Aug 14, 2026
As part of the LIFT initiative (Leadership and Instructional Foundations for Texas), your school's LIFT Observation Forms can be built into DMAC's FormWorks application. The video above walks through the full process. The steps and tips below are a quick reference for finding the forms, granting access, completing an observation, and pulling reports.
Locating Forms
The LIFT forms are located in FormWorks under Templates.
Only District Administrators can access LIFT forms.
Type LIFT in the search box to filter your list
The forms are locked, common forms titled the same way for each school (Math, RLA, and Agnostic).
Granting Access
An active DMAC campus or district user role is needed to complete a LIFT form.
Because they are locked, common forms, users must be granted access to each form.
Click the Settings icon, then click "add users" to find names by district-level accounts or individual campuses.
Registered TSDS Numbers Needed
Important: For a teacher to be eligible to receive an observation feedback form, they must have their TSDS number registered in DMAC. If a teacher isn't showing up as active, an unregistered TSDS number is usually why. See Register a State Account for step-by-step instructions.
Completing Forms
From the Forms section of the top navigation bar, click New Form (top right).
Find the form (type LIFT to search), and click the green plus sign to the right of the form name.
Click Select to choose a teacher, and Save to load their information.
Set the observation date. The Observer name populates automatically.
Choose the observer role, grade level, content area, and classroom type from the drop-downs.
Choose the evaluation type: Standard and Calibration behave exactly the same in the software; Calibration lets LIFT teams run calibration walks without the data officially going to TEA.
Type your observation notes on screen. Each section shows its heading, driving question, T-TESS alignment, and available rating. The companion guide information below the routines section helps guide each rating.
At the bottom, complete the action steps: leave the previous action step as None for a first visit, or name it and its completion date for a return visit. Add your praise, copy your areas of growth from the action step guide, and assign the next action step with a due date.
The next action step should always be completed, regardless of the observation feedback form you're using.
Saving Forms
Click Save and name the form.Â
Save works as a draft as long as you do not select the Complete for Submission option. When left unchecked, you can still access and edit forms at a later time.
When you select Complete for Submission and save, the form locks. No further edits can be made.
Forms are visible only to the person who completed the observation.
Reports and Exports
Designated Authors have access to Reports from the top navigation bar in FormWorks.
Select the Template, choose your LIFT form (for example, LIFT RLA), and pull it for all users.
Select the fields and choose the Print icon for an aggregated report with charts showing how many forms have been completed and counts across the fields.
Or, check the option to Export Data to save a .csv file.
Exported data can be helpful before classroom visits to review the previous action step assigned to a teacher and decide whether it still stands or a new action step is needed.
Questions?
Contact the DMAC Helpdesk at 1.866.988.6777Â or support@dmac-solutions.net.