Gallup Teacher Insight test- anyone know how to "pass"?

[CindyB22]

Originally Posted by harrison21

I am terrible at this test- any district that uses it has never called me for an interview. I even had a really great personal connection to a Principal in my hometown area when I was first job searching, and she literally wasn't allowed to give me an interview because I didn't score in the top 20% on this test. It's so widespread that doing poorly on it can really hinder my job search- I hate that my experience, education, proof of student growth, references, etc. are all outweighed by some stupid personality test.

I had an interview for a 3rd grade position today. In this job market, I never thought in a million years I'd even get an interview for a classroom job (I currently teach sped, but would love to have my own classroom). I think overall it's the best interview I've ever done and they seemed really happy with me. They talked to me for an hour, let me ask a lot of questions, and the interview flowed like a really comfortable conversation. I was feeling really good about it until I asked what the next steps in the interview process were. I was shocked to hear that the next steps would be to take the teacher insight test. I've never seen a district use it for anything other than "screening" to decide who to interview- not as a final decision!

So has anyone "passed" the test, and do you have any tips? I have seen the principles it's based on, which helped me somewhat, but I'm still not sure on a lot of it. Please don't say just be honest- I've tried that, and it doesn't work, nor did it work for anyone else I know! I know there are lots of questions about how positive you are, and I have heard you are basically supposed to answer as if you are the most positive person on the planet and never have a negative thought. I think I have that part down. Some of them are really obvious as to what the "right" answers are- I also know to answer everything student-centered and try to put "listening" any time that's an answer choice. One section I'm not sure about is showing emotion in the classroom. Appropriate? Appropriate to a degree? Not appropriate? This is asked 2-3 times. I'm also torn between answering like a "leader" vs. a "team player." At the beginning it gives you the option of "taking the intiative" or "preferring a joint team effort"- I want to say "team effort", but later it keeps asking about leadership. I have also heard to put "strongly agree" or "strongly disagree" for all of the likert items.

The AEPA Knowledge tests online they have practice questions. I found the test was built around similar concepts. This helps too if you are interested in what the newer trends in teaching are. Most of my education classes are within the last 7 years and I think this has helped.

[got2run]

I finally passed the Gallup Teacher Insight Test. You have to answer the questions as though you were the greatest and most perfect teacher in the world, and always use strongly agree or strongly disagree...nothing in between.

[gemini822]

This stupid none sense test is just BS! I have the same problem and am seriously thinking of cheating on the test by making an appointment with a psychologist and get trained at it before taking it again... I am an ESL teacher with a 10-year experience in English and non-English speaking countries and now this test is getting in the way of me getting the job I desire... What really makes me mad is that I am the type of teacher who always stands out from the rest and is always praised for his good job and professionalism... students love and respect me and I am always a leader... I completely understand how you feel...

[gemini822]

Thank you for your answer!!! I appreciate your feedback, will try that all along

[harrison21]

Originally Posted by got2run

I finally passed the Gallup Teacher Insight Test. You have to answer the questions as though you were the greatest and most perfect teacher in the world, and always use strongly agree or strongly disagree...nothing in between.

I can't believe this thread is still around since I started it years ago haha, but since people are still interested, this is what worked for me also. Basically you have to answer that you are perfect and better than everyone else in every situation and have never had a negative thought in your life. Trying to be honest is why I failed the first time. Once I started answering this way I never had a problem getting another interview. I moved a couple of years ago and when looking for a new job, was called to interview in almost every district in the city (almost all of which used this test).

[newtcher]

Originally Posted by harrison21

I can't believe this thread is still around since I started it years ago haha, but since people are still interested, this is what worked for me also. Basically you have to answer that you are perfect and better than everyone else in every situation and have never had a negative thought in your life. Trying to be honest is why I failed the first time. Once I started answering this way I never had a problem getting another interview. I moved a couple of years ago and when looking for a new job, was called to interview in almost every district in the city (almost all of which used this test).

Has anyone taken the test since 2015? Has anything changed? I am taking it this week and would like to know any tips and recommendation .
Thank you

[lepoisson]

I can't even believe professional teaching jobs require those dumb personality tests. Usually they are for retail jobs to weed out the idiots.

Recently, I've been applying to professional jobs at universities that require a Master's degree... No dumb personality tests.

Just shows how much respect some districts have for teachers. I don't particularly care for some things in my district, but at least we are treated like professionals and not babies.