Public-Private Partnerships in Texas Schools: The Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System

• In Event: The Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System: Features, Qualities, and Effects on Teachers and Schooling

Abstract

Purpose
In this paper, we analyze public-private partnerships (PPPs) between Texas public schools and three organizations – SAS Institute Inc., Responsive Learning, and the National Institute for Excellent in Teaching (NIET). In collaboration with the Texas Education Agency (TEA), these groups have built the Texas Teacher Evaluation Support System (T-TESS) that is used state-wide. T-TESS is an ensemble of digital services, applications and analytic reporting that relies on various modes of statistical calculation, prediction and computational processing to evaluate teachers. The purpose of this paper is two-fold: first, we identify the roles, techniques and features of the partners’ contributions to T-TESS; and second, we use contemporary thinking around ‘datafication’ (Bradbury, 2019; Williamson, 2015) and ‘surveillance capitalism’ (Zuboff, 2019) to examine how these actors contribute to and stand to benefit from their partnerships with Texas schools.

Theoretical Frameworks
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the relevance of numbers, ‘big data’, and analytics (Ozga, 2016; Selwyn, 2015) for the purposes of measuring, comparing and governing schooling performance globally (Rizvi & Lingard, 2009). Teachers are expected to employ numerical data (e.g., student growth outcomes), evaluative tools (e.g., observation rubrics) and various types of ‘what works’ exercises to guide their pedagogical decisions and classroom practices (Hardy, 2018; Author(s) 2018). Such data-rich environments have compelled schools to seek external expertise to expand their own data collection and analytic capabilities, prompting questions about how and to what effect these engagements occur.

Data and Methods
We collected and analyzed all publicly available resources associated with T-TESS, focusing specifically on the involvement of SAS, Responsive Learning, and NIET. These resources included, but were not limited to, company websites, brochures, reports, T-TESS implementation guides, observation rubrics, and online training videos. We used a multi-strategy, recursive analytic process, including open coding, analytic memoing and discourse analysis (Foucault, 1980; 2002; Saldaña, 2013) to identify and explore the relationships,
qualities and effects of T-TESS and the PPPs that form it.

Results
The T-TESS digital infrastructure and evaluation system has enabled outside organizations to establish prominent positions in the Texas education system. Their varied expertise, capabilities, and strategic efforts have secured them as key providers of evaluation, professional development, and data-related support. Our analysis resulted in three major conclusions:
1. T-TESS partners help define and measure ‘good teaching’ in Texas;
2. T-TESS creates revenue incentives and streams for non-public institutions; and
3. through T-TESS, private organizations gain access to data that can be used for private, business-oriented purposes.

Significance
PPPs have helped Texas schools expand their capacities to meet several objectives, including those associated with teacher accountability and data-related endeavors. While especially true in Texas, schools world-wide have formed similar relationships with external providers, making education worth an estimated $4 trillion globally (Verger, Lubienski, & Steiner-Khamsi, 2016). With such lucrative potential in the public sphere, we must investigate the roles and products of these organizations, as well the impact and outcomes that result from PPP arrangements.

Authors

• Jessica Holloway, Australian Catholic University

• Steven Lewis, Deakin University