The TELL Colorado Final Report has now been released. Click here for the executive summary and a copy of the press release.

Thank you for your participation! More than 23,000 educators took the Colorado Teaching, Empowering, Leading and Learning survey. Results are now available for the state as well as the 624 schools in which a majority of educators participated and the 50 districts in which at least 40 percent of educators participated. See the statewide results.

“We know students learn more when they have great teachers, and now it's our turn to learn from educators. I encourage all educators in Colorado to participate in the Teaching, Empowering, Leading and Learning Survey (TELL). Responses from this survey will inform the public about the environment in the state's schools as we lead Colorado forward and re-shape the future of public education in our state.” --- Governor Bill Ritter

"Improving educator quality, retention, recruitment and placement is one of the core initiatives under ‘Forward Thinking,' the department's effort to improve support and service to school districts across the state. We deeply appreciate the legislature's support in providing the resources to make this survey possible and we believe the results will be extremely valuable in identifying what's needed to improve the learning environment for all educators. We strongly encourage teachers to participate and let their voices be heard. The survey is anonymous, the information is critical and the results matter a great deal to all of us. Thanks in advance to all who take the time to complete the survey." --- Commissioner of Education Dwight D. Jones

Help Our State Improve Teaching and Learning for All Students

TELL us about your school. We want to ensure that all Colorado educators have the supportive environment necessary to help students achieve at the highest levels. The TELL Colorado Survey is a perceptual survey that provided the opportunity for every educator to TELL Colorado if they have positive teaching and learning conditions that research has shown to be important to student achievement and teacher retention.

This survey was initiated by the Colorado Department of Education in response to HB 08-1384 in partnership with Governor Bill Ritter, the Colorado Association of School Boards, the Colorado Education Association, the Colorado Association of School Executives, and the Colorado League of Charter Schools. Numerous other organizations have helped to develop and are endorsing the survey.

This initiative focuses on providing the state, districts, and Colorado schools with their own data that can become a part of the on-going improvement planning processes in our buildings, in our districts, and at the state level.

Viewing and Using the Survey Results

Results of the TELL Colorado Survey are now available. Anyone can view statewide results for the main survey by clicking on the Colorado link or view the principal-only survey results. Results of the TELL Colorado Survey are now available. Anyone can view statewide results for the main survey by clicking on the Colorado link or view the principal-only survey results. School and district results are passcode-protected to allow for the opportunity to access, discuss, understand and create strategies to address these conditions in a safe space. Each school with a 50 percent response rate and/or in a district with a 40 percent response rate (with 20 or more responses) will receive a passcode so they can see their distrct and/or school results and begin their conversations. The coalition partners plan on providing tools and assistance to schools on understanding and utilizing the survey results and encourage you to view the resources already posted. We also believe that the broader community is essential to improving teaching conditions and should know what educators say about these critical aspects of education. The data WILL be available in Fall 2009/Winter 2010 when more analyses can be conducted, linkages to student achievement and teacher retention can be assessed, and we can tell the public more definitively what we know about these conditions and which ones seem to make the most difference.

CDE, through a competitive review process, selected the New Teacher Center (NTC) to conduct the survey. NTC is a nonpartisan group with a mission to support the development of an effective, dedicated and inspired teaching force. NTC also has vast experience conducting similar surveys across the country.