Teacher Preparation Strategy

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONSeptember 30, 2011

Prepared by: Office of the Under Secretary & Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development

The shape of the teaching profession is changing,raising the stakes on teacher preparation.

Teacher experience as share of workforce

Mode: 15 yearsof experience.

Mode: 1 yearof experience.

Education majors enter college with low entrance exam scores.

Math Verbal

566

499500

481

498

444458

431

SAT Scores by Undergraduate MajorScience Humanities Business Education

Education majors tend to earn higher GPAs in college than students in other fields.

Distribution of GPAs by MajorEducation Majors

12 Other Majors

We have very high pass rates on paper-and-pencil licensure tests that are not rigorous, not reflective

of the skills new teachers need, and lack predictive validity.National pass rates on licensure exams.

Pass

rate

(p

erce

ntag

e)

99% 98% 97% 96%

Teachers are dissatisfied with their pre-service training.

23%

62% of new teachers say they graduated from their school of education unprepared for “classroom realities.”

62%

Superintendents and principals are dissatisfied with pre-service teacher training.

… NOT prepared to work with parents:

…NOT prepared to address needs

of students from diverse cultural backgrounds:

…NOT prepared to address needs of students with

disabilities:…NOT prepared to address

needs of students with limited

English proficiency:…NOT prepared to maintain

order and discipline in the classroom:

79%

72%

70%

84%

67%

Principals reporting their teachers were…

Our teaching force does not reflect the increasing diversity of our students.

Perc

enta

ge w

ho id

entif

y as

Afri

can-

Amer

ican

or

Hisp

anic

38%of students

14%of teachers

State accountability is weak. It’s based on licensure exam pass rates and program inputs like

accreditation.

27 states have never identified a low-performing

program.12 states have identified 1-5 low-performing

programs.12 states have identified 6+ low-performing

programs.

Out of the over 1,400 institutions preparing teachers, only37 programs were identified by states as low-performing in the most recent year.

The good news is there’s an emerging consensus in support of teacher preparation reform.

Teacher education associations are calling for preparation to be “turned upside down.” They want programs to be clinically-based.

Top alternative route and traditional programs are recruiting talent & offering strong models.

States are creating a feedback loop of meaningful data between K-12 and teacher preparation programs.

TN LA

Ed schools and states are working to develop performance-based licensure assessments and raise standards for entry into teaching.

NC

We’re proposing a three part strategy to supportthe emerging consensus in the field.HEA Title II RegulationsRevise federal reporting requirements to reduce burden and focus on the most important indicators of quality.

1

Presidential Teaching FellowsA new $185 million program to support rigorous state-level policies and provide scholarships to attend top programs.

2Augustus F. Hawkins Centers for Excellence$40 million in first-time funding for a program supporting teacher preparation at minority-serving institutions.

3

Together, these initiatives will reward the best programs, use data to get the middle to self-correct and improve, and transform or shut down the worst performing programs.

We’ll work with the teacher preparation community to make reporting less burdensome and more

meaningful.CURRENT PROPOSED

Federal HEA Title II survey has 440

fields,focused on inputs

• Includes whether applicants take Myers-Briggs personality test, undergo fingerprinting.• Generally not useful in

accountability or improvement.

Fewer, more meaningful inputs• Limit to meaningful

measures like rigor of entry and exit standards.Meaningful

outcomes• Student growth.• Job placement &

retention.• Graduate & principal

surveys.

Presidential Teaching Fellows will support rigorousstate-level policies and fund scholarships for

teachers.

States set-aside to implement performance-based licensure and teacher prep program accountability.

Receipt conditioned on removal of barriers to effective alternative route programs.

$185 million in formula grants to leverage state reform and provide scholarship aid to top-tier

teacher ed programs. (Revision of the existing TEACH Grant program)

Top-tier programs, be they alternative or traditional route, receive subgrants to award $10,000 scholarships to

“Presidential Teaching Fellows.”

Presidential Teaching Fellows prepare to teach high-need subjects or fields, and teach three years in high-need

schools.

Hawkins Centers for Excellence will help prepare

the next generation of effective minority teachers.

Minority-serving institutions receive competitive grants to reform and expand their teacher preparation programs.

The President’s budget proposes $40 million in first-time funding

for this already-authorized program.

Improvement activities to include:* Heightened entry or exit standards;* Course redesign so that programs are clinically-based;* All candidates trained in reading instruction methods that are evidence-based, and* Partnerships with local school districts or non-profits with demonstrated effectiveness in preparing and placing minority candidates in high need schools.

The Department’s teacher preparation strategy is to use outcome data to “reward the best” teacher preparation programs, “improve the middle,” and

“turn around or shut down the worst.”HEA Title II RegulationsRevise federal reporting requirements to reduce burden and focus on the most important measures of quality.

1

Presidential Teaching FellowsA new $185 million program to support rigorous state-level policies and provide scholarships to attend top programs.

2Augustus F. Hawkins Centers for Excellence$40 million in first-time funding for a program supporting teacher preparation at minority-serving institutions.

3Together, these initiatives build on existing reforms, current Department policy, and tackle long-standing challenges.