This project relates to the following ED Priorities:

  • Using data-based decision-making to improve instructional practices, policies, and student outcomes
  • Identifying, recruiting, developing, and retaining highly effective teachers and leaders

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Professional Development Audit


In May 2013, the Texas Legislature passed H.B. 2012 that requires the Texas Education Agency to conduct an audit of the professional development requirements including state and federal requirements and requirements imposed by school districts. TXCC will provide technical assistance to TEA in the development of the audit procedures, assist with the analysis of the data, identify areas of duplication, and help to design the guidance to school districts regarding high-quality professional development.

Previous Work Updates

2015

September

TXCC staff created a supplemental guide that outlines the process of the Professional Development (PD) Audit for replication purposes and serves as a guide to the PD Audit project and reports and related appendices submitted by Learning Forward. With the submission of this document, the PD Audit project as defined by the original project scope has come to a close for TXCC.

May

A meeting with TXCC and TEA staff has been scheduled for July to discuss the status and next steps for the Professional Development Audit project.

January

TXCC staff met with Texas Education Agency (TEA) staff to review the Professional Development Requirements Audit report that was submitted to TEA by Learning Forward. The purpose of the review was to ensure that all requirements, as noted in the RFP, had been met according to the contract and to identify the key recommendations made as a result of the audit. TXCC staff created a crosswalk to use as an analytic tool to identify the 10 key components and related elements that were required to be included in the report. For the components that were not fully addressed, TEA contacted Learning Forward to ensure that the information would be provided and added to the report. TEA and TXCC staff also agreed that creating a facilitators’ guide, for use by those designated to conduct future professional development audits, would be useful. TXCC staff will collaborate with TEA to create the guide.

2014

December

TXCC and TEA staff reviewed and edited the Learning Forward professional development (PD) audit report documents to submit for final editing and approval by TEA. TEA and TXCC staff agreed a meeting would be held in January to collaboratively review the PD audit report to discuss the key recommendations and to develop a plan for addressing them.

November

TXCC and the Texas Education Agency (TEA) staff met with Learning Forward staff to review all related professional development audit documents that are ready to submit for approval by TEA. Learning Forward staff provided a walkthrough of the Professional Development Requirements audits and the associated deliverables as noted in the RFP. The team engaged in discussion around the policy and quality audits, which included statewide surveys, virtual site visits, the Standards Assessment Inventory (SAI), continuing professional education provider survey, and the district client survey. They also discussed preliminary findings that resulted from the audit and lessons learned from the process. To prepare TEA for replicating an auditing process in the future, Learning Forward provided all of the resources, facilitator’s guides, communication documents, archived webinars, and technology guides necessary to conduct and document an effective auditing process.

September

As part of the Professional Development Audit, the TEA, TXCC and Learning Forward will conduct a quality assessment of CPE offerings provided throughout the state. Draft correspondence and surveys that are slated for dissemination to selected CPE providers in early October, have been reviewed and approved. Similarly, surveys and communications have been developed to gather state and district professional development information to assess alignment to Learning Forward’s research-based 2011 Standards for Professional Learning. In early October, these surveys will be sent to districts that participated in Phase I of the PD Audit project.

August

The Texas Education Agency and TXCC submitted a selection of state-approved CPE providers to Learning Forward for the quality assessment stage of the Professional Development (PD) Audit. TEA and TXCC used a stratified random sampling method to ensure a representative sample of CPE providers from across the State were provided. The next stage of the audit will be to survey and interview these providers to assess the quality of their PD offerings.

July

After concluding its focus group interviews, TEA’s vendor for the professional development audit, Learning Forward’s Center for Results, provided draft reports of interview results that were sent to each participating district and TEA. TEA and TXCC are reviewing and organizing the list of continuing professional education providers in preparation for participating in provider interviews with Learning Forward’s Center for Results.

June

In June, Learning Forward’s Center for Results continued its work in conducting the professional development audit.

May

Staff from TXCC, TEA, and Learning Forward’s Center for Results (CR) reviewed a list of 42 schools that accepted the invitation to participate in virtual focus groups for the professional development (PD) audit. Seven districts declined or did not respond to the invitation. CR staff conducted virtual campus visits and focus group sessions to gather data about PD in districts throughout the State. An additional aspect of the PD audit is to identify professional service providers that the State has identified as qualified vendors. TXCC and the TEA staff researched the State vendors’ list and determined 156 vendors whose contact information will be forwarded to CR for interviews.

April

Staff from TXCC, TEA, and Center for Results (Learning Forward) reviewed, discussed, and provided input on the focus group questions to be used with districts selected to participate in the Professional Development (PD) audit. Additionally, the Center for Results shared an email with the TEA and TXCC that will be sent to districts regarding their participation in virtual site visits. The communication explained that the virtual visits will consist of (1) a collection and review of specific district documents regarding professional development, (2) a virtual focus group of district and campus administrators to be interviewed, and (3) a virtual focus group of teachers and other certified personnel to be interviewed. The Center for Results team also shared an attachment that will be sent to participating districts regarding the documents to be submitted to the PD audit team for review. On May 1, TEA disseminated a statewide Professional Development Requirements Survey to all districts.

March

House Bill 2012 (83rd Legislative Session), requires the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to conduct an audit of federal, state, and local professional development requirements and quality. In partnership with the contract awardee, Learning Forward Center for Results, TEA and the TXCC worked to develop and refine a survey regarding educator professional development (PD) that will be completed by district superintendents or designees. Also to gather qualitative data on PD requirements and quality, site visits and focus groups will be conducted in a sample of districts and charter schools throughout the state of Texas. The survey and site visits will take place beginning in late May, following administration of state assessment. Furthermore, TEA and Learning Forward have agreed that focus groups will include representation of the following personnel: principal, school counselor, school librarian, educational diagnostician, reading specialist, master teacher, classroom teacher, and educational aide. Finally, in order to facilitate the understanding and support of staff from the 20 regional education service centers and educator-related professional organizations, individuals from these organizations were invited to participate in a 45-minute webinar to learn more about events related to the audit. By keeping these individuals and entities aware of upcoming activities it is hoped that they can provide support, outreach, and information to their district staffs about the survey and the focus groups in which they will participate.

2013

November

In November, TXCC staff collaborated with staff from TEA’s Educator Leadership and Quality division in reviewing the proposals submitted for the professional development audit. The contract for this work is expected to be awarded in December.

October

In September and October, staff from TXCC and TEA’s Educator Leadership and Quality division met several times to determine next steps in addressing the House Bill 2012 audit requirements for professional development. In these meetings, it was determined that TEA would issue a request for proposals to select a vendor who will assist the agency in conducting the audit and developing a guidance document for quality mentoring programs.