Assessment System Overview

The purpose for the Unit’s program Assessment System is to insure that teacher licensure  and Master’s candidates can demonstrate appropriate content knowledge, pedagogy, and professional dispositions necessary increase all students’ achievement. The Unit’s Assessment System is carefully crafted to be congruent with the Conceptual Framework and the INTASC and SPA standards for beginning teachers.

Assessment System  

The Unit’s Assessment System for the initial teacher preparations program has five data collection points from admissions to post-graduation: (a) provisional program admission, (b) professional core levels, (c) pre-clinical practice, (d) clinical practice and program completion, and (e) post-graduation.  The content preparation in the arts and sciences for secondary candidates currently occurs before and during candidate enrollment in the program.   

The Master’s program has four data collection points from admission to post-graduation: (a): program admission, (b) program core courses, (c) program completion, and (d) post-graduation (alumni). 

Data collected at each point is used not only to assess and inform candidates of their progress, but also to evaluate the effectiveness of the program and the assessments themselves.

In addition to identifying a data collection system and assessments, the Unit has identified Unit Assessment Cycles for the initial and advanced programs to guide the use of collected data to evaluate candidates and programs. Once data has been analyzed and summarized by the data manager, it is shared with the appropriate group(s).  The Unit’s NCATE data collection coordinator is responsible for collecting, organizing, and archiving data. The Unit’s dean is involved with the dissemination of the data and facilitating discussion and change implementation where necessary.  The cycle can reflect the time frame of a single semester or reflect several years data.