24 Jan2019
By Caitlin Wilson
As you are making plans for the 2019 Annual Meeting in Louisville, KY next month, please consider joining us for a free preconference workshop focused on Overcoming Challenges to Developing a Quality Assurance System that will take place Thursday, February 21 from 1:00-5:00pm. Given the iterative nature of continuous improvement work, it is critical to develop a quality assurance system (QAS) that is sustained beyond an external review and provides meaningful data upon which evidence-based actions can be made.
11 Jan2019
By Deborah Koolbeck
Early last month, the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) National Center for Education Statistics released its “First Look” at the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) winter 2017-18 data collection. This includes fully edited and imputed data and four survey components: graduation rates for selected cohorts 2009-14, outcome measures for cohort year 2009-10, student financial aid data for the academic year 2016-17, as well as admissions for fall 2017.
Would you like to learn about or receive other releases from IES and its component centers and regional labs? Sign up for email updates from the U.S. Department of Education. Once registered, you have the option to manage your preferences to receive only those newsletters and updates that will serve you. Similarly, you can sign up to receive updates at your state level to stay abreast of your state’s Department of Education.
21 Nov2018
By Lynn M. Gangone and Renée A. Middleton
These letters to the editor, Don’t Blame Admissions Standards and Ed. Colleges Provide Value first appeared in Education Week on November 13, 2018. Reprinted with permission from the authors.
Don’t Blame Admissions Standards
To the Editor:
Marc Tucker has helped us better understand education systems around the world. Unfortunately, in his recent opinion blog post (“Teachers Colleges: The Weakest Link,” November 1, 2018), he demonstrates less understanding of America’s teacher-preparation programs than he has about programs abroad.
11 Oct2018
By Jacqueline E. King, Ph.D.
One of the most important—and sobering—findings of AACTE’s recent report, Colleges of Education: A National Portrait, is that those studying education at the undergraduate and graduate levels are not nearly as diverse as the students they will serve. Indeed, the only other large professional field with less diverse bachelor’s degree recipients is agriculture.
As the author of the report, I invite you to join me and your colleagues for a close examination of education students’ characteristics during the webinar, National Portrait Deep Dive on Student Diversity, on October 18, 2:00–3:00 p.m. You will find answers to questions such as:
30 Aug2018
By Jerrica Thurman
While most Americans have high trust and confidence in teachers, a majority also draw the line at wanting their own children to join a profession they see as undervalued and low-paid, according to a report released August 27 on the 50th annual PDK Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools. For the first time since 1969, a majority of respondents (54%) indicate they would not like their children to take up teaching in public schools as a career.
29 Aug2018
By Jacqueline E. King, Ph.D.
Join AACTE for two members-only webinars detailing the findings of its newest report Colleges of Education: A National Portrait, released August 9. The research highlights key issues affecting the colleges, schools, departments, and programs that prepare teachers, school administrators, and a wide array of other education professionals. As the National Portrait author, I will present on two key issues highlighted in the report—enrollment/degree and student diversity trends:
03 Aug2018
By Jacqueline E. King, Ph.D.
On Thursday, August 9, AACTE will release Colleges of Education: A National Portrait. This report, an exclusive AACTE member benefit, provides a comprehensive picture of U.S. colleges of education: the work that they do, the people who do that work, and the students they serve. Because teacher preparation is so important, it describes in detail the key trends and challenges in meeting the nation’s need for highly skilled teachers. The report also portrays the full spectrum of undergraduate and graduate programs, research, and service that occur within schools, colleges, and departments of education.
Beginning August 9 at 5:00 p.m. EDT, you will be able to download the free executive summary (available to the public) and the complete 70-page report (for AACTE members only.) The full report will be a valuable reference document for anyone needing to understand the history and current state of colleges or education or to benchmark their own college or program against national trends.
17 Jul2018
By Jacqueline E. King, Ph.D.
On August 9, AACTE will release Colleges of Education: A National Portrait, a major new report that provides a comprehensive picture of today’s schools, colleges, and departments of education: the work they do, the people who do that work, and the students they serve.
AACTE produced this report to describe the many ways that its members contribute to U.S. education and to outline some of the challenges they face. The report also provides a wealth of information that colleges of education can use for benchmarking their work. Below are just a few of the report’s many findings:
09 Jul2018
By Marcy Keifer Kennedy and Chris Kennedy
This event is cancelled until further notice.
“I don’t know where to start,” “it’s too hard,” “it’s too expensive,” or “it takes too much time” are among some of the comments that are often heard in conversations around the country as the push for more clinically rich teacher preparation is discussed. While it certainly can be challenging to reimagine longstanding practices, the shift to strong clinical models has become something of a national imperative for high-quality teacher preparation.
05 Jul2018
By Joseph Lubig and Carol Ryan
This event is cancelled until further notice.
The authors will be leading the “Track A” (introductory) strand of quality assurance sessions during the 2018 AACTE Quality Support Workshop in Columbus, Ohio. For details and to register, visit aacte.org, and download the full agenda here.
The quality of educator preparation programs matters, as they develop the professionals who will have the most influence on our children–and continuously shaping programs to excel in this charge is important work. This work requires calculated risk taking, established processes for critiquing the work, and a culture that fosters honest feedback focused on improvement.
26 Jun2018
By Sara Hiller
This event is cancelled until further notice.
AACTE is excited to announce a series of sessions at the 2018 AACTE Quality Support Workshop focused on inquiry-based implementation of edTPA. This strand of sessions, facilitated by an edTPA representative and an experienced user of the assessment, is among several choices of concurrent workshops on offer August 2-4 in Columbus, Ohio.
The three edTPA sessions will be led by Mel Horton, associate dean at Sacred Heart University (CT), along with Kellie Crawford from Evaluation Systems Group of Pearson. Part 1 is for experienced edTPA users as well as those who are new to or interested in learning about edTPA. Parts 2 and 3 build on the first session and are designed for more experienced edTPA users.
The first interactive workshop will begin with an overview of edTPA constructs as sources of candidate evidence related to equitable teaching practices within a multiple measurement assessment system. You will get to:
13 Jun2018
By Kristin McCabe
When you attend AACTE’s Quality Support Workshop, you don’t just sit back and observe–you roll up your sleeves and work! See who’s coming to Columbus, Ohio, August 2-4, to help you develop action plans for your own program and dig deeper into the issues that matter most to you.
During the first half of the event, everyone will work on their quality assurance plans in a series of three 90-minute sessions. You’ll follow one of two tracks–choose Track A if you’re just getting started with a quality assurance plan, or Track B if you want to revisit or refine your approach. Track A will be led by Carol Ryan of Northern Kentucky University and Joe Lubig of Northern Michigan University. Track B will be led by Kathy Bohan, Cynthia Conn, and Suzanne Pieper of Northern Arizona University.
06 Jun2018
By Sara Hiller
Dean Renée A. Middleton of Ohio University
Superintendent Paolo DeMaria of Ohio Dept. of Education
AACTE is pleased to announce two keynote speakers for the Quality Support Workshop in Columbus, Ohio, August 2-4: Renée A. Middleton of Ohio University and Paolo DeMaria of the Ohio Department of Education.
The heart of the Quality Support Workshop is a series of hands-on sessions focused on quality assurance, continuous improvement, and performance assessment. Participants work with expert facilitators to develop their own quality assurance plans and other program-specific solutions to problems of practice. At the Ohio event, attendees will have a choice of concurrent workshop sessions in six time slots spread across 3 days, interspersed with group work time, a gallery walk, and office hours with facilitators.
29 May2018
By Kristin McCabe
Are you ready to get ahead this summer?
Make progress on your program’s quality assurance plan, get advice on interpreting your assessment data, and develop your understanding of evidence for accreditation–all at the AACTE Quality Support Workshop! Please join us for this interactive event in Columbus, Ohio, August 2-4.
18 May2018
By Jacqueline E. King, Ph.D.
Do you ever find that you have to leave your office to make progress on important work? At your desk, the urgent can often crowd out the important so that, at the end of the day, you know you were incredibly busy but can’t say that you made progress on any of your real priorities. Leaving the office can be a great way to set aside the day-to-day tumult and really focus.
When you need to tackle the important work of measuring, improving, and assuring the quality of your educator preparation programs, AACTE is ready to help. The 2018 Quality Support Workshop, August 2–4 in Columbus, Ohio, will help you make rapid progress on your quality assurance plan.