The Preparation to Practice Group (PPG) is the CEHD’s home for assessment and accreditation initiatives. These initiatives are related to ensuring strong preparation programs for teachers and other school professionals.
National Accreditation
The CEHD is accredited by the National Association for Colleges of Teacher Education (NCATE). NCATE is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a professional accrediting body for colleges and universities that prepare teachers and other professional personnel for work in schools. The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities was accredited by NCATE in its inaugural year, 1954. NCATE reviews all programs that prepare educators to work in P-12 settings. This includes all initial teacher licensure programs and advanced programs such as M.Ed. professional studies programs for teachers, administrative licensure programs and degree programs for school administrators, and programs for other school personnel such as school counselors and psychologists.
Our most recent accreditation visit was October 2005, when we received continuing accreditation at both the initial and advanced levels. NCATE deemed every standard to be met with no areas cited as needing improvement. These conclusions are evidence of continuous improvement of all of our educator preparation programs. Particular note was made about our outstanding partnerships with schools, strong student advising, commitment to diversity, dynamic faculty, strong technology integration and support, effective collaboration within the college, and outstanding students. Our next accreditation review is scheduled for fall 2012.
State Unit Accreditation and Program Approval
The Minnesota Board of Teaching (BOT) has the responsibility of approving teacher preparation programs in Minnesota. Without approval by the BOT, an institution is not allowed to recommend teachers for licensure to the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE). Though they hold some unique features, the standards the BOT uses in reviewing educator preparation programs align closely with NCATE standards. The BOT reviews some programs not subject to review by NCATE, such as the licensure programs in Adult Education and Parent and Family Education. In Minnesota, administrative licensure programs are reviewed by the Minnesota Board of School Administrators, not the BOT. In 2005, the BOT granted full unit approval to CEHD. All BOT standards were met with no areas of weakness cited.
The BOT is also responsible for approving individual licensure programs (e.g., elementary education, math education, adult education). This program approval is conducted through a process called the Professional Education Program Evaluation Report (PEPER). Through this process the BOT assures that licensure programs present a research based curriculum that provides pre-service teachers with the requisite knowledge and skills of the profession. It must be evident to BOT reviewers that the program is effective, based on the proficiency of candidates in demonstrating mastery of the Minnesota standards for subject matter and pedagogical competence. CEHD programs were reviewed via PEPER in 2006, and all of the 44 submitted programs received full approval.
Teacher Education Data System
The Teacher Education Data System (TEDS) is a key component of assessment efforts in CEHD. TEDS is a secure, online system for the submission and review of student data. Faculty and staff who work with teacher education programs in the College of Education and Human Development use TEDS to submit assessments, to view assessments submitted by others, and to review aggregated data for the program and unit. TEDS is a collaborative tool.
Data housed in TEDS include student performance data from unit-wide assessments: the Dispositions Assessment, the Student Teaching Evaluation, and the Standards Rubric. In addition, TEDS includes aggregated data from follow-up surveys of teachers and employers, and individual student data related to admission and state licensure tests.
Follow-Up Surveys
As part of CEHD’s continuous program improvement efforts, follow-up surveys of program completers and employers are conducted on a regular basis. Data from these surveys help to inform CEHD faculty and staff about areas of strength and challenge in our programs that prepare school professionals. PPG personnel are responsible for survey administration, data analysis, and reporting of survey results.
For over 25 years, the CEHD has conducted a survey of first-year teachers. In 2006, CEHD personnel partnered with researchers from two other Minnesota teacher preparation institutions to form the Minnesota Teacher Education Research Consortium (MNTERC). [link to MNTERC part of PPG site] This consortium is studying the preparation of teachers for diverse classroom contexts, and the research has involved the development of a new first-year teacher survey, the Transition to Teaching Survey (TTS). The TTS – which took three years to develop, pilot, and validate – addresses the teachers’ perceptions of their preparation for teaching, their actual practices during the first year, information on their school context, information about their personal background and experiences, and data on their licensure and job status. The survey is aligned to the Minnesota Standards of Effective Practice for Teachers.
Every three years , CEHD conducts an Employer Survey of principals and other school administrators who employ teachers who earned licensure in CEHD. This survey, aligned to the TTS, provides valuable information on the perceptions of school administrators about the performance of our teachers in the classroom. For both the TTS and the Employer Survey, data are analyzed and shared within the college for internal program review. In addition, survey data are an important element of external accreditation and program approval efforts.
External Reporting
PPG personnel are responsible for several annual reports related to teacher education. These reports include the Professional Education Data System (PEDS) report to the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), the Measures of Teacher Quality in Minnesota (MTQM) report to the Minnesota Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (MACTE), and the Title II report to the U.S. Department of Education. In addition, PPG assists Dean’s Office staff with surveys from U.S. News and World Report and Peterson’s Annual Survey of Graduate and Professional Education.