2016 TELL ACPS Survey Frequently Asked Questions Updated January 13, 2016

Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. What is “TELL ACPS” ? TELL (Teaching, Empowering, Leading and Learning) ACPS is an anonymous survey of school- based licensed educators (including principals) in ACPS that will assess teaching conditions at the school and division level. It is based on the New Teacher Center’s TELL Survey used in as many as twenty states across the country. The division is committed to ensuring that every educator has the supportive environment necessary to succeed and will administer the TELL Survey in the school year

Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. Teaching conditions matter: For students (achievement) because positive conditions can result in school and division improvements For teachers (retention) because positive conditions can increase morale and job satisfaction Not everyone sees teaching conditions the same way, but it is important to gather feedback when trying to change the status quo. This work is research-driven and is now part of national education reform initiatives. Why are teaching conditions important?

Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. Who are the partners supporting TELL ACPS?

Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved.  The survey is an anonymous, online survey of all school-based instructional and professional staff in ACPS.  The survey will be live from Jan 25 – Feb 26,  The survey can be completed from any computer with Internet access, using an individual, anonymous access code.  Only schools with adequate response rates will have their school data reported. This will protect anonymity of respondents for schools with fewer than 5 respondents or less than 50% participation.  Results will be available approximately five weeks after the survey closes. What are the basics of the survey?

Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved.  This survey is intended for:  Licensed staff (classroom teachers, specialists, Department Heads, counselors, coaches, resource teachers, psychologists, social workers, nurses, assistant principals, and principals)  The following groups should not participate in TELL ACPS:  Clerical or support personnel (secretaries, bookkeepers, custodial and lunchroom staff)  Paraprofessionals  Aides Who should participate in the TELL ACPS survey?

Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. At you can click on “response rate” and view any the response rate tracker in real time for every school. How do we know when a school reaches the minimum 50% response rate needed for school- level data?

Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. Once the survey is open, if your school’s headcount is not correct, the administrator (or designee) should go to Near the top of the text area there will be a link for you to click and submit corrected numbers for your school. Please do not call the help desk for this correction. It may take up to 48 hours for the corrected numbers to appear on the website. Be sure to refresh your browser (button F5 on your keyboard while the response rate page is open) to see adjustments. What if the website has the incorrect number of educators in my school?

Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. How can I access the survey? 24 hours/day Use any computer with Internet access View the survey questions and real-time response rates Read about the research Take the survey! Once you receive your anonymous access code, visit

Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. How will teachers and administrators receive their anonymous access codes? A designated person (see next slide) in each school will receive the packet of materials which include the Letter to educators, which have individual anonymous access codes. Your random, anonymous access code!

Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. Designated Person at Each School to Receive Packets

Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. There will be a bright sticker on the envelope for each school. Packages are delivered via USPS.

Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. NTC’s Help Desk There will be a toll-free Help Desk extension 20 available 7:30 AM-4:30 PM EST Monday through Friday during the survey window. Help Desk can also be accessed at any time through Anyone (principals or teachers) not receiving codes should contact the Help Desk at extension 20 during the survey window. Who can I call if I need help, lose my access code or didn’t receive an access code? ??? ?? The Help Desk!

Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. No. They will use the same website ( to access the survey using one of the anonymous access codes on the letter. At the very beginning of the survey the participant will be asked to select his/her school position. When the principal selects “Administrator” he/she will then receive many of the same questions as teachers, but will receive an additional bank of questions that have been specifically designed for administrators. Do administrators take the same survey as teachers?

Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. How are the administrator results reported? Can you ensure that this is anonymous?  The survey is about the school environment - not about any one person or individual.  There are NO questions asked that refer to an individual educator or administrator rather, questions refer to “leadership” at the school.  There are no questions on the survey that specifically ask about subject areas or grade levels.  When the letters with the unique, anonymous access codes are distributed in the school, educators are encouraged to switch letters, thereby demonstrating the codes are anonymous. To ensure anonymity of all respondents, all responses for administrators are reported at the state level.

Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. What if I’m the only new teacher? Or the only ELL teacher? How will my response really be anonymous? There is a minimum requirement that at least 5 respondents are received for any school data to be reported. Also, at least 50% of the staff must participate for the school data to be reported. So, unless there are at least 5 teachers within any given category, no data will appear on the school report for the “New Teacher Section.” Additionally, individuals have added security knowing that: It is not possible to view data by role, years of experience, or any other demographic information at the school or division level. Demographic data will only be reported at the division level.

Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. Can you ensure that this is anonymous? (cont.)  When the school reports are compiled, for schools that reach at least a 50% response rate with a minimum of 5 teachers participating, there will be no indication or groupings by type of teacher, role, or other identifiable category.  While there are some demographic questions on the survey, the answers to these questions are only reported at the division level, and not at the school level.  There is no way to determine which teacher or principal provided a certain response once the data are reported.

Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. When will the results be ready? How can they be viewed? All data will be available on the website in a secure format after the survey ends and analysis is complete. *Results for schools reaching the minimum threshold for response.

Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. TELL ACPS takes approximately minutes to complete. You must complete it in one session and be sure to click “submit” when you are finished. How long does it take to complete the survey?

Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. How will I know my responses were submitted successfully?

Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. The New Teacher Center (NTC) administer the TELL ACPS survey. NTC is a national organization dedicated to supporting the development of a high-quality teaching force. NTC has conducted similar surveys in several states and districts throughout the nation. Since 2008, the NTC has collected over 1.4 million surveys in 20 states, providing critical information to the faculty in more than 26,000schools about issues such as planning time, facilities and resources, professional development, school and teacher leadership and other aspects of the school environment that can influence teacher effectiveness. NTC provides induction and professional development for teachers and principals across the country. Who is administering this survey?

Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. Thank You!