Measuring What Matters: A Stronger Accountability Model for Teacher Education

8/9/2019 Measuring What Matters: A Stronger Accountability Model for Teacher Education

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Measuring What Matters

A Stronger Accountability Model for Teacher Education

Edward Crowe July 2010


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Measuring What MattersA Stronger Accountability Model for Teacher Education

Edward Crowe July 2010

The Center for American Progress thanks The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for generously providing support for this paper.


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1 Introduction and summary

2 A stronger accountability system for teacher education programs

5 Current state accountability policies and practices

5 State program approval and program review

6 National accreditation and state accountability

6 Teacher tests and program accountability

9 Federal reporting and disclosure requirements

10 Quality control and the current system

11 A stronger system of program accountability

11 Principles of a redesigned system

12 Components of a redesigned system

23 Current teacher testing fails as a quality control measur

25 Every state adopts common policies and program quality standards

28 Recommendations for states

30 Conclusion

31 References

32 Endnotes

35 About the author and acknowledgements

Contents


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Introduction and summary

Our curren sysem or holding U.S. eacher educaion programs accounable

doesn guaranee program qualiy or serve he needs o schools and sudens.

Sae oversigh or eacher preparaion programs mosly ignores he impac o

graduaes on he K-12 sudens hey each, and i gives litle atenion o where

graduaes each or how long hey remain in he proession. Tere is no evidence

ha curren sae policies hold programs o high sandards in order o produce

eachers who can help sudens achieve. Moreover, every sae does is own hing

when i comes o program oversighanoher barrier o eecive qualiy conrol.

New ways o preparing eachers have been creaed in he las ew decades in large

par because hey oer soluions o serious problems ha many universiy-based

eacher preparaion programs appear unwilling o address. Academically srong

college sudens as well as school disrics, oundaions, and policymakers are

proponens o iniiaives such as each or America, he New eacher Projec,

oher eaching ellows programs such as hose o he Woodrow Wilson Naional

Fellowship Foundaion, and eacher residency programs.

Despie hese compeiive developmens, however, saes have done litle o

ocus radiional preparaion programs on issues like selecive recruimen

hrough high sandards or enry ino programs, careully consruced and

moniored clinical experiences or eacher candidaes, and program evaluaion

ocused on imporan oucomes.

Te redesigned accounabiliy sysem proposed in his paper is an eor o direc

regulaory oversigh o hings ha mater: wheher or no K-12 sudens are learning,

how well eachers have developed he classroom eaching skills o be eecive wih

heir sudens, a graduaes commimen o eaching as a proessional career, eed-back rom graduaes and employers, and high-qualiy ess o eacher knowledge and

skills ha are ied o classroom eaching perormance and K-12 suden learning.


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A stronger accountability system for teacher education programs

Real qualiy conrol will hold programs responsible or how heir graduaes

perorm in classroom eaching. I will use empirically based indicaors showing

ha sudens are learning rom heir eachers, ha program graduaes say in he

proession, and ha hey each in he hard-o-sa schools ha badly need hem.

Tis paper argues ha all saes should adop a new sysem o program accoun-

abiliy guided by hese principles:

Program accounabiliyand eacher preparaion iselmus ocus exclu-

sively on wha improves insrucion and produces necessary school changes.

Sae accounabiliy or eacher preparaion should be buil on a se o clear

signals abou program qualiy ha policymakers can undersand and program

aculy and insiuional leaders can use.

Signals o program qualiy mus be empirically based, measurable indicaors and

should be derived rom a small number o key oucomes.

Accounabiliy measures and heir consequences or preparaion programs wih

poor perormance should be applied equally o all eacher preparaion programs

in a sae, whaever he program label (radiional or alernaive roue) or he

organizaion ha produces new eachers.

Full public disclosure o all program accounabiliy ndings is essenial or

credibiliy and legiimacy o sae oversigh policies. Clear saemens, graphs,

and chars devoid o jargon or evasions ough o communicae sae regulaors

program qualiy judgmens.

Tese principles should drive developmen o new sae accounabiliy policies or

eacher educaion hrough ve essenial componens:

Every saes eacher preparaion program accounabiliy sysem should include

a eacher eeciveness measure ha repors he exen o which program gradu-aes help heir K-12 sudens o learn.

Classroom eaching perormance o program graduaes should be used by saes

o judge he qualiy o all eacher preparaion programs.


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Program graduaes persisence raes in eaching should be repored or every

eacher preparaion program. Public disclosure o his inormaion or up o

ve years pos-compleion will simulae progress in addressing high eacher

urnover raes by drawing atenion rom eacher educaion programs, schools,

disrics, and policymakers.

Feedback surveys rom preparaion program graduaes and rom heir employ-

ers should be par o sae program accounabiliy. Te ndings should be made

public and used as a key perormance indicaor by all saes o judge he qualiy

o every eacher preparaion program.A new sysem o eacher licensure ess should be designed and implemened or

sae accounabiliy as an indicaor o program qualiy. Te number o ess now

in use should be cu by more han 90 percen, and every sae should adop he

same ess and he same pass rae policies.

Every sae should adop he same sysem o accounabiliy indicaors or i o be

mos eecive. One se o common sandards would ensure ha qualiy is dened

he same way no mater where he program is locaed or where he graduae is

employed. More han 50 versions o qualiy sandards, policies, and accounabiliy

sysems or eaching and eacher educaion currenly exis, in conras o engineer-

ing, nursing, accounancy, and medicine, which all have one. Tis paper will dig

deeper ino why uniormiy across saes is so imporan.

Some o he changes proposed here will ake imeespecially he developmen

o high-qualiy ess or eacher candidaes and new eachers. Even so, saes can

ake signican seps now oward more rigorous accounabiliy policies or eacher

educaion programs. Tey can implemen hese our accounabiliy measures wih

daa sysems ha are already in place or on he horizon:

ie K-12 pupil learning oucomes o preparaion program graduaes and hold

he programs accounable or eacher eeciveness.

Begin o implemen high-qualiy observaional assessmens o classroom

eaching by supporing eors o link hese assessmens o suden achievemenand by developing rigorous raining or classroom observers o ensure reliable

assessmen ndings.

Employ curren sae daa sysems o rack he eaching persisence raes or

graduaes o every program, and use he ndings as a public disclosure measure.

Every state

should adopt th

same system o

accountability

indicators.


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Implemen eedback surveys o preparaion program graduaes and heir

employers using sae educaion, labor deparmen (or sae insurance depar-

men), universiy, and school disric daa sysems.

Individual saes can ake hese seps righ away. Anoher opion is or consoria

o saes o work ogeher and implemen idenical accounabiliy measures andperormance crieriajus as groups o saes are now working on common K-12

suden assessmens. And nally, all saes should raise passing cu-o scores on

every es now in use, and hey ough o make dramaic reducions in he number

o redundan ess used or licensure.


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Current state accountability

policies and practices

I sae oversigh or eacher preparaion programs largely ignores he impac o

program graduaes on he sudens hey each and pays litle atenion o where

hey each and how long hey remain in he proession, wha is curren program

accounabiliy all abou? And wha can we say abou he eeciveness o curren

sae policies?

An overview o sae eacher educaion policies and pracices shows ha sae

program oversigh has our main componens:

Sae program approval policies and pracicesA role or naional program accrediaion Licensure ess and programwide pass raes Policies o ideniy and deal wih weak programs

State program approval and program review

Saes use program approval crieria o decide which insiuions and oher organi-

zaions are o rain eachers. Tese policies are paired wih adminisraive pro-

cesses such as program-reporing cycles o he sae, periodic reviews conduced

by he relevan sae agency, and campus visis by eams he sae appoins.

While saes may no use pupil learning resuls or oher oucome measures o

evaluae eacher preparaion programs, hey do pu exensive ime and energy

ino developing and adminisering program approval and oversigh policies. Tese

are he responsibiliy o he sae deparmen o educaion or o a proessional

sandards board wih jurisdicion over eacher preparaion and eacher licensure.Saes manage oversigh aciviies hrough a complex sysem o policy direcives,

eaching sandards, campus visis, exensive documenaion requiremens, and an

appellae process or programs unhappy wih he resuls.


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Te deails o his whole sysem vary grealy by sae, bu is sae o say ha

eacher preparaion program accounabiliy is ar more decenralized in he

Unied Saes han in mos oher counries.1

National accreditation and state accountability

Many saes complemen heir sae regulaions wih naional accrediaion, which

is a volunary process or assuring qualiy conrol. Te wo naional accredi-

ing bodies or eacher educaion are he Naional Council or Accrediaion o

eacher Educaion, or NCAE, and he eacher Educaion Accrediaion Council,

or EAC. NCAE accredis more han 600 programs (seewww.ncae.org), while

EAC currenly has jus under 100 accredied programs (seewww.eac.org).

Some saes have parner arrangemens wih NCAE and conduc join program

reviews. Oher saes conduc reviews and make program decisions on heir own.Some saes subsiue naional accrediaion or sae review, while ohers link

he wo processes hrough ormal agreemens. Te overlap beween accredior

and sae agency program oversigh is conusing, and i changes regularly as saes

move in and ou o parnerships or agreemens.

No compelling evidence suggess ha program accrediaion by NCAE or EAC

leads o (or akes accoun o) posiive academic oucomes or sudens augh

by graduaes o accredied programs. In ac, he naional accrediors or eacher

educaion do no use empirical daa on eaching and learning oucomes o make

judgmens abou program qualiy. Nor is here any reason o believe ha eachers

who complee an accredied preparaion program are more likely o demonsrae

high-qualiy classroom eaching perormance han hose rained elsewhere.2

Teacher tests and program accountability

Sae regulaions and naional accrediaion currenly pay litle atenion o objecive

daa on suden learning, classroom eaching, or persisence in eaching. As a resul,

hey provide litle qualiy conrol or he public, schools, or parens and sudens.

Tanks o No Child Le Behind, however, mos saes now require eacher candi-

daes and new program graduaes o pass a batery o ess in order o be licensed.

State regulations

and national

accreditation

currently pay

little attention to

objective data on

student learning,

classroom teaching,

or persistence in

teaching.
http://www.ncate.org/http://www.teac.org/http://www.teac.org/http://www.ncate.org/


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Preparaion program pass raes or all graduaes are used as a componen o sae

accounabiliy in 32 saes. Tese saes ypically require ha a cerain proporion

o graduaes pass he ess (80 percen in New York sae, or example), and hey

employ he pass rae as a measure o program qualiy.3

Te public can access pass raes on eacher ess or each sae and or everyprogram in he sae hrough ederal reporing requiremens Congress esablished

in 1998. Does his mean he public and policymakers should regard eacher es

resuls as a useul ool ha capures imporan inormaion abou preparaion

program qualiy?

No quie. An analysis o he ess and heir use across he saes shows ha

curren eacher esing has very litle value as an accounabiliy mechanism. An

analysis o he ess and heir use across he saes shows ha alhough hey ag

he very weakes programs and he weakes eacher candidaes, many saes work

hard o avoid imposing any consequences on preparaion programs no mater howpoorly heir candidaes and graduaes perorm on licensing examinaions.

Te eacher ess now in use have many problems. One o hese problems is ha

hey don indicae how well eachers will do in he classroom. Te Naional

Research Council repored in 2001 ha eacher licensure ess are no con-

sruced o predic he degree o eaching success a beginning eacher will demon-

srae. wo leading scholars, Suzanne Wilson and Peer Youngs, concur wih his

judgmen and noe litle evidence ha a relaionship exiss beween eachers

scores on such ess and heir eaching success. 4

Anoher weakness o he ess is ha hey don direcly measure wha eachers

do in he classroom. Many eacher ess essenially measure knowledge and skills

a levels more appropriae o wha eighh graders are expeced o know and be

able o do. Tose who manage o pass hese basic skills ess know how o read,

wrie, and do basic mahemaics, according o he Naional Research Council.5

Advocaes or he curren ess insis hey are adequae qualiy conrol checks

or individuals and programs. Te real sory is ha passing scores (or cu

scores) are se low enough in many saes o guaranee ha nearly every gradu-ae will pass. Case in poin: Niney-six percen o U.S. program compleers

(eacher educaion jargon or graduaes) passed all sae ess in 2006. 6 Bu as

he nex secion indicaes, saes work hard o avoid making judgmens abou


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he qualiy o he programs whose graduaes are being esedwhaever he

es resuls may be. An April 2010 sudy comparing U.S. elemenary and middle

school mah eachers o eachers in oher counries demonsraes anew he

inadequacy o curren basic skills and conen knowledge ess as screens even

or minimal eacher qualiy.7

In addiion o problems wih predicive validiy and pass rae perormance

sandards, saes have creaed a crazy quil o basic skills, conen knowledge,

and eaching skills assessmens ha add up o 1,100 dieren ess. Secreary

o Educaion Arne Duncans 2009 eacher qualiy repor o Congress lised

abou 160 basic skil ls ess, over 100 dieren ess o proessional knowledge,

and more han 800dieren conen knowledge ess. Readers wih a good

imaginaion may be able o inven 800 academic disciplines or K-12 subjec

areas o mach he number o ess, bu is no easy o nd a link beween his

mish-mash and he everyday eaching and learning needs o our schools. Te

esing sysem or eachers is so complex ha a single sae can have as many as85 dieren ess.8

Te enirely predicable resul o he program accounabiliy sysems esing com-

ponen is o send conusing and misleading signals abou wha is being measured

and repored. I is common pracice or saes o se dieren passing scores on he

same es, and i is no unusual or a single sae o adjus he cu score on a given

es rom one year o he nex. Te way curren eacher esing has been designed

and implemened undercus he legiimacy o accounabiliy isel.

Bu he real problem isn esing. Te pressing issue or credible and eecive

accounabiliy is he ess hemselves and how hey are used. Beter esslinked

o imporan eaching knowledge and learning oucomes, and validaed by

independen sudies wih ransparen ndingswould be imporan and useul

accounabiliy mechanisms or saes and or programs.9 A batery o high-qualiy

ess o eacher knowledge, skills, and abiliies could be deployed by every sae,

wih idenical passing crieria. Tis would esablish a sandard and easily under-

sood ramework or program accounabiliy. We already do his in medicine,

nursing, engineering, and accounancy wihou breaching ederal principles,

inringing on sae auonomy, or raducing local values.

Tis paper will say more abou how o ge rom here o here.


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Federal reporting and disclosure requirements

Te ourh elemen o sae accounabiliy or eacher educaion programs comes

rom a se o ederal rules developed aer Congress passed ile II o he Higher

Educaion Amendmens, or HEA, in 1998. Tese rules were inended o serve as a

repor card on eacher preparaion programs in he Unied Saes and call or:

Uniorm annual repors o he sae by each program and disclosure o cerain

inormaionsuch as licensure es pass raeso sudens and o he public.

Repors rom each sae o he U.S. Deparmen o Educaion, compiling

program-by-program daa rom he sae and adding addiional pieces o

inormaion.

An annual repor on eacher qualiy o Congress rom he secreary o educaion.

ile II also requires each sae o esablish a se o crieria o deermine wheheror no a program is low perorming. Federal rules require annual repors o

disclose he crieria hemselves. Saes also mus make public a lis o programs

ound o be low perorming.10

Alhough hey are available o policymakers and he public (a htps://ile2.

ed.gov/View.asp), he resuling program-level and sae repors are quie large and

difcul o undersand. Each repor is he equivalen o hundreds o prined pages.

Published program pass raes were supposed o be he criical elemen in he

ederal reporing sysem. Tey were inended o shine a ligh on programs whose

graduaes were no well-enough prepared o pass a minimum compeency es

o become eachers. Bu shorly aer he repor card srucure was esablished,

a signican number o insiuions and sae agencies joined wih he eacher

educaion proessional associaionshe American Associaion o Colleges or

eacher Educaion, or AACE, as well as NCAEo work ou a way o bea he

reporing sysem. Te rick hey devised was requiring eacher candidaes o pass

all required eacher ess beore being allowed o graduae. Tis allows programs

o repor 100 percen pass raes on he eacher ess. Tey do no have o disclose

he percenage o candidaes who ailed one or more ess.
https://title2.ed.gov/View.asphttps://title2.ed.gov/View.asphttps://title2.ed.gov/View.asphttps://title2.ed.gov/View.asp


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Quality control and the current system

Anoher way o gauge he eeciveness o curren sae oversigh is o ask wheher

programs ha ail o do a good job preparing eachers are closed down by he sae

or pu on warning saus. I is highly likely ha here are programs in many saes

ha are no up o par and should be closed down. Bu he record here is very clear:Less han 2 percen o all eacher educaion programs in he Unied Saes have

been agged as low perorming by he sae in which hey operae since Congress

required each sae o develop and implemen a se o crieria o ideni y low-

perorming programs in 1998.

Is imporan o noe here ha while every sae is required o have policies in

place o ag low-perorming programs, only a handul o saes have ever aken

he sep o labeling even one program low perorming. For insance, 31 programs

were idenied as a-risk or low-perorming in 2006, up rom 17 programs in

2005 and 11 in 2002ou o 1,170 eacher educaion programs in he counry.

Teres a good reason or his low number: Saes ound a way o do as litle as pos-

sible wih he low-perorming program crieria. o begin wih, he ederal rules

allowed each sae o esablish is own crieria o deermine wheher a program

was low perorming. Saes ensured ha ew programs would be agged as low

perorming by seting his bar as low as possible.

Is litle wonder, hen, ha one comprehensive analysis o accounabiliy poli-

cies concluded ha, neiher eacher cericaion nor eacher educaion program

accrediaion have inspired much public condence. Tis is sill he case oday.11

Teres one las issue o include in he mix as we consider how o build a more

eecive accounabiliy srucure. o he reader, he mos sriking eaure o he

curren sysem mus be is sheer complexiy, including he variaion rom sae

o sae in oversigh policies and pracices. I is sae o say ha no wo saes are

alike in heir sysems or accounabiliy even i he resuls are similar across mos

o hemha is, litle or no real accounabiliy in pracice.

Te quesion is wheher i makes sense or each sae o have a unique se oaccounabiliy sandards or eacher educaion. Tis paper argues ha saes have

compelling reasons o work ogeher o esablish common sandards, policies, and

pracicesincluding high-qualiy common licensure esso grealy improve

he likelihood ha every suden in every school has an eecive eacher.

The question is

whether it makes

sense or each

state to have a

unique set o

accountability

standards or

teacher education.


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A nge yem pgam accunaby | www.amecanpge.

A stronger system of program

accountability

eacher educaion program qualiy assurance policies are no doing he job. Saes

now rely on sae program approval policies and pracices, naional program accredi-

aion, licensure ess and program-wide pass raes, and imsy policies o ideniy

and deal wih weak programs. For reasons discussed above, hese approaches o

program oversigh have litle o do wih oucomes ha mater or sudens, eachers,

or schools. Whas more, he public doesn undersand he curren accounabiliy

process, and policymakers have litle condence in he sysems abiliy o produce

srong eachers and proec he public rom weak programs.

As a resul, sae accounabiliy policies do no help eacher preparaion programs

reliably produce he eachers we need. A new and beter preparaion program

accounabiliy sysem can and should be adoped by all saes and guided by he

principles described below. Program accounabiliy mus ocus exclusively on he

acors ha improve insrucion, and sae accounabiliy or eacher preparaion

should be buil on a se o clear signals abou program qualiy. Policymakers ough

o be able o undersand hese signals, and hey ough o be useul or program

aculy and program leaders.

Te sysems credibiliy and useulness would also be srenghened i accoun-

abiliy measures and heir consequences apply equally o all programs in a sae,

wheher he program is radiional or alernaive, and no mater which organi-

zaion is responsible or he preparaion program.

Principles of a redesigned system

Focus accountability on important outcomes

Key drivers o eaching and learning oucomes mus be he basis or a new sysem

o program accounabiliy.Te Wallace Foundaion recenly argued ha assess-

men sysems should be ighly ocused on he mos poen behaviors ha can

promoe beter learning oucomes, raher han he peripheral concerns o daily


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managemen in is analysis o leadership and assessmen pracices or school lead-

ers.12 Tis is a reasonable bedrock principle or preparaion program accounabiliy.

A sronger sae accounabiliy sysem should use poen indicaors ha sudens

are learning rom heir eachers, ha eachers are eecive in he classroom as

deermined by objecive measures, and ha program graduaes say in he proes-sion and each in hard-o-sa schoolsinsead o concenraing solely on inpus

or bogging down in he nuances o complex processes like program review or he

hundreds o eacher ess now in use.

Clear signals using solid data

A new accounabiliy sysem should also communicae clear signals o hose

who need o know wheher or no a preparaion program is doing a good job.

Tis second principle is relevan because ew people have condence in currensae program accounabiliy pracices. In ac, he muddled curren sysem

undermines he legiimacy o accounabiliy isel.

Meeing hese wo principles requires empirical measures o be he building

blocks o an eecive accounabiliy sysem, and hese measures have o mee

sandards o qualiy and rigor o inspire condence. Daa collecion, indicaor

calculaions, and reporing pracices mus be ransparen. Tis is imporan or

proessionals on he inside o eel conden ha all programs are being judged by

he same rules, policymakers who need assurance ha he program qualiy indi-

caors conain inormaion abou imporan oucomes, sudens deciding where

o enroll in a preparaion program, and public schools rying o make inormed

hiring decisions ha have predicably posiive resuls or heir sudens. Te cur-

ren accounabiliy sysem or eacher educaion ails all hese ess.

Now les look a he componens o a sronger sysem and how hese principles

should be carried ou in pracice.

Components of a redesigned system

Every states teacher preparation program accountability system should

include a measure of teacher effectiveness that reports the extent to which

program graduates help their K-12 students to learn

Key drivers o

teaching and

learning outcomes

must be the

basis or a new

system o program

accountability.


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High-qualiy insrucion is he main driver or suden achievemen, so i makes

sense ha eacher eeciveness measures ough o be par o preparaion program

accounabiliy policies in he saes. oday, however, only hree saes (Louisiana,

Florida, and exas) incorporae eacher eeciveness ino preparaion program

oversighhough Delaware and ennessee will build eacher eeciveness daa

ino heir accounabiliy policies as hey proposed in heir winning Race o heop applicaions. Oher saes are proposing such sysems in heir Race o he op

applicaions as well.

Louisiana uses value-added analyses o suden academic perormance o make

decisions abou he qualiy o every public or privae radiional or alernae

roue eacher educaion program in he sae.13And Florida recenly began

measuring and ranking is eacher educaion programs based on wheher K-12

pupils augh by program graduaes demonsrae learning gains in he classroom

(More on Floridas eors here: htp://inyurl.com/yjwd8md). Finally, exas

announced a program accounabiliy sraegy in 2009 along he same lines asLouisiana and Florida (see htp://inyurl.com/yz9jmg). 14

Louisiana has he longes rack record wih program accounabiliy linked

o eacher eeciveness. I developed a sae eacher preparaion program

accounabiliy sysem ha includes graduaes impac on he pupils hey each.

Value-added ndings abou program graduaes are a major componen o is

accounabiliy sysem. Is sill unclear how exas will implemen is approach

linking suden achievemen and program accounabiliy. And in Florida, he san-

dard or judgmen is he proporion o program graduaes who had 50 percen or

more o heir sudens make a years worh o progress.

Putting it into practice

Tere will be issues implemening eacher eeciveness measures or program

accounabiliy a scale. Improved sae daa sysems are needed o link eacher and

suden daa, and eecive condenialiy and privacy policies are crucial. Analysis

o K-12 es daa also mus be done careully using appropriae saisical models

and wih rigorous atenion o daa qualiy issues.15

Furher, many program graduaes will be eaching in grades and subjec areas haare no esed by he saes. And we know ha sae ess can and should be buil

on more robus measures o learning oucomes.

Tese are real issues ha saes will have o grapple wih as hey move in he direc-

ion o adoping pupil achievemen as a program qualiy indicaor.
http://tinyurl.com/yjwd8mdhttp://tinyurl.com/yz9jmfghttp://tinyurl.com/yz9jmfghttp://tinyurl.com/yjwd8md


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Encouragingly, value-added analyses and growh model calculaions o suden

learning are prolieraing as saes and disrics seek beter ways o gauging suden

oucomes. Moreover, greaer use o hese sraegies has already simulaed inense

eors o improve he ess ha serve as dependen variables. Furher work o

rene and srenghen value-added and similar analyical mehods will coninue,

making his eacher eeciveness measure a easible program qualiy indicaor inevery sae.16

Saes should begin now o develop eacher eeciveness as a program qualiy

indicaor and solve hese problems as hey go along while no underesima-

ing he above challenges. Mos saes can already link suden and eacher daa

in heir K-12 sysem, bu hey are no ye able o ie pracicing eachers back o

heir preparaion program and will need o work his ou. Waiing o move unil

every problem is resolved o universal saisacion, however, is no responsible or

realisicespecially given he pressing and unme challenge o helping children

succeed academically hrough he provision o highly eecive eachers.

States should use the classroom teaching performance of program

graduates to judge the quality of all teacher preparation programs

Even when eacher preparaion programs are able o measure eacher eeciveness,

hey need o gure ou how eachers ge hese resuls. Tis is imporan inorma-

ion or undersanding he impac o individual eachers, bu is also imporan or

nding ou wheher preparaion programs are producing new eachers wih he

knowledge and skills o help sudens learn.

Classroom observaion and assessmen o on-he-job eaching should be used as a

key measure o preparaion program qualiy since no single measureno mater

how powerul he ndingsis enough o gauge all he relevan componens o

eaching qualiy or program eeciveness. A he very leas, program graduaes

should have acquired knowledge and experience wih core eaching pracices by

he ime hey complee a program.

Laura Goe and her colleagues sugges ha eacher evaluaions be based on a vari-ey o measures o suden achievemen and eacher pracice.17 From oher work

i now appears ha daa on new eacher job perormance may be more imporan

o esimaing a eachers impac on suden learning han anyhing available o

schools or disrics a he recruimensage o he hiring process. Oher scholar-

Even when teacher

preparation

programs are able

to measure teacher

eectiveness, they

need to fgure out

how teachers get

these results.


21/44


ship suggess srongly ha classroom eaching perormance can be measured in

reliable and valid ways.18

Sysemaically employed or program accounabiliy, classroom assessmen o

eaching pracices would ensure ha graduaes have he skills and abiliies o

help sudens learn. Whas more, daa generaed abou all new eachers rom agraduaion cohorhe class o 2010, or examplewould help he program

isel o ideniy he knowledge and skill ses ha are making a dierence in heir

graduaes classrooms. And classroom assessmen resuls can highligh areas or

individual eacher improvemen and orm he basis or argeed proessional

developmen. For preparaion programs oering inducion suppor o new gradu-

aes, eaching assessmen resuls also would ag areas where coninued develop-

men o eaching skills would improve a eachers eeciveness in he classroom.

Daa or all program graduaes can work as a summaive evaluaion measure or

program qualiy, and serve as a ormaive assessmen ool or individual graduaes.Findings also would be useul inormaion or program revisions o bene uure

cohors o eacher candidaes.


Implemening a program qualiy indicaor based on classroom eaching per-

ormance would be a major sep orward in providing evidence abou eacher

preparaion ha is relevan o suden learning. A sysem o qualiy classroom

observaion suppors air judgmens abou preparaion programs i i has su-

cien rigor o produce reliable and valid ndings or individual eachers and

groups o eachers.19

No all classroom observaion or eaching assessmen proocols are he same,

however. Few now in use by eacher educaion programs mee even minimal san-

dards o rigor. Needed or he ask, according o Rober Piana and Bridge Hamre,

are validaed, sandardized observaional assessmens o eachers classroom

insrucion and ineracions.20 Forunaely, a growing number o high-qualiy

insrumens are now available or classroom observaion and assessmen, wih

pleny o evidence ha hese observaion insrumens do mee high sandards o

reliabiliy and validiy.21

Observaional assessmen ndings or individual eachers mus be combined

and summarized or all graduaes o a specic program in order o draw conclu-

sions abou heir programor, perhaps, rom large enough samples o program


22/44


graduaes o produce reliable ndings. Some programs are doing his already on

heir own and using he ndings or assessing suden eachers or new graduaes.

A ew saes even require his as par o heir program approval sysem. Faculy use

he same daa or program improvemen.22 Finally, classroom assessmen sysems

mus have sufcien qualiy o be used reliably and eecively.

wo large naional sudies o reliable and valid classroom observaion insrumens

now underway can help move us orward in using classroom assessmen as an

accounabiliy measure. Te Undersanding eacher Qualiy iniiaive (see htp://

www.uqsudy.org/index.hml) is looking a he relaionship beween six insru-

mens and pupil learning gains hrough videoaped observaions o 450 eachers.

Similarly, he Measuring Eecive eaching or ME eor is doing he same work

wih 3,700 eachers in six school disrics (see htp://meprojec.org/projec).

Using classroom assessmen or large-scale accounabiliy has is challenges, bu

saes and programs ha wan o undersand how eachers produce posiive ou-comes or sudens will suppor invesmen in coninued developmen and use o

hese observaional sraegies. Saes can sar now o suppor eors o make he

empirical links beween classroom observaion and suden achievemenand

hey can organize raining or assessors so ha ndings are reliable.

Persistence rates in teaching of program graduates should be reported for

every teacher preparation program

Public disclosure o his inormaion or up o ve years poscompleion will

simulae progress in addressing high eacher urnover raes by drawing atenion

rom eacher educaion programs, schools, disrics, and policymakers.

eacher urnover raes have drawn signican atenion in recen years, and he

disproporionae impac o eacher churn on paricular kinds o schools and su-

dens is well documened.Te Naional Commission on eaching and Americas

Fuure argued in 2003 ha eacher urnover undermines schools capaciy o

iniiae and susain sysemic improvemen.23 And a 2009 Consorium on Chicago

School Research sudy urher noes ha, High urnover raes produce a rangeo organizaional problems or schools hwar eors o develop a proessional

learning communiy among eachers and make i difcul o develop susained

parnerships wih he local communiy.24
http://www.utqstudy.org/index.htmlhttp://www.utqstudy.org/index.htmlhttp://metproject.org/projecthttp://metproject.org/projecthttp://www.utqstudy.org/index.htmlhttp://www.utqstudy.org/index.html


23/44


eacher urnover is a paricular problem in low-achieving schools ha have high

proporions o sudens in povery and minoriy sudens. Sudies o suden

learning show ha eachers become more eecive (up o a poin) as hey gain

experience, so eacher urnover also undercus suden academic achievemen.

Bu is no jus sudens who suer. Preparaion programs, schools, disrics, and

sudens all have a sake in a qualiy eacher workorce, and all o hem are aecedby a sysemic problem like eacher urnover.

High raes o urnover persis despie he ac ha many eacher educaion

programs say hey prepare eachers or challenging schools in urban or rural

setings. o be air, preparaion programs are no solely responsible or urnover

or is soluion, bu many programs don even know i heir graduaes end up in

classrooms, much less how long hey say in he proession. Many also aren sure

wheher heir graduaes each in he kinds o schools he program believes i is

preparing hem or.

Given eacher urnovers causes and consequences we need o align producers and

employers hrough incenives, rewards, and beter public inormaion abou he

problem. A major sep in his direcion is o make sure ha all he producers o

new eachers disclose he eaching persisence raes o heir graduaes annually or

a leas ve years aer program compleion.25 Saes should repor hese persis-

ence raes publicly or every program.

K-12 schools are already held accounable or eacher urnover. High raes o urn-

over resul in weaker suden academic learning gains han would oherwise be

he case. Moreover, several saes already use eacher survey daa on school work-

ing condiions o push improvemens a he building level, and hey hold school

leaders accounable or poor working condiions. Te Obama adminisraion has

proposed reauhorizaion policies or he Elemenary and Secondary Educaion

Ac ha include eacher survey ndings o school working condiions as par o

he sae reporing sysem or K-12 educaion.26

Sudies show ha preparaion maters when i comes o eacher eeciveness. 27

Is paricularly imporan where candidaes obain heir clinical experience beore

graduaionin careully seleced and well-suppored clinical siesand how heprograms clinical componen is organized and suppored by aculy so ha gradu-

aes develop he skills and abiliies needed in schools. Srong eachers are more

likely o say in he eld.


24/44


Since eacher preparaion programs already inerac wih schools hey should help

solve he urnover problem. Bu his can only happen hrough sronger incenives,

including ull public disclosure by he saes o program-specic eacher persis-

ence raes. Public disclosure o his inormaion as a program qualiy indicaor

would give incenives or programs o pay more atenion o eacher preparaion

or high-need schools.


Some eacher preparaion programs sudy he persisence raes o heir own

graduaes. Bu a reliable sysem or sae accounabiliy will need daa sysems ha

enable all programs o locae heir graduaes in he schools and disrics where

hey each.28 Raher han have individual programs gaher and publish hese

persisence raes, i migh be more easible or saes o collec and disseminae he

persisence raes or every program.

Many programs produce a small number o graduaes each year, and houghpersisence rae calculaions are equally valuable or hese programs, he need or

solid inerences drawn rom a small number o graduaes suggess ha pooling

resuls across several years or small programs would help o ose any disorions

caused by a small number o cases in a single cohor o program graduaes.

Anoher issue in racking eacher persisence is eachers who sop ou aer

a ew years o eaching or personal reasons and hen reurn o he eld. Te

Illinois Educaion Research Council ound ha abou one-hird o eachers who

le eaching in he rs ew years o heir careers laer reurned o eaching.29

Annual eacher persisence repors ha build a ve-year cumulaive record or a

program cohoror example, hose who nish in 2010would help solve his

problem. A second or hird year dip in persisence or a paricular group o

graduaes would be ose in years our and ve or hose who ake a shor break

and hen reurn o eaching.

Finally, is worh saying again ha eacher educaion programs should no bear

sole responsibiliy or eacher urnover. Eecive responses o a serious issue in

educaion require all players in he sysem o ake responsibiliy or developing,

raining, and supporing eachers. Schools can x he urnover problem in isola-ion. Te human capial supply chain has o be par o he soluion.

Since teacher

preparation

programs already

interact with

schools they should

help solve the

turnover problem.


25/44


Feedback surveys from preparation program graduates and from their

employers should be part of state program accountability

A growing number o eacher educaion programs seek regular eedback rom

heir graduaes abou he program and how well i prepared hem o each. Some

programs solici similar eedback rom heir graduaes employers. Tese surveyndings le programs know in specic deail how well he graduaes believe hey

were prepared or classroom eaching. And hey allow employers o ell he pro-

gram how hey rae he graduaes who were hired in heir school or disric: Were

hey ready o be successul beginning eachers? Would hey hire program gradu-

aes in he uure?

Nearly everyone who alks o schools or disrics abou heir new eachers hears

anecdoes rom disric human resources ofcials or rom school principals

abou he graduaes o his or ha program. Some repor hey are so happy wih

a paricular programs graduaes ha hey can ge enough o hem and wouldhire every graduae rom ha program i hey could. Ohers are less posiive, and

some even say hey would never hire a graduae rom such-and-such program. Bu

whaever we may read ino hese sories hey do no provide sysemaic eedback

abou program or individual eacher qualiy. Surveys and response raes mus

mee sandards o qualiy or eedback daa o be reliable.

Tose who have employed sysemaic eedback surveys know hey can be very

useul. Posiive eedback les program aculy know heres a good beween he

program and he schools i serves. Criical responses ag areas o concern ha

require he aculy o improve or he sae o inervene. And while his inorma-

ion is no srong enough o sand on is own as an accounabiliy measure, i sill

can be valuable as an indicaor o program qualiy. Feedback survey daa rom

graduaes and heir employers adds o he overall picure o program perormance

i is used in concer wih rigorous daa on pupil learning gains, inormaion on

classroom eaching skills, and eaching persisence raes.

In addiion o surveys individual programs conduc, here are good examples o

muliprogram or saewide eedback surveys ha can serve as models or building

improved sae accounabiliy sysems. Te Caliornia Sae Universiy Sysemhas conduced regular surveys o all eacher educaion program graduaes and

heir employers since 2001, using a common insrumen (see htp://inyurl.com/

yeuw85). And he Pahways research projec in New York developed preparaion
http://tinyurl.com/yetuw85http://tinyurl.com/yetuw85http://tinyurl.com/yetuw85http://tinyurl.com/yetuw85


26/44


program graduae ollow-up surveys ha i adminisered rom 2004 o 2006. Te

projec obained responses rom he graduaes o several dozen programs (see

htp://inyurl.com/ybguex). Survey insrumens and survey resuls are acces-

sible online in each case.

Te Consorium on Chicago School Research has surveyed eachers rom muli-ple programs employed in Chicago public school classrooms (htp://inyurl.com/

yeabgel), and he Woodrow Wilson Naional Fellowship Foundaion recenly

repored he resuls o a survey o more han 500 career changers rom many

dieren programs (htp://inyurl.com/yea4qh).

In he cases menioned heresae universiy sysem, complex research projecs,

sae program improvemen iniiaive, or a oundaion ineresed in expanding he

pool o high-qualiy eachers in he Unied Saeshe surveys o eachers and

employers are no ends in hemselves. Tey were envisioned as sources o useul

inormaion o suppor accounabiliy and program improvemen ools. So ar, how-ever, hey are no regular ools o sae accounabiliy and program improvemen.30


Conducing eedback surveys is a pracical and suiable sraegy or sae accoun-

abiliy. Bu survey response raes a he program level have o be high enough or

he programs hemselves and or sae regulaors o have condence in he resuls.

Improved sae daa sysems now coming online make i easier or programs and

saes o recrui survey respondens by linking pracicing eachers back o he

programs ha produced hem.

Counless universiies and even high schools now ap he resources o he Naional

Suden Clearinghouse, he Naional Opinion Research Cener, Harris Connec,

and oher organizaions o obain accurae up-o-dae inormaion on he where-

abous and work saus o heir graduaes. Tis can be helpul o he many pro-

grams whose graduaes are employed as new eachers in saes oher han he one

where he program is locaed. Racheing up he imporance and visibiliy o a

measure will creae powerul incenives or preparaion programs and sae regula-

ors o devoe he necessary resources o develop srong survey insrumens wih

accepable response raesas wih he persisence indicaor discussed earlier.

Furhermore, programs should be expeced o conduc surveys o graduaes and

employers annually, or no less han every oher year, or he eedback survey indi-

caor o be meaningul. Less requen surveys will yield inormaion oo sale or

Conducting

eedback surveys

is a practical

and suitable

strategy or state

accountability.
http://tinyurl.com/yeabgelhttp://tinyurl.com/yeabgelhttp://tinyurl.com/yeaf4qhhttp://tinyurl.com/yeaf4qhhttp://tinyurl.com/yeabgelhttp://tinyurl.com/yeabgel


27/44


use as a program improvemen ool. Saes also should make he eedback survey

ndings public since accounabiliy is a public responsibiliy. Survey resuls by

individual programs ough o be ransparenly undersandable o cusomers and

would-be cusomers.

Wihou aking business world analogies oo ar, disrics, schools, and sudensare cusomers o he preparaion programs. Cusomer views abou qualiy

and qualiy improvemen are valuable pieces o inormaion or programs, and

eedback survey ndings will help sae ofcials charged wih he responsibiliy o

ensure ha every child has an eecive eacher.

A new system of teacher tests should be designed and implemented for

state accountability as an indicator of program quality

Te number o eacher ess now in use should be cu by more han 90 percen omake eacher esing an eecive indicaor o individual and program qualiy. And

every sae should adop he same ess and he same pass rae policies.

Saes should immediaely hold eacher educaion programs accounable hrough

a limied number o common eacher ess. ess could sill be given a dieren

sages o preparaion: Conen knowledge or pedagogical conen knowledge

ess migh be employed beore suden eaching or as a requiremen or program

compleion, wih pass raes disclosed or all es-akers, no jus or hose allowed

o complee he program.

A he same ime,beter ess and higher passing scores should be adoped.

Reliable and valid measures o conen knowledge and proessional knowledge

can be valuable o assess he qualiy o individual eachers and he programs ha

produced hem.31

Te ve eaures o a new eacher esing sysem below would ensure ha es-

ing becomes a meaningul componen o srong sae accounabiliy or eacher

educaion programs:

A vasly reduced number o ess developed wih predicive validiy in mind

Eliminaion o basic skills ess, wih rigorous program admissions sandards used

o weed ou he weakes sudens beore hey ener eaching preparaion programs

States should

immediately

hold teacher

education prog

accountable

through a limite

number o com

teacher tests.


28/44


New rigorous ess o subjec area conen knowledge and proessional knowl-

edge, pegged o meaningul levels o knowledge and perormance by grade

levels and subjec areas

Cu scores or passing he ess esablished a levels high enough o ensure ha

only he sronges prospecive eachers are allowed o complee preparaionprograms and obain an iniial license o each in public school classrooms

Idenical ess and passing scores adoped in every sae

A variey o sudies clearly show ha eachers do learn proessional knowledge

and skills rom heir preparaion programs, bu here is litle evidence abou he

degree o which he learned skills conribue o eacher eeciveness.32 Tis weak

linkage may owe more o poor measures o eacher knowledge and skills han

anyhing else. Revamped and high-qualiy eacher ess would bring greaer rigor

o assessing program and candidae qualiy, highlighing he acors ha conrib-ue o successul eacher preparaion and making i more likely ha measures o

eacher knowledge and skills have predicive validiy or pupil learning oucomes.


29/44

Cuen eace eng a a a quay cn meaue | www.amecanpge.

Current teacher testing fails

as a quality control measure

eacher esing per se is no responsible or he ailure o curren accounabiliy poli-

cies, as noed earlier. Credible and eecive accounabiliy is insead undercu by he

curren ess hemselves and how heyre used. Many o hem measure eighh-grade

levels o knowledge, and cu scores or passing hese ess are se low enough o guar-

anee ha nearly every graduae will pass. In ac, 96 percen o program compleers

in he Unied Saes passed all sae ess in 2006, as menioned earlier.33

eachers, schools, and sudens need a se o eacher ess ha beter predic class-room eaching perormance and are equally good a predicing posiive learning

oucomes or K-12 pupils. Clear signals abou program and graduae qualiy ge

los in he noise o so many ess, es caegories, and pass rae policies. Te cur-

ren srucure serves he ineress o esing companies, sae regulaors rying o

avoid real accounabiliy, and heir allies in preparaion programs. I does nohing

o help hose programs ha wan o produce eecive graduaes, and i doesn

provide a useul ool or sae oversigh o program qualiy.

Saes should hereore work wih he esing companies and wih eacher edu-

caors commited o qualiy o develop and implemen a new sysem o eacher

esing. Insead o he curren sysem wih more han 1,100 dieren eacher ess,

a new sysem o higher qualiy and more relevan ess could be organized around

he marix o es caegories and grade levels below.

A new system of teacher testing

Matrix below could simplify the current system of 1,100 different teacher tests

Test category Grades Pre K-2 Grades 3-5 Grades 6-8 Grades 9-12 Special education

Content knowledge

Professional knowledge


30/44


Based on eaching assignmens and K-12 subjec areas a he various grade lev-

els, conen areas or esing would include reading, English language ars, mah,

social sudies, biology, chemisry, earh science, and physics, as well as areas

such as he ars, compuer science-echnology, and English as a second language.

Special educaion eachers should also be esed in conen areas as well as in

heir specialized knowledge.

Te grade conguraion proposed here may no he licensure and cericaion

srucure o every saeanoher byproduc o he idiosyncraic local regulaion

o a naional proessionand oher clusers o grades may make sense. Bu he

key poin o his example is o signicanly reduce he number o eacher ess.

Te proposed array illusraed above resuls in wo es caegories, 11 conen

areas, and our grade levels, including special educaion. A redesigned sysem o

eacher esing would hus include abou 90 dieren essinsead o 1,100

covering all grades and subjec areas as well as wo key orms o eacher knowl-edge (subjec area conen and proessional knowledge).

Some currenly used eacher ess purpor o measure eaching skills, bu hey do

no have predicive validiy and are no ied o pupil oucomes. Te sae accoun-

abiliy sysem proposed here will capure reliable and valid inormaion abou acual

classroom eaching perormance (see he secion on using program graduaes class-

room perormance o judge he qualiy o all eacher preparaion programs).

Noably, his proposed srucure or eacher ess in he new sae accounabiliy

sysem does no include any ess in he basic skills caegory ha saes currenly

use. As described earlier, hese are essenially eighh-grade level assessmens o

basic conen knowledge, and a robus sysem o accounabiliy or programs and

graduaes mus aim much higher han eighh-grade knowledge or eachers and

eacher candidaes. Program-level selecion processes should ensure ha only

academically able college sudens are allowed o enroll in a eacher educaion

program. I was (and is) he ailure o many programs o have adequae admis-

sions sandards in he rs place ha led o basic skills esing by he saes.

Full deploymen o he accounabiliy measures described in his paper will makei impossible or he weakes college sudens o make i hrough preparaion

programs. Te revamped accounabiliy sysem will eliminae he need or basic

skills ess by invoking real consequences or weak programs.34


31/44


Every state adopts common policies and program quality standards

Every sae needs o adop he new sysem proposed here or i o be mos eec-

ive. Oher proessions have embraced accounabiliy policies and pracices or

programs and graduaes ha are he same in all 50 saes. One resul o his is

ha qualiy has he same deniion no mater where he program is or where hegraduae works.

In conras, here are more han 50 versions o qualiy sandards, policies, and

accounabiliy sysems or eaching and eacher preparaion. Tis is a major weak-

ness o he curren sysem. Te proposed new sysem replaces a weak and largely

irrelevan sysem o sae eacher educaion program accounabiliy wih a se o

consisen indicaors ha assess imporan aspecs o program and eacher qualiy.

Tere are our compelling reasons why all saes should embrace he eacher

preparaion program accounabiliy sysem described here.

Teachers prepared and licensed in different states: A surprising number o newly

licensed eachers in he Unied Saes complee a preparaion program in one sae

and obain heir iniial license somewhere else. According o Educaion Secreary

Arne Duncans mos recen eacher qualiy repor o Congress, 20 percen o ini-

ial licenses in 32 saes were graned o new eachers whose preparaion or each-

ing ook place in anoher sae. For anoher 12 saes and he Disric o Columbia

40 percen o iniially ceried eachers were prepared by a eacher educaion

program in anoher sae.35

Tere are undersandable geographic and personal reasons or hese paterns. Bu

he ac is ha sudens and schools in dozens o saes are a he mercy o pro-

gram qualiy policies rom some oher sae over which hey have no inuence.

Since subjec-area knowledge and eecive eaching skills are no bound by geog-

raphy, he rules by which programs and graduaes are judged on his knowledge

and skills should no be consrained by sae lines.

Student mobility across state lines: Te knowledge and skills K-12 sudens need

o be successul in school, work, and lie are no sae specic. Ye he absence omore uniormiy in accounabiliy measures means ha sudens who move rom

one sae o anoher are likely o encouner public school eachers whose prepa-

raion programs were subjec o dieren qualiy yardsicks. Forunaely, educa-

ors and policymakers are beginning o undersand he value o suden learning


32/44


sandards ha are he same in every sae (see nex poin). eacher qualiy rules

should ranscend sae lines and be he same across he counry.

Emerging common standards and assessments: Te Common Core Sae

Sandards Iniiaive (htp://www.coresandards.org/) requires sronger and more

universal policies or preparaion program accounabiliy and eacher qualiy hanis possible under he curren sysem. I is suppored o dae by 48 saes. A single

se o accounabiliy policies and pracices in every sae can be embraced by prepa-

raion programs and regulaors as indicaors o qualiy and assurances o he public.

Other professions and state accountability: Saes can also draw on he experi-

ence o oher proessions. Engineering, accounancy, nursing, and medicine

operae wih uniorm sae accounabiliy sandards and requiremens. Tis has

occurred wihou doing violence o proessional auonomy or academic reedom

among program aculy. Perhaps he mos imporan poin here is ha all saes

have implemened a single se o accounabiliy policies and pracices wihouinringing on he principles o ederalism.

In nursing, or insance, he NCLEX-RN is acceped by every sae as he single

licensure es ha deermines wheher a program graduae is graned a license o

pracice nursing. Every sae uses he same passing sandard, and pass raes are

ied o program accounabiliy or more han 1,200 proessional nursing programs

in he Unied Saes (see htps://www.ncsbn.org/nclex.hm).

Engineering has a similar sory. All saes employ he same batery o ess or

would-be engineers, and every sae employs he same passing score (see htp://

www.ncees.org/Exams.php).

Medical licensure sandards in he Unied Saes can be summarized in one char

(see htp://www.smb.org/usmle_eliiniial.hml) because here is agreemen

across he saes and wihin he proession abou enry sandards ino he pro-

ession and qualiy sandards or medical preparaion programs. Accounancy

ollows a similar patern wih all saes using he same our-par Uniorm

CPA Examinaion and passing scores (see htp://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos001.

hm#raining).

eachers and eacher educaion have many similariies o nursing and nurse prepa-

raion, so sae policymakers may nd nursing program oversigh pracices par-

icularly relevan o eacher educaion. Like eaching, nursing is a predominanly

Teacher quality

rules should

transcend state

lines and be the

same across the

country.
http://www.corestandards.org/https://www.ncsbn.org/nclex.htmhttp://www.ncees.org/Exams.phphttp://www.ncees.org/Exams.phphttp://www.fsmb.org/usmle_eliinitial.htmlhttp://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos001.htm#traininghttp://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos001.htm#traininghttp://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos001.htm#traininghttp://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos001.htm#traininghttp://www.fsmb.org/usmle_eliinitial.htmlhttp://www.ncees.org/Exams.phphttp://www.ncees.org/Exams.phphttps://www.ncsbn.org/nclex.htmhttp://www.corestandards.org/


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emale proession wih muliple preparaion pahwayshospials, communiy

colleges, and universiies, or exampleand more han 1,200 dieren nursing

educaion providers exis. Te academic qualiy o enrans ino he nursing pro-

ession has parallels o eaching.

Nursing programs and graduaes are subjec o he licensing and programapproval auhoriy o he saes. In sharp conras o eacher educaion, however,

i is noeworhy ha he nursing proession and he regulaors suppor and have

implemened he same se o oversigh rules in every sae.

Te essenially naional characer o sandards and pracices or nursing and he

oher proessions discussed in his secion serves as a orm o qualiy conrol ha

does no exis in eacher educaion. And he high degree o consensus wihin each

eld abou he values, sandards, and pracices ha should characerize proessional

preparaion is a mechanism ha links accrediaion, sae oversigh, and proes-

sional licensure. Tis sraegy proecs he public wih he same se o rules in everysae, and i brings higher levels o public respec or he proession as a whole and

or hose who serve he public hrough heir proessional work. A srong uniorm

accounabiliy srucure or an enire proession is a demonsrably eecive sraegy

or achieving secure proessional saus in he eyes o he American people.


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Recommendations for states

Some o he changes proposed in his paper will ake imeespecially he devel-

opmen o high-qualiy ess or eacher candidaes and new eachers. Even so,

saes can ake signican seps now oward more rigorous accounabiliy policies

or eacher educaion programs. Tey can implemen hese our accounabiliy

measures wih daa sysems ha are already in place or on he horizon:

ie K-12 pupil learning oucomes o preparaion program graduaes and hold

he programs accounable or eacher eeciveness

Begin o implemen high-qualiy observaional assessmens o classroom

eaching by supporing eors o link hese assessmens o suden achievemen

and by developing rigorous raining or classroom observers o ensure reliable

assessmen ndings

Employ curren sae daa sysems o rack he eaching persisence raes or

graduaes o every program, and use he ndings as a public disclosure measure

Implemen eedback surveys o preparaion program graduaes and heir employ-

ers using sae educaion, labor deparmen (or sae insurance deparmen),

universiy, and school disric daa sysems

Individual saes can ake hese seps righ away. Anoher opion is or consoria

o saes o work ogeher and implemen idenical accounabiliy measures and

perormance crieriajus as groups o saes are now working on common K-12

suden assessmens.

And nally, individual saes, as well as sae consoria, can move immediaely oend he cion ha curren eacher esing policies provide meaningul accoun-

abiliy. All saes should raise passing cu-o scores on every es, a leas o he

States can take

signifcant steps

now toward

more rigorous

accountability

policies or

teacher education

programs.


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recmmendan ae | www.amecanpge.

naional average or all es-akers. Saes also should make dramaic reducions

in he number o redundan ess used or licensure. Bu hese wo seps are only

incremenal changes on he way o he ar more robus, simplied, and relevan

esing sysem proposed in his paper or eacher candidaes and new eachers, a

new srucure o accounabiliy ha should be adoped as he norm in every sae.


36/44


Conclusion

Curren sae accounabiliy policies or eacher educaion are no up o he ask

o ensuring ha all programs rouinely produce eecive eachers or our public

schools. Key oucomes ha materincluding suden achievemen and class-

room eaching perormance, among ohersare, wih ew excepions, no used

as qualiy conrol mechanisms by he saes. Furher, he record is clear ha saes

seldom ake acion agains weak programs.

Aside rom hese serious problems, our curren racured sysem o qualiyconrol is an obsacle o proessional saus or preparaion programs and heir

graduaes. Every sae has is own se o policies and pracices despie he ac

ha many sudens and eachers move regularly rom one sae o anoher.

Sae-specic program accounabiliy pracices ignore he undamenals o

eaching and learning, bu subjec-area knowledge and eaching skills are uni-

versals unconsrained by sae boundaries. Oversigh or preparaion program

qualiy should uncion he same way.

A new accounabiliy sysem or eacher educaion should be undergirded by

empirically based perormance and eedback indicaors direcly relaed o each-

ing and learning oucomes ha aec sudens, eachers, and schools. Every sae

should use he same sysem o indicaors, and meaningul qualiy conrol or

eacher preparaion programs requires he public and policymakers o have easy

access o measures o qualiy.

Many eacher educaors and program leaders undersand ha he curren sysem is

a ailure because i ocuses on irrelevan inpus and insulaes weak programs rom

pressures o change or close down. Te sysem now in place also undermines respec

or he eaching proession and or eacher educaion as a orm o proessionaleducaion. A more powerul accounabiliy sysem will send he righ signals abou

program qualiy o proessional educaors, policymakers, schools, and parens.


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reeence | www.amecanpge.

References

Boyd, Donald, and ohers. 2009. eacher Preparaionand Suden Achievemen.Educaional Evaluaion and

Policy Analysis 31 (4): 416-440.

Cloeler, Charles, Helen Ladd, and Jacob Vigdor. 2006.eacher-Suden Maching and he Assessmen oeacher Eeciveness.Journal o Human Resources 41(4): 778-820.

Cloeler, Charles, Helen Ladd, and Jacob Vigdor. 2007.

How and Why Do eacher Credenials Mater or Su-den Achievemen? Working Paper 12828. NaionalBureau o Economic Research.

Crowe, Edward. 2008. eaching as a Proession: ABridge oo Far? In M. Cochran-Smih, S. Feiman-Nemser, D.J. McInyre, and K. Demers, eds., Handbooko Research on Teacher Educaion. New York: Rouledge,aylor & Francis.

Goldhaber, Dan. 2006. Everyones Doing I, Bu WhaDoes eacher esing ell Us Abou eacher Eecive-ness? Seatle: Universiy o Washingon Cener or he

Reinvenion o Public Educaion.

Goldhaber, Dan, and Jane Hannaway, eds. 2010. Creainga New eaching Proession. Washingon: Te UrbanInsiue Press.

Harris, Douglas, and im Sass. 2006. Te Eecs oeacher raining on eacher Value Added. Working Pa-per. Florida Sae Universiy, Deparmen o Economics.

Naional Academy o Educaion. 2009. eacher Qualiy:Educaion Policy Whie Paper. (Rerieved rom he Na-ional Academy o Educaion,www.naeducaion.org.)

Piana, Rober, and Bridge Hamre. 2009. Concepualiza-ion, Measuremen, and Improvemen o Classroom

Processes: Sandardized Observaion Can LeverageCapaciy.Educaional Researcher 38 (2): 109-119.

Rice, Jennier King. 2003. Teacher Qualiy: Undersand-ing he Efeciveness o Teacher Atribues. Washingon:Economic Policy Insiue.

U.S. Deparmen o Educaion, Ofce o PossecondaryEducaion. 2009. Te Secrearys Sixh Annual Reporon eacher Qualiy: A Highly Qualied eacher inEvery ClassroomWashingon.
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Endnotes

1 suzanne Wn and Pee Yung, reeac n AccunabyPcee n teace Educan. in M. Ccan-sm and K. Zec-ne, ed., Studying Teacher Education. (Wangn: AErA, 2005, p.591-644).

2 see Cwe, teacng a a Pen.; Wn and Yung, reeacn Accunaby Pcee n teace Educan.

3 inman n e ue pa ae by e ae m U.s. Depa-men Educan, te seceay sx Annua rep n teaceQuay: A hg y Quaed teace n Evey Cam (2009), p. 14.

4 te Nana reeac Cunc que m page 47 Kaen J.Mce and e, Testing Teacher Candidates: The Role o LicensureTests in Improving Teacher Quality. (Wangn: Nana Academy

scence, 2001). te Wn and Yung dcun can be undn page 592 e anay ced abve.

5 te abence a dec cnnecn beween eace cenue eand cam pacce wa a maj eme e 2001 NrC udy,Testing Teacher Candidates, and e que can be und n page168 vume. Fueme, e ude ep a, a be,cecan exam ce ave mde mpac n pup eanng andpeap nne a a. F me nman, ee Cae Cee,heen ladd, and Jacb Vgd, teace-suden Macng ande Aemen teace Eecvene Wkng Pape 11936.(Cambdge: Nana Bueau Ecnmc reeac, 2006),a wea Cae Cee, heen ladd, and Jacb Vgd, hw and WyD teace Cedena Mae suden Acevemen? WkngPape 12828 (Cambdge: Nana Bueau Ecnmc reeac,2007); and Duga ha and tm sa, te Eec teace

tanng n teace Vaue Added Wkng Pape (Fda sae Un-vey, Depamen Ecnmc, 2006). F ane pepecve,ee Dan Gdabe, Eveyne Dng i, Bu Wa De teace

teng te U Abu teace Eecvene? (seae: Unvey Wangn Cene e renvenn Pubc Educan, 2006).

6 U.s. Depamen Educan, te seceay sx Annua repn teace Quay: A h gy Quaed teace n Evey Cam(2009), p. 36.

7 see scenceDay, Us Need Bee-taned Ma teace Cm-pee Gbay, sudy Fnd, Pe eeae, Ap 19, 2010, avaabea p://www.cenceday.cm/eeae/2010/04/100415105954.m; and e u udy, Mcgan sae Unvey, Cege Educan, Beakng e Cyce: An inenana Cmpan U.s. Maemac teace Pepaan avaabe a p://nyu.cm/37wyq6.

8 Decpn e cuen eng ceme eace canddaeand new eace can be und n U.s. Depamen Educan,

te seceay sx Annua rep n teace Quay: A hgyQuaed teace n Evey Cam (2009). Fgue e num-

be e n eac eng caegy cme m page 23 and enge-ae exampe und n page 25.

9 impan eacng knwedge ncude e cnen knwedge,pedaggca cnen knwedge, and eaed eacng k am e backbne cam bevan numen uc aClAss, MQi (Maemaca Quay inucn), and e ineec-ua Demand Agnmen Pc (iDAQ). F me ee p://www.uqudy.g/numen.m.

10 suce ae U.s. Depamen Educan, te seceay sxAnnua rep n teace Quay: A hgy Quaed teace n EveyCam (2009), p. 12-13; and secn 208 e hEA te ii aue.

11 Wn and Yung, reeac n Accunaby Pcee nteace Educan, p. 593.

12 see te Waace Fundan, Aeng e Eecvene scleade: New Decn and New Pcee (2009), p. 5, avaabea p://nyu.cm/ydv6c.

13 F me nman n luana yem a we a e pceand eeac bend devepmen, ee sae luana, Bad regen, teace Educan inave, avaabe a p://nyu.cm/27y5zg.

14 Dea n e texa yem cme m ae enae b 174 andcape 229 e texa Admnave Cde, b adped n 2009.inman n pan n Deawae and tenneee can be und ne ucceu rtt ppa (ee U.s. Depamen Educan,

race e tp Fund: sae Appcan, sce and Cmmen Pae 1, (2010), avaabe a p://nyu.cm/yk5kg).

15 laua Ge, Cuney Be, and ova le, Appace Evauangteace Eecvene: A reeac syne (Wangn: NanaCmpeenve Cene teace Quay, 2008), p. 47.

16 A ned, e caenge ncude daa yem, e e emeve,and e medge. Pge n daa yem and eepe -cay e emegng cnum a n cude e U.s. Depamen Educan, ae, and me educan undew pbemuae adpn uden aemen nked muaeadpn e Cmmn Ce sae sandad inave w apepe gd w ae wkng adde e pacca caenge

bu accunaby yem. We knw a cuen pgamquay ndca ae neecve and en mued pec weakpgam. suden eanng a cca ucme. Wkng gee,ae, e edea gvenmen, undan, and e pencan mpemen and make eecve ue meaue eaceeecvenea we ee aeady n luana.

17 Ge, Be, and le, Appace Evauang teace Eecve-ne, p. 9.

18 te mpance new eace pemanceand e eave un-mpance degee cedena dcued by Jna rckand e, Can Yu recgnze an Eecve teace Wen Yurecu one? Wkng Pape 14485 (Cambdge: Nana Bueau Ecnmc reeac, 2008), p. 3-4. te ng quay me cuencam bevan aege dcued n rbe Pana andBdge hame, Cncepuazan, Meauemen, and impvemen Cam Pcee: sandadzed obevan Can leveageCapacyEducational Researcher38 (2) (2009): 109-119.

19 Ge, Be, and le, Appace Evauang teace Eecve-ne, p. 20.

20 Pana and hame, Cncepuazan, Meauemen, and impve-men Cam Pcee, p. 109.

21 Exceen dcun ee ue can be und n Pana andhame, Cncepuazan, Meauemen, and impvemen Cam Pcee, p. 111; and n Ge, Be, and le, Ap-pace Evauang teace Eecvene, p. 22.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100415105954.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100415105954.htmhttp://tinyurl.com/37wyql6http://tinyurl.com/37wyql6http://www.utqstudy.org/instruments.htmlhttp://www.utqstudy.org/instruments.htmlhttp://tinyurl.com/ydv6ltchttp://tinyurl.com/27y5fzghttp://tinyurl.com/27y5fzghttp://tinyurl.com/yk5skfghttp://tinyurl.com/yk5skfghttp://tinyurl.com/27y5fzghttp://tinyurl.com/27y5fzghttp://tinyurl.com/ydv6ltchttp://www.utqstudy.org/instruments.htmlhttp://www.utqstudy.org/instruments.htmlhttp://tinyurl.com/37wyql6http://tinyurl.com/37wyql6http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100415105954.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100415105954.htm


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Endne | www.amecanpge.

22 t be ueu and eevan pgam accunaby pupe,aemen cam eacng mu capue nman abueacng pacce a ae acaed w mpved pup eanngucme. t nw pbe: a vaey caeuy devepedbevan numen ave been wn empcay pedcuden-eanng gan (Pana and hame, Cncepuazan, Mea-uemen, and impvemen Cam Pcee, p. 115). oeude cueny avaabe cam eacng aemen aep pve eanp beween eace ce n e ae-men and gan n uden acevemen (ee Ge, Be, and le,

Appace Evauang teace Eecvene, p. 22; AnnyManwk, te reanp Beween teace Pemance Evau-

an sce and suden Acevemen: te Evdence m Cncn-na,Peabody Journal o Education 79 (4) (2004): 33-53; a we a A.Manwk, seven Kmba, and A an odden, teace Accun-aby Meaue and lnk leanng. in l. see, A. scwaz, r.rubnen, and J. Zabe, ed., Measuring School Perormance andEciency. (lacmn: Eye n Educan, 2005).

23 sude and ep n eace unve ncude wk by NCtAF nNo Dream Deniedand e 2007 udy eace unve n vec dc (ee Nana Cmmn n teacng and Ame-ca Fuue, te C teace tunve sudy and C Cacua(2007), avaabe a p://nyu.cm/22wax), wk by sm andinge (2004), and e udy unve n in by We e a.(2008). Me eceny, e Cnum n Ccag sc reeacpvded a vey deaed anay eace unve and mpac pacua c and uden. see Eane Aenw, sepenPncak, and Cpe Mazze, te sc teace leave:

teace Mby n Ccag Pubc sc (Ccag: Cnumn Ccag sc reeac, Unvey Ccag, 2009).

24 Aenw, Pncak, and Mazze, te sc teace leave, p. 3.

25 see e ecmmendan e Nana Cunc n teace Quay(NCtQ) n e 2010 ep n ae pce egadng eace qua-y: Nana Cunc n teace Quay, 2009 sae teace QuayYeabk (2009), avaabe a p://www.ncq.g/py09/.

26 A e ame me, cue, eace eedback uvey (ke e cwkng cndn uvey ued n N Cana, Cad, and aew e ae wee uand eace pvde ueu eedbackn e c wee ey eac) and anaye pup eanng u-cme can ep pcymake and pgam undeand e cnex pgam-wde peence ae, wee ey ae g, w, n-beween. Exampe ncude Cad (p://ecad.g/) awe a N Cana (p://www.nceacngcndn.g/).

27 see Byd, Dnad, and e, teace Pepaan and sudenAcevemen.; ha, Duga, and sa, teace tanng, teace

Quay and suden Acevemen.; and e eay n Dan Gda-be and Jane hannaway, ed., Ceang a New teacng Pen(Wangn: te Uban inue Pe, 2010).

28 tee yem ae becmng nceangy cmmn n e ae, npa ank upp m e sae lngudna Daa syem(slDs) pgam e U.s. Depamen Educan. A 2003 ep

m shEEo decbe paamee needed an eecve yem.Even wee ae pb dcuage daa yem nkage be -ween eace and e pup, eace and eace empymendaa becmng me accebe eac yea. te slDs pgampvde gan ae mpve e quay e aeeducan daa yem. see p://nce.ed.gv/Pgam/slDs/e-uce.ap. te sae hge Educan Execuve ofce (shEEo)and e Educan Cmmn e sae (ECs) pubed anexceen gude devepmen ae daa yem a capuee u ange nman needed make and evauae pceegadng eace quay. see rcad Vee and Gay Bane,w rcad rman, Daa syem Enance teace Quay

(Denve: sae hge Educan Execuve ofce, 2003).

29 Kaen DeAnge and Jenne Peey, leavng sc leavnge Pen: seng i n recd sag n New teaceAn (spnged: in Educan reeac Cunc, 2007) .

tey und a we 67 pecen eace n in eave e eacng agnmen wn ve yea, ny 27 pecen eavee pen eacng n e ae ve e ame ped me,becaue abu ne-d e n a eave eun eacng ne ae (ee p. 3).

30 A ned eae, appea a ug texa w mpemen eedbackuvey m c pncpa w e pgam gaduae, a wea ex uvey, daa n peence gaduae n eacng, andanaye pup eanng ucme. sauy and admnaveanguage a been pubed, bu mpemenan pcedue aen ye deveped.

31 Mce and e, Testing Teacher Candidates: The Role o Licensure

Tests in Improving Teacher Quality, p. 166; Wn and Yung, re-eac n Accunaby Pcee n teace Educan. p. 617.

32 Jenne Kng rce, Teacher Quality: Understanding the Efectiveness oTeacher Attributes. (Wangn: Ecnmc Pcy inue, 2003), p. 28.

33 Fueme, e ae and eng cmpane peae a maveaay bac k, cnen knwedge, and eacng k a-emen: me an a uand diferente, ncudng abu160 bac k e, me an 100 deen e penaknwedge, and ve 800 deen cnen knwedge e. one K-12 gade eve eace e, ee Mce and e, TestingTeacher Candidates: The Role o Licensure Tests in Improving TeacherQuality, p. 51. Nana cumuave pa ae ae m U.s. Depa-men Educan, te seceay sx Annua rep n teaceQuay. p.36; e caegy abe and cun e wn eaccaegy ae m page 23 e ame uce.

34 teace e cueny n ue by e ae ae caed n va-

u caege by e edea te ii epng yem: bac k,pena knwedge, academc cnen, e cnen, eacngpeca ppuan, and pemance e. tee ae abu 1700e n ee caege. see U.s. Depamen Educan, teseceay sx Annua r ep n teace Quay,p. 23.

35 ibd, p. 44.
http://tinyurl.com/22wasxhttp://www.nctq.org/stpy09/http://tellcolorado.org/http://www.ncteachingconditions.org/http://nces.ed.gov/Programs/SLDS/resources.asphttp://nces.ed.gov/Programs/SLDS/resources.asphttp://nces.ed.gov/Programs/SLDS/resources.asphttp://nces.ed.gov/Programs/SLDS/resources.asphttp://www.ncteachingconditions.org/http://tellcolorado.org/http://www.nctq.org/stpy09/http://tinyurl.com/22wasx


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Abu e au and ack nwedgemen | www.amecanpge.

About the author

Edward Crowe is a consulan on eacher qualiy policy or several organizaions

and projecs, including he Carnegie Corporaion o New York and he Woodrow

Wilson Naional Fellowship Foundaion. He previously worked as senior consul-

an or he Naional Commission on eaching and Americas Fuure, where heocused on eacher preparaion projecs, research on he cos o eacher urnover,

and eors o improve idenicaion and developmen o high achieving sudens

or careers in science, mahemaics, engineering and echnology disciplines. He

also served as an adviser o he Huner Foundaion o Scoland and he Scotish

Naional Execuive on eacher qualiy, and currenly serves on he Advisory

Council or he exas Cener or Research, Evaluaion and Advancemen o

eacher Educaion. Crowe also has worked wih he New York Ciy Parnership or

eacher Excellence and wih he Commitee on eacher Preparaion Programs or

he Naional Research Council.

Crowe was he rs direcor o he ile II eacher Qualiy Enhancemen Program

or he U.S. Deparmen o Educaion. He has experience in sae higher educa-

ion policy as well, having worked or he Universiy o Norh Carolina sysem,

wih he Arkansas sae higher educaion coordinaing board, and as senior

manager o a Naional Science Foundaion-unded saewide mah and science

educaion reorm projec.

He is a graduae o Boson College, and holds masers and docoral degrees in

poliical science rom Te Universiy o Norh Carolina-Chapel Hill.

Acknowledgements

Te auhor expresses hanks o several people or heir ideas and assisance

wih his projec: Robin Chai, Cener or American Progress; Rena Subonik,

American Psychological Associaion; Joanne Bogar, U.S. Deparmen o

Educaion; and Michael Allen, Allen Educaion. For exper review and very helpul

suggesions, hanks o Jeanne Burns, Louisiana Board o Regens; Heaher Harding,each or America; and Sandi Jacobs, Naional Council on eacher Qualiy.


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The Center for American Progress is a nonpartisan research and educational institute

dedicated to promoting a strong, just and free America that ensures opportunity

for all. We believe that Americans are bound together by a common commitment to

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Documents

Measuring What Matters: A Stronger Accountability Model for Teacher Education