Texas Principal Evaluation and Support System

On May 15, 2020, the Texas Education Agency issued a TAA letter to local educational agencies (LEAs) indicating changes to the Texas Principal Evaluation and Support System (T-PESS) rubric and associated trainings and supports.

That TAA stated:

“Starting with the 2021-2022 school year, LEAs will need to use the updated T-PESS rubric to meet requirements of the commissioner’s recommended principal appraisal system in accordance with TEC §21.3541. LEAs that remain with the current T-PESS rubric will be considered to be using a locally developed principal appraisal system and thus must meet the requirements of TEC §11.251 in adopting their locally developed principal appraisal system.”

This TAA serves as a reminder to LEAs using T-PESS as their principal appraisal system of the need to take the steps necessary to either change to the updated T-PESS rubric and appraisal system or continue with the previous T-PESS rubric by adopting it as their locally developed principal appraisal system.

T-PESS Changes

The primary changes to T-PESS are revisions to the T-PESS rubric based on stakeholder feedback. Those changes include:

1. Descriptor language that provides more clarity or specificity in the practices described with a continuum across performance levels;
2. A preponderance of evidence approach to rating as opposed to an additive/cumulative approach to rating; and
3. A clear alignment to the Effective Schools Framework to connect T-PESS to campus-based best practices.

Resources Available

Training and resources to support a switch to the updated T-PESS rubric are available from local education service centers (ESCs) and can be found on the T-PESS website, tpess.org.

Contact

Please contact your local ESC for information regarding training on the updated T-PESS rubric.

For other inquiries about T-PESS, including the revisions to the T-PESS rubric, please contact support@tpess.org.