Educator Preparation, Retention, and Effectiveness Ed Fuller University Council for Educational Administration and The University of Texas at Austin February 16, 2007 The University of Texas at El Paso College of Education

2 The Battle over Educator Preparation Professionalization versus Deregulation

3 Professionalization “The evidence suggests that teacher education ‘matters most’ in educational reform”

4 Deregulation “Teacher ability appears to be much more a function of innate ability rather than the quality of education courses.”

5 Both sides agree that there are very few valid and reliable studies on the effect of educator preparation programs. Further, both sides agree that teacher preparation programs rarely even collect any data that could be used as evidence about their effectiveness in developing high-quality educators.

6 What is the impact of educator preparation programs on K-12 schools? What is the impact of K-12 schools on higher education institutions?

7 UTEP K-12 Educator Quality K-12 Public School Achievement EL PASO AREA EDUCATION SYSTEM

8 UTEP Teacher Quality K-12 School Achievement Principal Quality Counselor Quality

9 Teacher Quality Teacher preparation programs impact: Subject matter knowledge Instructional skills knowledge Classroom management Teacher leadership Teacher Retention Knowledge of special populations

10 Principal Quality Leadership Preparation Programs Impact: The hiring quality teachers Teacher retention Communication with parents/community Teacher quality through supervision and professional development School working conditions Expectations for the community, teachers, and students Understanding of special populations Principal stability

11 Counselor Quality Counselor preparation programs impact: Student placement in challenging and rigorous classes Access to post-secondary opportunities Student support Communication with parents/community Understanding of special populations

12 UTEP Teacher Quality K-12 School Achievement Principal Quality Counselor Quality

13 Teacher Working Conditions Five Domains: 1)Use of time 1)Facilities & Resources 1)Teacher Empowerment 1)Leadership 1)Professional Development

14 Secondary School Teacher Retention and Leadership Behavior % of Teachers Agreeing/Strongly Agreeing From Center for Teaching Quality working conditions study

15 Factors Influencing Future Plans of Teachers % of Teachers Agreeing/Strongly Agreeing From Working Conditions Study, Center for Teaching Quality

16 Working Conditions for Poor, Predominantly Latino Elementary Schools in Las Vegas % of Teachers Agreeing/Strongly Agreeing

17 Effect of Working Conditions on Growth in Student Achievement in North Carolina Logistic Regression Results for Elementary Schools: Schools with high facilities & resources domain averages were 34% more likely to meet or exceed expected student growth than other schools. Schools with high leadership domain averages were 29% more likely to meet or exceed expected student growth than other schools. Logistic Regression Results for Middle Schools: Schools in which more than 80% of teachers agreed that there was an atmosphere of trust and respect were 2.2 times more likely to meet or exceed expected student growth than other schools. Schools in which less than 30% of teachers agreed that the principal shielded teachers from disruptions were 61% less likely to meet or exceed expected student growth than other schools.

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19 What type of data would be useful to collect?

20 Data Collection Effort to Evaluate Program Effectiveness

21 UTEP Teacher Attrition by School Level: Class of 2000

22 UTEP Teacher Retention by ExCET Scores: Class of 2000

23 Relationship Between Teacher Preparation and Beginning Teacher Attrition in the U.S. (2000 to 2001) Richard Ingersoll, 2003

24 TExES Scores: Median, Mean, and % of Takers in Top 10%* * Top 10% of all scores; ^ All UTEP routes to certification

25 TExES Scores: Median, Mean, and % of Takers in Top 10%* * Top 10% of all scores; ^ All UTEP routes to certification

26 Are Certification Scores Important? Goldhaber (2006) found that teachers with very high certification test scores elicit greater gains in student achievement, while teachers with very low certification scores elicit lower gains in student achievement. In Texas, schools with large proportions of teachers who failed certification exams have lower levels of student achievement. In Texas, schools that serve predominantly minority and economically disadvantaged students have far greater percentages of teachers who have failed certification exams more than 3 times. Certification scores are correlated to teacher verbal ability. Teachers with low certification scores have low attrition rates while teachers with high certification scores have high attrition rates.

27 Strategies to Increase TExES Scores Focus efforts on increasing the literacy skills of students, especially their reading comprehension skills. Ensure test domains are included in the preparation curriculum in all areas. Incorporate assessments into each class that mirror the certification assessments. Assist students in coping with test anxiety.

28 Principals in Region XIX from UTEP * Obtained either teacher certification or principal certification from UTEP

29 Teacher Retention in Region XIX by Principal Educator Preparation Program

30 Percentage of Teachers in Region XIX from UTEP (2006)

31 Percentage of Teachers from UTEP and TAKS Passing Rates

32 Top 15 Region XIX High Schools for Sending Students to UTEP (2005) HS grads to UTEP=# of 2005 HS graduates entering UTEP in 2006 % Grads to UTEP: % of HS grads who entered UTEP

33 Relationship between the Percentage of UTEP Teachers and the Percentage of Students Who Are College Ready TAKS math & English scale score of 2200 with a written composition score of 3 or higher. Approx 50% met math and 70% met reading.

34 What Can UTEP do to improve El Paso area education? Create and implement a comprehensive data collection system on all aspects of educator preparation from the freshman year through the 5 th year of employment. Initiate, rekindle, and/or strengthen partnerships between the College of Education and the other Colleges. Initiate, rekindle, and/or strengthen partnerships with local school districts. Review the content of all courses and ensure all TExES items are covered in the curriculum. Prepare students for the TExES examinations. Use the Emerging Scholars Program to increase the performance of undergraduate students.

35 What Can UTEP do to improve El Paso area education? Focus on producing more high school teachers who are better qualified and remain in the teaching profession. University and College of Education leadership should create incentives for faculty to collaborate and focus on improving the outcomes of educator preparation. Initiate and/strengthen teacher recruitment efforts that target the most academically gifted freshmen. Initiate a Jumpstart program that targets academically gifted high school students and encourages them to enter the teacher preparation program. Collaborate with the business community and area school districts to systematically collect, analyze, and use more data. Focus on preparing a greater number of principals who are well-qualified.

36 References Goldhaber, Dan. (2006, April). Everyone is doing it, but what does teacher testing tell us about teacher effectiveness? Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association. San Francisco, CA. Ingersoll, Richard. (2003) Teacher preparation reduces first year attrition,

37 Contact Information: Ed Fuller (512)