As California’s largest public university system, and as the state’s largest preparer of teachers, the California State University is inextricably linked with California’s public K-12 schools. California’s public schools are both the primary source of students in the CSU and the primary destination for CSU students who become public school teachers.

Recognizing the importance of this connection, CSU campuses are deeply involved in collaborative partnerships with K-12 counterparts. Field-based experiences in California’s schools enhance the preparation of educators who understand the issues and problems that schools face daily. The full engagement of the public schools in this process adds a critical dimension to the experience of new teachers, thus enriching the CSU’s teacher preparation programs.

This report highlights examples of the best programs found at each step along the way of the teacher preparation continuum. Programs highlighted include teacher preparation, professional development, induction, and educational leadership. Through shared governance, our K-12 collaborators are helping to design, implement, and provide ongoing direction to the partnerships.

Worth emphasizing among these collaborative efforts is the Early Assessment Program, a joint project of the CSU, the State Board of Education, and the California Department of Education. These partners have worked together successfully to offer 11th graders the opportunity to measure their readiness for college-level English and mathematics, and to build pathways whereby students may seek to improve their skills during the senior year of high school. In spring 2004, the first year that the test was made available to all public school 11th graders, more than 150,000 students took the English exam and more than 115,000 took the parallel test in mathematics. Through professional development activities with high school teachers in grades 8-12 over the next two to three years, the Early Assessment Program’s primary goal will be to ensure that the college readiness standards are completely integrated into public school curriculum and performance standards.

The CSU is also completing the fourth year of its systemwide evaluation of teacher education programs, the first and most comprehensive evaluation of its kind in the nation. Our graduates continue to be highly rated by their employers on all aspects of their readiness and abilities to teach to the academic content standards, and the CSU continues to embrace opportunities to be accountable for its performance in teacher training.

Despite the challenges that the state’s budget crisis has created for our universities, our commitment to high-quality teacher preparation remains intact. We will continue to seek new ways to collaborate with our K-12 colleagues, to enhance our teacher preparation and professional development programs, and to meet the changing needs of today’s K-12 schools.


Charles B. Reed
Chancellor