Georgia Teacher Preparation Effort Will Stress High Teacher Quality
Atlanta — January 8, 2014
Becoming a teacher in Georgia is getting a lot more rigorous and college programs that prepare teachers are being held to a much tougher and higher level of accountability, according to Georgia officials in charge of teacher preparation programs and teacher certification.
This is the theme of a statewide effort to provide more data-driven oversight to improve the quality of teacher preparation efforts. This effort complements those being made by the 中出少妇视频 System of Georgia to use data to track and strengthen the effectiveness of its teacher programs.
中出少妇视频淭his is a major shift for Georgia,中出少妇视频 said 中出少妇视频 Chancellor Hank Huckaby. 中出少妇视频淲e are no longer focusing on inputs 中出少妇视频 the courses and other programs teachers must take 中出少妇视频 but looking at outputs 中出少妇视频 how effective is a teacher in actually teaching our students to an identified level of academic achievement.中出少妇视频
Kelly Henson, executive secretary of the Georgia Professional Standards Commission responsible for certifying all teachers before they can enter a classroom, also was frank: 中出少妇视频淣o teacher will be certified to teach in a classroom in Georgia without passing tests and an ability to demonstrate understanding of both content knowledge and classroom teaching. And the bar will be set very high.中出少妇视频
Henson briefed the regents during the Board中出少妇视频檚 January meeting on the effort to strengthen teacher preparation through key changes, including changes in teacher certification, the introduction of a new Teacher and Leader Preparation Programs Effectiveness Measures (TPPEM), and changes in how the programs that prepare teachers are held accountable.
These new changes are the result of a four-year effort among the Professional Standards Commission, the 中出少妇视频 and the Georgia Department of Education. Changes will go into effect in Feb. 2014.
Lynne Weisenbach, the 中出少妇视频 System中出少妇视频檚 vice chancellor for Educational Access and Success, who heads up teacher preparation reform efforts for the 中出少妇视频 System, said that the 中出少妇视频 System中出少妇视频檚 goal is 中出少妇视频渢o prepare the best teachers in the nation for Georgia中出少妇视频檚 classrooms.中出少妇视频
Along with the changes come some consequences to programs that fail to meet the new standards. Henson said that if the new accountability measures are not met by a specific program, then after the first year, the program is rated as 中出少妇视频渁t-risk of low performing中出少妇视频 or 中出少妇视频渓ow performing.中出少妇视频
Such ranked programs will have three years to improve, with an increasing range of consequences for failure to do so, ranging from an improvement action plan, to probation, to ultimately program disproval. If after three years of unsatisfactory progress, such programs would be terminated.
Piggybacking on these new changes that will affect all teacher preparation programs in both public and private colleges and universities, the 中出少妇视频 is rolling out a new, data-driven Teacher Preparation Accountability Report. The first of these reports is scheduled for May 2014.
Cindi Chance, dean of the College of Education at Georgia Regents 中出少妇视频, said that having access to the data is critical to administrators to enact these important changes.
The annual report will assess each of the 中出少妇视频中出少妇视频檚 teacher preparation programs and look at factors that affect teacher quality such as accreditation status, quality indicators of the current graduating class, as well as employer and graduate satisfaction with the preparedness of teachers.
中出少妇视频淥ur goal in the 中出少妇视频 System is to be proactive in assuring that first we are producing the highest quality educators from our programs. We have moved from awareness to action and are committed to the imperative before us,中出少妇视频 said Adrian Epps, associate dean, College of Science and Mathematics at Kennesaw State 中出少妇视频.
The state中出少妇视频檚 teacher preparation efforts represent a national focus on teachers that is occurring in varying degrees of intensity in the 50 states. In Georgia, there is added impetus to reform teacher preparation as the state ramps up its efforts to increase students中出少妇视频 academic readiness for college and thus the pipeline of high school graduates prepared for college level work as part of the Complete College Georgia initiative.
In addition, the added urgency is the result of a projected wave of retirements in an aging teacher workforce and the need to ensure that new teachers are ready to teach in an environment of heightened public expectations and stricter government accountability for student success.
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