The PDAS is a teacher evaluation system created by the Texas Education Agency in response to Senate Bill 1 in 1995. The goal of the PDAS is to advance the level of the professional practice of teaching in Texas through a teacher appraisal system that incorporates the learner-centered proficiencies in evaluation criteria and promotes continuous professional development. All public school teachers in Texas, including dance teachers, are appraised once a year by certified appraisers using either the PDAS or a locally-developed system that meets state appraisal guidelines, which are available at www.tea.state.tx.us/PDAS. Specific links between the TEKS and TAAS objectives can be found by downloading the following documents:

PDAS and Elementary Fine Arts Teachers
PDAS and Middle School Fine Arts Teachers
PDAS and High School Fine Arts Teachers

The PDAS appraises teaching according to the following eight domains:

Domain I: Active, successful student participation in the learning process.
Dance students should be actively and successfully engaged in learning at high cognitive levels, e.g., demonstrating critical and creative thinking, problem solving, and other complex thinking skills in solving dance-related problems. Students are self-directed, when appropriate, in dance lessons and activities and connect learning in dance to work and life applications.

Domain II: Learner-centered instruction.
The goals and objectives of dance teachers should be based on the knowledge and skills of students and the content of the Dance TEKS. Course content relates to the diverse interests and backgrounds of students, and instructional strategies promote critical thinking and problem solving. Motivation techniques emphasize the integral value of dance knowledge and skills and involve students meaningfully in the learning process. Whenever possible, dance teachers integrate available technology into lessons. These and other effective instructional strategies are discussed in Instructional Strategies.

Domain III: Evaluation and feedback on student progress.
Student assessment is aligned with class goals, objectives, and instructional strategies and achieves the following:

• Reinforces student learning
• Meets student needs through individualization
• Provides students with constructive feedback
• Gives students opportunities to relearn and re-evaluate difficult course content. 

See Student Assessment for ideas on assessment in dance, including information on performance assessment and the use of portfolios.

Example: According to the TEKS, Level III dance students perform memorized, complex movement sequences with rhythmic accuracy in traditional concert dance styles. In addition to regular written and verbal teacher critique, students critique their peers and keep journals in which they analyze their own progress in the development of the dance. These assessment strategies help students better demonstrate the Dance TEKS and enable dance teachers to demonstrate their performance in Domain III of the PDAS. 

Domain IV: Management of student discipline, instructional
strategies, time, and materials.
Whenever possible, dance teachers participate in the development and implementation of their campus discipline management procedures. Some helpful strategies for dance class include the following:

• Be clear with students about expectations for behavior in the classroom and/or studio, intervening and re-directing disruptive, inappropriate, and off-task behavior.
• Reinforce desired behavior and interact with students in an equitable manner.
• Promote and encourage self-discipline and self-directed learning on the part of students.
• Refer to Safety for criteria specific to dance classes.

Domain V: Professional communication.
Dance teachers should practice appropriate verbal, non-verbal, and written communication in their interactions with students, parents, staff, and community members. They should be courteous and supportive, respectfully addressing individual student needs, such as those of reluctant students or students having difficulty with course content.

Domain VI: Professional development.
Dance teachers should seek out professional development activities that correlate with the dance content of the TEKS, with campus goals and policies, and with the varied needs of their students. Ideally, professional development activities address identified needs in teachers' past performance appraisals. Professional Development has more information on opportunities for dance teachers. In addition to seeking formal training, dance teachers can collaborate with other teachers to enhance overall student performance.

Domain VII: Compliance with policies, operating procedures, and requirements.
Dance teachers should comply with all policies, operating procedures, and legal requirements, participating in policy and procedure development whenever possible. Dance teachers contribute to making their schools safe, orderly, and stimulating learning environments for all students.

Example: In order for students to demonstrate the Dance TEKS, teachers must ensure that students have a safe environment in which to practice and perform. Additionally, students must apply body science and fitness principles to dance, performing with proper skeletal alignment and exhibiting strength, flexibility, and endurance. Therefore, dance teachers follow policies and procedures for effective student conditioning and for the development of exemplary dance practices as part of demonstrating this domain.

Domain VIII: Improvement of academic performance
of all students on the campus.
Domain VIII evaluates teaching on the basis of its relationship to student achievement on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) and the Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS). Teachers are evaluated on the basis of whether they are:

1. Diagnosing student needs and providing performance feedback related to appropriate TAAS-related objectives and the Dance TEKS
2. Aligning planning and delivery of instruction to all appropriate TAAS-related objectives and the Dance TEKS
3. Collaborating with other faculty and administration to improve TAAS-related performance of all students on the campus
4. Identifying students who are at risk and developing strategies to assist these students
5. Monitoring the attendance of all students and intervening to promote regular attendance.

To address the criteria, dance teachers must identify TAAS-related objectives taught or reinforced in their classes on Teacher Self-Report Forms. Though dance teachers are not generally assigned primary responsibility for teaching the skill sequences currently assessed in TAAS, dance teachers can reinforce TAAS-related skills while teaching the Dance TEKS. For example, a Level III dance teacher teaching a Ghanian dance might ask students to describe the relationships and themes in the dance and to compare the dance with other dance forms studied in class. For homework, students could search primary sources and write a composition documenting and elaborating on a point of view expressed in the in-class comparison.

Data for appraisal of each domain are gathered from observations, Teacher Self-Report Forms, and other documented sources. The data describe teacher contributions in increasing student achievement, making the whole school safe and orderly, and creating a stimulating learning environment for all students.