TDOE & TERA Launch 2023 Tennessee Educator Survey
Participation Amplifies Educator Voice; Informs K-12 School Leader and Policymaker Decisions
Nashville, TN—Today, the Tennessee Department of Education and the Tennessee Education Research Alliance (TERA) at Vanderbilt University launched the 2023 Tennessee Educator Survey statewide. All educators, administrators, and certified school staff in Tennessee are invited to take the survey and share their perspectives and expertise on education issues affecting their classrooms and schools, to inform strategies and goals at the state, district, and local school levels.
Tennessee educators should receive an email with a personalized survey invitation link to participate. The survey is voluntary and confidential and will remain open February 27th through April 14th.
“The Tennessee Educator Survey is one of the department’s main ways to collect feedback on the state of education from those who have a direct hand in instructing and supporting Tennessee students each and every day,” said Commissioner Penny Schwinn. “Teacher participation is highly encouraged to provide essential, actionable data that influences strategies and goals to improve schools and highlight successes in the classroom.”
The survey measures key topics that district and school leaders monitor year after year, including school climate, educator evaluations, instructional practice, professional learning, student readiness, specific state initiatives, and new this year will be a math curriculum branch. Last year’s survey included additional questions for educators to provide their perception related to tutoring and career and technical education (CTE).
“For the eleventh year, the Tennessee Education Research Alliance (TERA) has partnered with the department on the annual Tennessee Educator Survey (TES) to elevate educators' voices,” said Laura Booker, Executive Director of TERA. “The TES helps state, district, and school leaders to make decisions that allow all Tennessee schools to be great places to learn and work. The survey data is also a valuable source of evidence for research aiming to better understand the landscape of education in Tennessee.”
Districts and schools with at least a 45% participation rate receive aggregate results to inform decisions at the local level. And schools with strong participation become eligible for six staff appreciation grants of up to $5,000. Last year, over 51% of Tennessee educators completed the survey, offering key insights into learning loss recovery, teacher satisfaction and retention, and much more.
“As a Superintendent who directly supervises and evaluates system principals and assistant principals, the Tennessee Educator Survey plays a vital role in the refinement and reinforcement of those TEAM Administrator Evaluations,” said Dr. Norma Gerrell, Director of Schools, Paris Special School District. “As we see patterns and trends that we can celebrate, those become a building priority. Celebrating success creates a culture conducive to teacher and leader recruitment and retention. We have such rich data from this survey that can be used to inform opportunities, funding, resource management, professional learning, and an overall understanding of teachers’ needs.”
“The Tennessee Educator Survey is a tool that Bedford County Schools uses to reflect on our district and our schools’ climate, instructional practices, and professional learning,” said Dr. Tammy Garrett, Director of Schools, Bedford County Schools. “With these survey results in hand, school and county leaders determine areas of strength and opportunities for improvement, while keeping educator experiences at the forefront of the process. A teacher’s voice is important, and we encourage participation in this survey annually because we value an environment in which teachers desire to be and are able to develop the capacity to be the best educators possible for our students.”
For more information about the Tennessee Educator Survey and this year’s survey, click here.
For assistance accessing the individual survey link, please click here to access our troubleshooting portal.
For Tennessee Department of Education media inquiries, contact Edu.MediaInquiries@tn.gov.
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