person interviewed:

Name:

________________________________ ________________________________ ____________ Title:

________________________________ ________________________________ _____________ Phone numbe r:

________________________________ ________________________________ _____ Email:

________________________________ ________________________________ _____________

Interviewer name:

________________________________ ________________________________ ___2 A. Performance Pay Programs Before TIF

1. Before the 2010 TIF grant , did your district have performance pay program(s) for teachers or principals?

If yes, ask the following questions.

a. What was the source of the funding ?

b. What were the targeted areas (e.g., student achievement, teacher retention, professional development, etc.) ?

c. Were schools , teachers, or principals required to participate? Or could they opt out?

d. How many schools participated ?

1. Are any of these schools participating in the 2010 TIF grant?

If yes: What are the names of the schools?

e. Who was eligible for performance pay? (e.g., teachers, principals, non

- teaching staff)

f. What was the level of award? (e.g., s chool, team, individual )

g. What types of awards did you give? (e.g. , monetary [one

- time cash bonus, salary increase],

non

- monetary [retirement benefits, health benefits, fewer classes, roles])

h. Is the program still in operation?

If no :

1. W hen was it discontinued?

2. Why was it discontinued?

B. Current Reforms in Educator Comp ensation not Funded by TIF

1. During the current school year, are there federal, state, district, or privately sponsored programs, OTHER than TIF, that offer additional compensation to teachers and/or principals in your district ?
If yes, ask the following qu estions.

a. What are the names of the programs ?

b. What are the sources of funding?

c. For what reasons or factors can educators receive additional compensation? (e.g., high effectiveness, extra roles and responsibilities, tea cher in high

- need schools, etc.)

d. Who is eligible for additional compensation? (e.g., teachers, principals, non

- teaching staff)

e. How much extra compensation can teachers and/or principals receive?

f. Are schools required to participate, or can they opt out?

g. How many schools participate?

1. Are any of t hese schools participating in the 2010 TIF grant?

If yes: What are the names of the schools?3 C. Characteristics of TIF Program

1. What criteria did you use to identify schools eligible for the TIF (or PROGRAM NAME) program?

2. Do teachers or principals have to pas s any eligibility requirements to be part of the performance

- based compensation program? (e.g., teach tested subject , full

- time teacher )

If yes: What are these requirements?

3. Which of these services have you used to convey information abo ut the program to school staff? (Ongoing and new staff)

**•** Workshops

**•** Program website

**•** Call or email center

**•** One

- on

- one consultation

**•** Other (specify)

4. What opportunities do you provide teachers and principals to earn additional pay through the TIF program? (e.g. leadership role s , t eaching a high

- need subjec t )

5. Can a teacher or principal opt out of the program?

If yes: Can the teacher or principal choose to opt in later ?

6. What happens when a teacher or principal transfers to a different school? (From a TIF to a non

TIF school or vice versa.)

a. Does that teacher’s evaluation continue from where it started?

b. Can the teacher still receive a bonus, or bonuses?

D. Obtaining Stakeholder Buy

- in

1. Did participation in your TIF program require a vote and approval by your district’s teacher
union?

a. W ere schools given the option of voting to participate in the TIF program ?

b. W ere there additional concerns or complications for participating in the national TIF
evaluation?

2. How do you keep current and new participants informed about aspects of the program ?

3. What techniques do you use to communicate information about the program and it s benefits?

4. Is there a process for program participants to provide feedback about the program?

5. Did you encounter any resistance to the TIF program?

If yes: Who provided this r esistance ?
If a teachers’ union or teachers’ association is named: Did this resistance affect the implementation of the program?

If yes: Please describe how it affected the program implementation.4 E. Evaluating and Rewarding Educator Performance

1. How are prin cipals evaluated in your program ?

2. How do you measure effectiveness for teachers in tested grades/subjects?

a. In untested grades/subjects?

3. Do teachers set their own goals?

4. Do principals set their own goals ?

5. D o teachers or principals have to apply to be cons idered for a performance award?

6. Will performance

- based bonuses or awards for teachers be based on one overall performance rating, or se parate ratings for each criterion ?
If yes :

a. What criteria are included in this overall rating?

b. H ow do you weight the diff erent criteria?

c. Are there separate awards for different criteria?

If yes :

1. What are they?

2. What is the range of the amounts that participants can earn for each one?

7. Are classroom observations used to evaluate teacher performance?

If yes:

1. Who trains the classroom observers?

2. Describe the observation tool or rubric that is used. Is it commercially published or
district created?

8. Do you have different ways of evaluating teachers who teach in untested grades or subjects?

If yes: How do you evaluate teachers in untested grades or subjects?

9. A re teachers or principals required to do anything addi tional to receive a performance award (e.g., open their classrooms to observers) ?

10. How, and by whom, is it determined who will receive additional pay for performance?

a. How is the amount awarded determined?

b. Who must approve the additional pay before it is awarded?

11. Can a teacher or principal appeal or dispute his or her performance pay or award amount ?
If yes: Is there a formal appeals process for teachers or principals have s uch a dispute ?
If yes: Please briefly describe this process.5 F. Professional Development

1. Do you provide professional development opportunities for teachers and/or principals to explain the measures that are used to determine effectiveness?

If yes: Who prov ides it, and briefly describe how it is done.

2. Are there any differences between the professional development provided to teachers in
treatment schools and teachers in control schools?

If yes: How does the professional development differ?

3. How is the profess ional development that is offered under the TIF grant different from that provided prior to TIF?

a. Are there ways in which professional development under the TIF grant is more targeted
tha n prior to the grant?

If yes: Please explain.

G. Challenges and Experienc es

1. What has been challenging so far about implementing the program?

2. What were your district ’ s most significant start

- up challenges?

3. Based on your experiences, would you have done anything differently?

If yes: Please describe.

4. What changes, if any, do you plan to implement to the TIF program in the next school year?