Frequently Asked Questions

TIA is funded by the State of Texas as part of House Bill 3.  As a result, the state has established specific criteria and guidelines regarding how the funds can be earned and distributed.

The State of Texas designed the Teacher Incentive Allotment to “ensure top teachers have a realistic path to a competitive annual salary and to attract and keep effective educators in the classroom and incentivize teaching at challenged campuses.”  In addition, the state designates that only teachers who are coded as an 087 in PEIMS are eligible for designations.  Therefore, the system is not designed to compensate all teachers/staff.

No.  The TIA is supplemental pay that is above and beyond a teacher’s base salary.

If a teacher moves campuses within the district during the school year, the teacher will receive the allotment of funds generated by the state at the campus where the teacher is teaching during Winter Roster Verification.

It is a two year process to earn a TIA designation.  Year 1 is the data collection year, where T-TESS and student growth data is collected.  Year 2 is the data validation year, where Texas Tech in partnership with TEA validates the data.  Once the Designation is earned and on a teacher’s certificate, payout occurs by August 31^st of each year, Remember, they must remain a teacher to continue to generate TIA funds in future years.  See above for additional information regarding the requirements to receive the funding.

Yes.  Teachers earn the amount determined by the state for the campus where they are assigned.  If a teacher is designated a Master teacher at Campus B for the 2021-2022 school year and then moves to Campus C for the 2022-2023 school year, they will earn the supplemental pay for Campus C regardless of whether that pay is higher or lower. Remember, part of the state’s intent in implementing the TIA is to increase student achievement by incentivizing high performing teachers to teach at “challenged campuses.” 

The funding per campus is determined by TEA based upon whether the school is in a rural or non-rural area and based upon the campus’s percentage of economically disadvantaged students.  For a detailed visual explanation, please go to the 5:00 minute mark on the HB 3 in 30 Teacher Incentive Allotment video.  To access the funding levels for each campus in CFBISD, please access TEA’s TIA website.  (Scroll down the page to see the map.  Even though the label at the top of the map reads 2018-2019, no changes in funding have been made at this time.)

Due to the fact that funding for this initiative comes from the state, not the district, this is not possible.  The funds will only be released to CFBISD based upon our system meeting the requirements set forth under the TIA guidelines.  

The district is committed to not adding additional work to teachers and is working to utilize assessment measures that are currently in place. 

While there isn’t a limit to the number of teachers eligible for the TIA, the TIA system, as developed by the State, is intended to honor the top 30% in the state as Recognized, the top 20% as Exemplary and the top 5% as Master Teachers. Note that this is the percentage recognized at the state level and thus may not be the exact percentage at a campus or a district.

The state mandates that Teacher Observation and Student Growth or Performance be utilized to determine TIA designations.  For more information on eligible courses, please see our TIA guidebook.

TIA metrics will be calculated for ALL teachers in CFB.  The name of any CFBISD teacher who meets the criteria for recognition will be submitted to Texas Tech University as part of the data validation process.  Once the state approves, teachers will be notified of their TIA designation.  A teacher may choose not to accept that designation.   

Once earned, the designation is placed on a teacher’s certification and is valid for 5 years.  During that time, scores will continue to be calculated for ALL CFBISD teachers and used to determine if their designation can be raised to a higher level.

No.  Cut scores will be established by the district for each of the three levels of distinction.  A teacher will enter the TIA at any of the three levels based on where their scores fall based on the cut scores delineated in TEA’s Student Growth Performance Standards, TEA’s Teacher Observation Performance Standards, and the as yet to be determined district criteria for teacher leadership and collaboration, student surveys, and relative growth.

No.  If a teacher meets the criteria for one year and then meets the criteria for a higher ranking in subsequent years, the teacher will be moved to the higher designation.  (Ex.  Teacher A earns a Recognized ranking in 2021-2022 and receives TIA funding at the Recognized level in 2022-2023 for that campus.  This teacher would remain on this level for 5 years unless new data is identified that would qualify them for designation at another tier.  Let’s say in 2022-2023, with new data, the teacher now meets the Exemplary level criteria.  The teacher would move to the Exemplary level in 2022-2023 and this new designation would then apply for 5 years unless they once again qualified for a higher level. 

A teacher will not move down a level or be removed from a TIA designation during the 5 year period in which the designation is earned.  Teachers may move up the designation levels but will NOT be moved down during the 5 years for which they qualify.   Disclaimer:  Since this initiative is funded 100% by the State of Texas, CFBISD will only be able to fund TIA designations as long as the state continues to provide that funding.  Should the legislature discontinue funding, CFBISD would also have to discontinue funding.

As per state guidelines, at the end of the 5 years, the teacher must once again go through the process to qualify for the Teacher Incentive Allotment. 

No.

Unfortunately, no.  The system must be based on reliable and valid measures.  If every teacher had their own criteria, the district could not meet that standard.  However, the district continues to solicit teacher input regarding major decision points in order to develop a system that follows the state’s criteria and meets the needs of our stakeholders. 

CFBISD has multiple measures to support teachers earning designations.  Some of these are as follows:

• Support from campus coaches, specialists and/or directors,
• Content area and district level trainings,
• Feedback from administrative walkthroughs and evaluations,
• T-TESS goal setting and goal attainment through Student Growth Goals (SGGs),
• TORSH, a video repository, was launched district-wide in December.  As it is built out, this platform will house exemplar videos that can be utilized to learn and perfect effective teaching strategies.

Yes.  CFB is committed to the goal of putting ALL teachers on the path to earn a TIA designation.  However, as we shared in the initial TIA presentation, we may see a phased-in approach, with some grades and/or subject areas coming on board at various times.   

The National Board Certification process is designed to collect standards- based evidence of accomplished practice. In all 25 certificate areas, candidates for National Board Certification must complete four components: three portfolio entries, submitted online, and a computer-based assessment, which is administered at a testing center. 

• Computer-based assessment
  • Component 1: Content Knowledge  
• Portfolio entries
  • Component 2: Differentiation in Instruction
  • Component 3: Teaching Practice and Learning Environment
  • Component 4: Effective and Reflective Practitioner

Learn more about the National Board Certification by clicking on the link.

National Board Certification is a designation teachers across the United States can obtain.  Once the certification is earned, it can be transferred anywhere in the nation.  The Teacher Incentive Allotment is a program initiated under HB3 by the State of Texas.  As such, the designations earned can be transferred across districts only in the state of Texas.  

Yes.

The district is still investigating options regarding National Board Certification.  The district is investigating possible funding sources to support teachers in this endeavor. More information will be provided once details become available.

Relative Performance measures the level of student achievement at a campus in comparison to schools with similar levels of student poverty (economically disadvantaged student population). Using the current state accountability A-F rating system, campuses earn a Relative Performance score based on STAAR results for elementary and middle schools. For high schools, Relative Performance is based on STAAR results and percentage of students meeting at least one College, Career, and Military Readiness (CCMR) indicator. 

The district is considering using campus Relative Performance score as 5% of the teacher’s overall TIA score. We are still investigating Relative Performance calculation models and how the weighted value will be combined with the other factors. 

Student performance or student growth is one of the two required components of the Teacher Incentive Allotment and MUST be part of the calculation in determining which teachers are designated as Recognized, Exemplary and Master. 

With student performance, there are variables that cannot be controlled.  For example, one teacher may teach all Advance Placement (AP) courses while another may be assigned a caseload working with on or below level students.  This would cause concerns with the verification of the system being reliable and valid.  With student growth, reliable and valid statistical measures are utilized to mitigate the variance in teaching assignments.  Therefore, CFBISD will utilize a growth measure for the Student Performance/Student Growth component of the TIA.     

For more information on current student growth measures used in CFB, please see our TIA Guidebook.

For more information on current student growth measures used in CFB, please see our TIA Guidebook 

All administrators who appraise teachers were provided two days of training with Region X certified instructors.  At the end of this training, all participants were required to participate in a certification test in order to earn their credentials as a certified T-TESS appraiser.  The Chiefs of School Leadership and the two Assistant Superintendents also attended the training and hold valid T-TESS credentials.  This state-wide certification exam must be taken and passed annually for at least the first three years an appraiser utilizes the T-TESS appraisal system. 

All district appraisers are participating in calibration exercises.  At the district level, administrators are watching videos and scoring them using the T-TESS rubric.  Scores are then submitted to the district and areas for growth are determined.  These areas help determine the focus for future professional development and growth at both the district or campus level.

The district heard the concerns teachers voiced regarding ensuring that the district’s culture is not negatively impacted by TIA.  As a result, the committee that met to determine the Other Components under the TIA highly value and reward teacher leadership and collaboration.  CFB includes both Domain 1 and Domain 4 of T-TESS in determining TIA designations.