Austin ISD reports 77% of pre-K–2 teachers score 3.5+ on observation rubric; lower-resourced campuses lag

Austin ISD officials reported to the Board of Trustees that 77.37% of pre-K through second-grade teachers scored 3.5 or higher on the Professional Pathways for Teachers appraisal system (PPFT) as the district begins baseline reporting for Constraint 4 and progress measure 4.1.

The report, presented by Marian Maxwell, assistant superintendent of elementary academics, and Heather Petruzzini, executive director of academics, said the district is collecting baseline data in 2024–25 tied to Constraint 4, which the board adopted as part of its scorecard measures. Maxwell said the constraint "states that the superintendent shall not require or support developmentally inappropriate practices or assessments in early childhood through second grade." She added that developmentally appropriate practices "promote students' confidence as learners by tailoring their instruction to their developmental needs along their learning and growing continuum," include "purposeful play in early childhood classrooms to foster engagement, creativity, and critical thinking," and "prioritize the development of executive functioning skills of our youngest learners, including self-regulation [and] problem solving."

Why it matters

The metric is intended to gauge whether classroom practice aligns with the district's expectation that early-grade instruction be developmentally appropriate. Petruzzini told the board…