Specific Outcomes of Teacher Preparation Examined by the CSU Center for Teacher Quality
Outcome One: Teacher Preparation Exit Evaluation
As candidates complete teacher preparation programs in the CSU, they are invited to participate in a comprehensive online exit evaluation. This survey prompts candidates to respond to questions about the quality of all aspects of their teacher preparation including their instructors, their subject-matter coursework, their coursework on teaching practices, and their fieldwork experiences. Exiting teachers from all CSU campuses respond to a common set of questions. Individual campuses are able to pose additional questions to their own graduates about particular aspects of their programs. Campus administrators can access tabulated survey data in real-time at a secure website.
Reports Pertinent to Outcome One »
Outcome Two: Evaluation by First-Year
This component of CTQ's work captures the reflections and judgments of CSU graduates on the quality, value and effectiveness of their preparation, as reported by CSU-prepared teachers near the end of their first years in classrooms. Teachers respond to program evaluation questions that are aligned with accreditation standards and K-12 student learning standards. To compile reliable evidence about the effectiveness of all CSU programs for basic teaching credentials, CTQ attempts to include all graduates in elementary schools, secondary schools and special education. Using electronic databases to locate very large numbers of recent CSU graduates, and due to high response rates, the findings of the evaluation accurately describe the preparation of each year's "class" or "cohort" of newly-prepared teachers.
More than 12,000 graduates of CSU programs have participated in the graduate survey since it was first administered in 2001. The evaluation includes distinct questions that are specifically designed for first- and third-year elementary teachers, secondary teachers, and special education teachers. It also has content-specific questions for teachers of several distinct subjects, enabling them to provide subject-specific feedback to CSU campuses. A set of core evaluation questions are addressed by all teachers so campuses can compare the effectiveness of distinct preparation programs.
All CSU graduates are asked to assess their preparation to teach in relation to the responsibilities that are assigned to them, the challenges of teaching, and the standards that govern their performance. The evaluation yields extensive evidence about subject-matter preparation, preparation to teach the subjects of the curriculum, preparation to effectively teach special needs students, English learners and other culturally-diverse students, preparation to manage classroom instruction, preparation to assess student learning, and many other critical dimensions of effective practice.
Reports Pertinent to Outcome Two »
Outcome Three: Evaluation by Employers and Supervisors
CTQ invites the school-site supervisors (most of whom are principals) of teaching graduates to answer the CSU evaluation questions online. Unlike most follow-up studies of this type, the CTQ provides each supervisor with the name of the teacher who is guided and assisted by that supervisor, and whose preparation is to be assessed by the supervisor. Supervisors can report the first-year teacher to be "well prepared", "adequately prepared", "somewhat prepared" or "not at all prepared" in each of several important domains of teaching. A core set of questions has been in the annual supervisor evaluation since 2001, enabling CSU to see trends over time. To date, close to 10,000 site-based school administrators have participated in this evaluation. CSU is deeply grateful to these professional leaders in education for taking the time to provide feedback information that is extremely valuable in CSU's ongoing efforts to improve the outcomes of teacher preparation and contribute to K-12 school effectiveness.
The supervisors' evaluation evidence is based on their observations of teachers' classrooms, and on extended conferences in which supervisors and teachers discuss classroom teaching practice on multiple occasions. CTQ compiles the evidence and forwards it to CSU campuses and Chancellor Reed, who requires campuses to take the findings into account as they strive to strengthen programs for prospective teachers.
Reports Pertinent to Outcome Three »
Outcome Four: Assessment of Teaching Performance
California's requirements for earning a teaching credential are changing. Beginning in 2008-09, each candidate for a teaching credential must pass a teaching performance assessment (TPA) that addresses critical elements of effective teaching practice. The laws that established this new requirement for teacher certification allow institutions to either (a) use a TPA assessment being developed by the State or (b) develop their own assessment systems, subject to approval by the California Commission for Teacher Credentialing (CCTC).
The CCTC has adopted Assessment Design Standards and Teaching Performance Expectations to govern the scope, content, methods and technical qualities of all assessments. CCTC's adopted TPA has been determined to meet the applicable standards and expectations. Institutions that design their own assessments must adhere to the same critical standards and expectations. A consortium of more than twenty institutions, led by Stanford University and the University of California, have developed an alternative system called the Performance Assessment for California Teachers (PACT). PACT incorporates many of the same pedagogical tasks and constructs as the State's TPA, but is structured and scored differently. PACT is currently under state review.
A goal of CTQ is to use candidate assessments of teaching performance like the TPA and PACT as new sources of potentially-important evidence about the outcomes of teacher education. As assessment results become available, CTQ intends to incorporate them in the overall evaluation of quality and effectiveness in the preparation of K-12 teachers.
Outcome Five: Participation and Persistence in the Profession of Teaching
The CSU has recently completed a large-scale analysis of retention and attrition patterns among California's K-12 public school teachers. The findings and recommendations from this study appear in a 2007 report titled, A Possible Dream: Retaining California Teachers So All Students Learn.
The author of the report, CSU professor Dr. Ken Futernick, collected survey data from 2000 current and former teachers and was able to identify specific factors that affected their employment decisions. This study achieved two important objectives for the CSU. First, the findings provide insights into the role of teacher preparation in teachers' decisions to remain in or to leave the profession. The CSU prepares nearly 60% of the state's new teachers each year.
Second, the findings and recommendations in the report will help educators and education policymakers in California better understand the cost of teacher attrition, the numerous factors that affect retention patterns, and how the state can improve teacher retention rates.
The CTQ has initiated another study of teacher persistence that will focus on patterns of retention, transfer and attrition among the 73,000 graduates of CSU's teacher preparation programs since 1999. In partnership with California's Employment Development Department, this comprehensive analysis will show (a) how many CSU graduates became teachers, (b) how long they remained in teaching, and (c) how long they continued to teach in high-poverty, low-performing districts.
Reports Pertinent to Outcome Five »
Outcome Six: Outcomes of CSU Teacher Preparation for K-12 Students
This component of the CSU's Systemwide Evaluation of Teacher Preparation examines relationships between teacher preparation and student learning gains in K-12 schools. The CTQ has formed partnerships with five large school districts in California, who are providing rich, valuable evidence that CTQ needs in order to assess these relationships thoroughly and thoughtfully. The evidence being assessed includes the results of statewide learning exams as well as local assessments sponsored by the participating districts. Using a value-added approach, this evaluation of CSU teacher preparation assesses the impact on students of (a) different levels of preparation among teachers, (b) substantively different approaches to preparation, and (c) the demographic qualities and socio-economic conditions of different schools. This sixth component of CTQ work is growing and expanding quickly in 2007. A CTQ objective is to identify teacher preparation programs on CSU campuses whose teaching graduates are particularly effective in improving student learning. CTQ will begin to address this objective specifically in 2008.