Spring 2015 School Leader Survey

[[Version: On-line administration. Wave 1.]] 

Understanding Your Participation in the Study

Welcome to the spring 2015 survey for school leaders about the feedback you give to teachers’ 

regarding their instruction as a part of the NM TEACH Educator Effectiveness System. 

Study Purpose. With funding from the federal Department of Education as a part of the 

Southwest Regional Educational Lab, this study is intended to learn about the feedback 

principals give to teachers under the NM TEACH Educator Effectiveness System, and teachers’ 

perceptions of that feedback. For more information about the study, please see {REL Southwest 

website}. In {month, year} REL Southwest researchers asked all New Mexico’s public school 

principals to participate in a study about evaluation feedback to teachers. Results will be used 

to provide New Mexico Public Education Department feedback regarding how to improve the 

NM TEACH Educator Effectiveness System training for principals and teachers.

Survey Purpose. This survey is intended to gather information on the provision of feedback to 

teachers after formal observations by school leaders. REL Southwest researchers will ask study 

participants to fill out an on-line, 30-minute survey once in spring 2015 and again in spring 

2016. Survey results will not be used to evaluate you, other teachers, or school leaders. 

Procedures. Online completion of the survey should take approximately 30 minutes. By using 

your personal survey link provided in the invitation email, you will be able to complete the 

survey in multiple sessions; responses will be saved as you enter them. However, once you click 

“submit” at the very end of the survey, you will no longer be able to return.

Confidentiality. REL Southwest will keep all survey responses confidential and will only use 

them for the purpose of the study. Our reports will contain summaries, and responses will 

never be presented in any way that would permit readers to identify you or your school. No 

one at your school, district, or the state will have access to survey responses that include 

respondents’ names, school names, or other information that could potentially be used to 

identify individuals or schools.

Participants. At the same time that we are emailing you, REL Southwest is also inviting all New 

Mexico public school school-based principals to participate in this study. Up to 10 teachers per 

school are also being surveyed. 

Benefits. Your completion of this survey gives you the opportunity to reflect on and share your 

perspective about the teacher evaluation system. You will be providing valuable information 

that may help New Mexico Public Education Department improve the NM TEACH Educator 

Effectiveness System. 
Compensation. Within two weeks of completion of this online survey, you will receive via email 

a link to your $25 online gift card for completing the survey. We will provide another $25 

online gift card upon completion of the spring 2016 survey to each participant.

Risks. The risks associated with your participation in this study are minimal. 

Voluntary Participation. Your participation in this survey is completely voluntary. You can 

decide not to participate or to discontinue your participation at any time. A few survey 

questions, marked with a red asterisk, are required for routing to later questions.

Questions? If you have any questions about this survey or the study as a whole, please feel free 

to call us toll-free at {XXX}. You can also contact {XX}, the survey coordinator, at {email} or by 

phone at {XX}. If you have concerns or questions about your rights as a participant, contact the 

RAND IRB Office (which is responsible for the protection of project participants): {email}, toll 

free at {XX}, or c/o IRB, {address}.

[Required question] Informed Consent. By clicking the box below, you are indicating that you 

have read and understood the information provided to you about your participation in this 

survey.

 I have read and understood the information and choose to participate.

Thank you very much for your help in this important study!

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Using This Survey

Here are some tips that may help you navigate and complete this survey.

Returning to previous pages. Be sure to use the survey “go back to previous page” button at 

the bottom of the page. Do not use your browser’s back button—it will not work.

Returning to the survey itself. If you would like to complete the survey in multiple sessions—or 

if you accidentally get disconnected from the survey—you can return to your previous 

responses by clicking on the link that was in your invitation email. This will take you to where 

you left off (through the last full page you completed). You can keep returning until you click on 

the “submit” button on the final page of the survey.

Saving your responses. Your responses on any given survey page are saved when you click on 

either button at the bottom of the page (“save and go to next page” or “go back to previous 

page”). 
Adding optional comments. Toward the bottom of each survey page is a space where you can

write in any comments you may have pertaining to the questions on the page. This is 

completely optional.

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Your Position and Job Responsibilities

[q1]Which of the following best describes your position as a school leader this school year 

(2014-2015)? 

 If you are not a school leader, you may have received this survey in error. Please reply to 

the invitation email or call {XXX}.

 principal 

 vice principal/assistant principal

 director

 dean

 other: _______________________

[q2x]Including this school year (2014-2015), how many years have you been a school 

administrator? (Fill in each box.)

 “School administrator” includes principal, assistant principal, and other equivalent titles.

[q2xa]Years as a school administrator in your current school

[q2xb]Years as a school administrator in your current district 

(including current school)

[q2xc]Years as a school administrator, total, in any location 

(including other districts and current district)

[q3]In addition to your administrative responsibilities, do you currently (2014-2015) have 

official teaching responsibilities (that is, formally instruct K-12 students as the teacher of record 

in one or more classes)?

 Yes

 No

[q4]Do you play a role in filling teaching positions at your school (for example, recruiting, 

interviewing, and/or hiring)? 

 Yes

 No
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Your Perceptions of the Quality of Your School’s Teaching Staff This Year

[q5] Indicate your level of agreement with the following statement: “Overall, I was satisfied 

with the quality of the whole teaching staff in my school this year (2014-2015).”

[insert slider graphic here. tick marks for disagree strongly, disagree somewhat, agree 

somewhat, agree strongly] 

[q6x] Use the slider to answer each item below. During this school year (2014-2015), how 

many teachers in your school...

None or 

almost 

none A few About half Most

All or nearly 

all

[q6a] Are highly effective 

instructional leaders.

[insert slider graphic here]

[q6b] Are struggling and/or 

ineffective instructional leaders. 

[insert slider graphic here]

[q6c] Had a good grasp of the 

subject matter they teach

[insert slider graphic here]

[q6d] Engaged in collaborative 

conversations about teaching and 

learning on a weekly or biweekly 

basis 

[insert slider graphic here]

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Your Practices When Observing Teachers This Year (SY 2014-2015) for Evaluation 

Purposes 

[q7] Thinking about the entire school year 2014-2015, please estimate the number of teachers 

you will formally evaluate yourself using the NM TEACH Observation Rubric {link}. 

[enter number here that ranges from 0 – 50] 

[q8] Thinking about the entire school year 2014-2015, how many other school leaders besides 

yourself will formally evaluate teachers using the NM TEACH Observation Rubric {link}? 
[enter number here that ranges from 0 – 5] 

[q9] Thinking about the entire school year 2014-2015, how often did you personally formally 

observe teachers in your school building using the NM TEACH Observation Rubric {link}? 

[q8] Thinking about the entire school year 2014-2015, how often did you personally formally 

observe teachers in your school building using the New Mexico Observation Rubric {link}? 

 I or another school leader formally observed (for 15+ minutes using the NM TEACH

Observation Rubric) all teachers 3 or more times.

 I or another school leader formally observed (for 15+ minutes using the NM TEACH

Observation Rubric) all teacher 2 times. 

 I or another school leader formally observed (for 15+ minutes using the NM TEACH

Observation Rubric) some teachers 2 times and other teachers 3 times or more.

 Other: ________________________________

[q10] Use the slider to estimate how long post-observation conferences typically took you 

during school year 2014-2015. Think only of conferences after formal observations; do not 

include informal feedback from classroom walk-throughs. 

[insert slider graphic here. Tick marks for 0 minutes to 60 minutes with 10 minute intervals]

[q11] Thinking about the entire school year 2014-2015, how frequently did you provide 

informal feedback about teaching and learning to individual teachers—e.g. walk-throughs, 

wows and wonders. 

 At least once a week. 

 At least once a month.

 At least once per semester.

 Other: ___________________

 Optional comment here:

[q12x] Thinking about all your formal observations from school year 2014-2015, use the slider 

to indicate how much you agree or disagree with the following statements about your postformal observation conferences with teachers. 

Disagree 

Strongly

Disagree 

Somewhat

Agree 

Somewhat

Agree 

Strongly

[q12a] The feedback session itself, separate 

from professional development I may have 

recommended, helped teachers improve 

instruction.

[insert slider graphic here]

[q12b] In each conference, the teacher 

brought documents to the conference,

[insert slider graphic here]
documents such as the lesson plan, PDP.

[q12c] In each conference, I brought 

documents to conference such as the 

teacher’s report card and the most recent 

PDP.

[insert slider graphic here]

[q12d] In each conference, I identified at 

least one positive practice that the teacher 

does well.

[insert slider graphic here]

[q12e] In each conference, I identified at 

least one challenge facing the teacher.

[insert slider graphic here]

[q12f] In each conference, I used my scores

on the NM TEACH Observation Rubric for that 

teacher to determine which instructional 

practices to praise or critique with the 

teacher.

[insert slider graphic here]

[q12g] In each conference, I used my scores

on the NM TEACH Observation Rubric for that 

teacher to determine what professional 

development to recommend to the teacher. 

[insert slider graphic here]

[q12h] In each conference, I ended the 

conference on a positive note.

[insert slider graphic here]

[q12i]Each conference followed a predictable 

format.

[insert slider graphic here]

[q12j] In each conference, the teacher and I 

mutually developed next steps for their

instruction.

[insert slider graphic here]

[q12k] In each conference provided specific

feedback to teachers about their 

performance.

[insert slider graphic here]

[q12l] In each conference I provided 

actionable feedback to teachers about their 

performance.

[insert slider graphic here]

[q12m] In each conference, teachers 

committed to specific set of next steps to 

improve their instruction. 

[insert slider graphic here]

[q12n] In each conference, I spoke for 

almost all of the time during the conference.

[insert slider graphic here]

[q12o] There was a high level of 

collaboration in feedback conferences.

[insert slider graphic here]

[q12p] There was a high level of conflict in 

feedback conferences. 

[insert slider graphic here]
[q12q] It was hard to provide negative 

feedback to teachers about their 

performance.

[insert slider graphic here]

[q12r] The large majority of teachers seemed 

to trust and accept my feedback.

[insert slider graphic here]

[q12s] I feel positive about the feedback I 

gave teachers in conferences.

[insert slider graphic here]

[q12t] I enjoyed most of the post-observation 

feedback conferences.

[insert slider graphic here]

[q12u] I provided all teachers I reviewed with 

a written or online summary of the 

observation with my comments on it. 

[insert slider graphic here]

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Professional Development Offered to Teachers This Year (2014-2015)

The questions in this section ask about professional development for teachers.

 Professional development includes (but is not limited to) workshops, inservices, 

coaching/mentoring, collaborative planning/study, institutes, professional conferences, 

online courses, self-directed learning, and so forth.

[q13x] Use the slider to rate how much you agree or disagree with each of the following 

statements about the professional development experiences of teachers at your school this 

year (2014-2015, including summer 2014).

 Consider professional development offered by the district and other external 

sources as well as professional development offered by the school.

The professional development options for teachers this year....

Don’t know Disagree 

Strongly

Disagree 

Somewhat

Agree 

Somewhat

Agree 

Strongly

[q13a] Were mostly developed by

school leaders or teachers at my 

school.

 [insert slider graphic here]

[q13b] Were mostly job-embedded 

rather than one-time only sessions.  [insert slider graphic here]

[q13c]Were varied and numerous 

enough to allow me to customize my 

PD recommendations to teachers 

based on their performance on specific 

 [insert slider graphic here]
domains of the NM TEACH 

Observation Rubric.{link}

[q13d]Helped teachers improve on 

elements measured by the NM TEACH 

Observation Rubric. 

 [insert slider graphic here]

[q13e]Helped teachers improve 

other elements of the NM TEACH 

evaluation besides the NM TEACH 

Observation Rubric (e.g., student 

achievement or “other” multiple 

measure).

 [insert slider graphic here]

[q13f]Were well aligned with the 

Common Core State Standards and/or 

curriculum based on these standards.

 [insert slider graphic here]

[q13g]Have been convenient enough 

to promote teachers’ participation.  [insert slider graphic here]

[q13h]Were sufficiently resourced 

(for example, substitute coverage, 

funding to cover expenses, stipends) 

to allow teachers to participate in the 

professional development they need 

to do their jobs successfully.

 [insert slider graphic here]

[q13i]District-provided professional 

development offerings (workshops, 

inservices, online courses, etc.) have 

enough slots and availability to 

accommodate all teachers who wish 

or need to participate. 

 [insert slider graphic here]

[q13j]Teachers have had easy access 

to a catalog of professional 

development opportunities aligned 

with the NM TEACH Observation 

Rubric.

 [insert slider graphic here]

[q14x] Thinking about the professional development that teachers at your school have 

participated in this year (2014-2015, including summer 2014), use the slider to indicate how 

useful do think each of the following has been for improving teacher effectiveness.

Not 

Applicable 

Not at all 

useful

Slightly 

useful

Moderately 

useful Very useful

[q14a]Workshops or inservices for 

teachers at your school only  [insert slider graphic here]
(typically on-site)

[q14b]Workshops, inservices, 

institutes, or conferences organized 

by your district for teachers from 

multiple schools

 [insert slider graphic here]

[q14c]Online professional 

development offered by or through 

your district

 [insert slider graphic here]

[q14d]District- or state-sponsored 

induction program, mentoring, or 

other professional development 

activities for new or beginning 

teachers

 [insert slider graphic here]

[q14e]Instructional coaching 

(provided by school-based coaches 

or district coaches)

 [insert slider graphic here]

[q14f]Professional development 

led by me or a school leader such as 

study groups or school-wide staff 

meetings

 [insert slider graphic here]

[q14g]School-based teacher 

collaboration (grade-level or 

subject-area teams, professional 

learning communities, study groups, 

etc.)

 [insert slider graphic here]

[q14h]Videos of sample lessons  [insert slider graphic here]

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Training You Received About NM TEACH to Date

[q15x]What types of training have you received to date regarding the NM TEACH Educator 

Effectiveness system? (Check all that apply.)

 [q15a][exclusive option]No professional development received

 [q15b]Information on the NM TEACH Educator Effectiveness system(overall purpose, 

specific components, consequences for teachers, relationship to professional 

development, and so forth)

 [q15c]How to use the NM TEACH Observation Rubric

 [q15d]How to provide feedback to individual teachers after formal classroom 

observations 
 [q15e]How to enter scores from NM TEACH Observation Rubric into Reflect, the 

Teachscape software

 [q15f]How to use Reflect, the Teachscape software 

 [q15g]How to interpret a teachers’ NM TEACH Summative Evaluation Score

 [q15h]How to give NM TEACH Observation Rubric ratings consistent with those given 

by other raters

 [q15i]How to understand and make use of NM TEACH Summative Evaluation Score to 

help improve teaching at my school

 [q15j]How to direct teachers to professional development based on their NM TEACH 

Summative Evaluation Score

 [q15k]Other:

[q16] [if 15b-k ==yes] Who sponsored the training you attended about NM TEACH Educator 

Effectiveness system? Mark as many as apply.

 State Public Education Department 

 My school district

 Other: __________________

 Don’t know 

[q17] [if 15b-k ==yes] In total, how many minutes of training did you receive this year (2014-

2015, including summer 2014) about how to provide feedback to teachers.

 0 minutes

 15 minutes

 30 minutes

 60 minutes

 120 minutes

 240 minutes

 Other:

[q18] [if 15d==yes] Thinking about the training on how to conduct post-observation 

conferences with teachers, indicate how useful you think the training was. 

 Not at all useful

 Slightly useful

 Moderately useful

 Very useful

[q19] I understand how the overall teacher ratings work in the NM teacher evaluation system 

(NM TEACH).

 Disagree strongly
 Disagree somewhat

 Agree somewhat

 Agree Strongly

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Your Personal Views of NM TEACH Educator Effectiveness System

[q20x]Indicate how much you agree or disagree with each of the following statements about 

the NM TEACH Educator Effectiveness System from the school year 2014-2015. 

Disagree 

Strongly

Disagree 

Somewhat

Agree 

Somewhat

Agree 

Strongly

[q20a]The NM TEACH Educator Effectiveness 

System does a good job distinguishing 

effective from ineffective teachers.

[insert slider graphic here]

[q20b]The NM TEACH Educator Effectiveness 

System is fair to all teachers, regardless of 

their personal characteristics or those of the 

students they teach.

[insert slider graphic here]

[q20c]The NM TEACH Educator Effectiveness 

System ignores important aspects of teacher 

performance.

[insert slider graphic here]

[q20d]The NM TEACH Educator Effectiveness 

System requires so much of my time that it 

interferes with other important activities.

[insert slider graphic here]

[q20e]I have a clear idea of what the NM 

TEACH Educator Effectiveness System views 

as “good instruction.”

[insert slider graphic here]

[q20f]The NM TEACH Educator Effectiveness 

System has helped me pinpoint specific things 

I can do to help improve my teachers’ 

performance.

[insert slider graphic here]

[q20g]In the NM TEACH Educator 

Effectiveness System, teachers who do not 

score “Effective” or better often leave 

teaching voluntarily.

[insert slider graphic here]

[q21x]Indicate how much you agree or disagree with each of the following statements about 

the NM TEACH Observation Rubric. 
Disagree 

Strongly

Disagree 

Somewhat

Agree 

Somewhat

Agree 

Strongly

[q21a]The 6 elements of Domain 1 (Planning 

and Preparation) of the NM TEACH 

Observation Rubric {link} are a useful way to 

measure the quality of teachers’ instructional 

practices. 

[insert slider graphic here]

[q21b] The 5 elements of Domain 2 (Creating 

an Environment for Learning) of the NM 

TEACH Observation Rubric {link} are a useful 

way to measure the quality of teachers’ 

instructional practices.

[insert slider graphic here]

[q21c]The 5 elements of Domain 3 (Teaching 

for Learning) of the NM TEACH Observation 

Rubric {link} are a useful way to measure the 

quality of teachers’ instructional practices.

[insert slider graphic here]

[q21d] The 4 elements of Domain 4 

(Professionalism) of the NM TEACH 

Observation Rubric {link} are a useful way to 

measure the quality of teachers’ instructional 

practices.

[insert slider graphic here]

[q21e] Using the NM TEACH Observation 

Rubric {link} helps me to provide constructive, 

specific feedback to teachers to improve their 

instruction. 

[insert slider graphic here]

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Teacher Retention and Improvement

.

[q22x]Over the past year (since approximately May 1, 2014), how many teachers at your 

school...

None (0 

teachers) 1 teacher 2 teachers 3 teachers More than 3 teachers

Don’t 

know

[q22a] Moved from effective to 

highly effective on the NM TEACH      
Summative Evaluation.

[q22b]Were put on an 

professional growth plan or 

entered probationary status 

     

[q22c] Were dismissed (that is, 

had their district employment as a 

teacher terminated) due to 

receiving a low effectiveness rating 

on the NM TEACH Summative 

Evaluation 

     

[q22d]Left teaching voluntarily

after receiving a low effectiveness 

rating on the NM TEACH

Summative Evaluation 

     

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Optional Comments from You

The following four questions are optional if you have any feedback you wish to share.

[q23] Do you have any comments about the NM TEACH Observation Rubric? 

[q24] Do you have any comments about professional development available to teachers in 

your district?

[q25] Do you have any comments about training either your district or NM PED have offered 

about the NM TEACH teacher evaluation system?

[q26] Do you have any feedback about this survey? 

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Thank You!

Thank you so much for your time to complete this survey. 

Within the next 2 weeks, you will receive an email message with instructions about how to 

claim your gift card. This email message will come from {iCard (services@icardgiftcard.com)} 

and will be sent to the same email address at which you received the survey invitation, unless 

you indicate otherwise here:

 Yes, please send my gift card information to the same email address to which you sent 

the survey invitation.

 Please send my gift card information to a different email address, which I am providing 

here: _______________

 No, I do not wish to receive a gift card email from {iCard}.

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Thanks Again

You have completed the survey and may now close it.