AACTE Subcommittee on CAEP Reports to Board
Last week, the AACTE Board of Directors subcommittee formed to engage with the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) reported back to the Board on its two primary charges. First, we shared results from our survey of AACTE members, and second, we offered guidelines and operating principles for the person selected to be the AACTE representative to the CAEP board.
Chris Koch, current president of CAEP, was in attendance at the meeting and listened to the survey results. He expressed appreciation for the engagement of the AACTE membership and said he planned to share the findings with the CAEP staff. He noted that a collaborative, mutually beneficial outcome is his goal for the information that was shared. His recognition of the efforts of the AACTE membership has set a tone for partnership as our organizations move forward.
The member survey, which invited feedback last fall, was commissioned by the AACTE Board of Directors last spring following the AACTE Board resolution of 2015 articulating AACTE members’ commitments and concerns with the still-developing accreditation process.
The survey report included a thorough analysis of the 176 member responses, identifying four primary emergent concerns:
- The cost is too high
- Standard 3.2 is unmanageable
- Data are unavailable
- Admission standards are not an indicator of quality
- Required component is not supported by research
- The integrity of the process is of concern—particularly regarding training of site visitors and/or commissioners
- Providers do not have access to data, nor leverage to attain data for specialized professional association (SPA) reviews, additionally the data required by SPAs are inconsistent
The Board of Directors voted to accept our subcommittee’s proposed guidelines and operating principles for the AACTE representative to the CAEP board, which had not been codified in the past. This document clarifies the duties of this representative and ensures AACTE representation on the CAEP board.
We look forward to continuing our positive and productive work with CAEP. The subcommittee includes Jane Bray (Old Dominion University, VA), David Cherry (Whitworth University, WA), John Jacobson (Ball State University, IN), and Carol Vukelich (University of Delaware).
Note: For an exploration of the appropriateness of specific requirements in CAEP Standard 3.2, see this recent report (PDF) from Teacher Preparation Analytics.
Renée A. Middleton, dean of the Patton College of Education at Ohio University, is chair-elect of the AACTE Board of Directors for 2016-2017 and chair of the subcommittee on CAEP.
Tags: AACTE governance, accreditation, membership
