Capitol Hill Addresses Spending, Student Loans, HBCUs and LGBTQ+ Rights

By Kaitlyn Brennan

This weekly Washington Update is intended to keep members informed on Capitol Hill activities impacting the educator preparation community. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.    

On the eve of the one-year anniversary of the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act, Congress passed a Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Omnibus Spending Bill. The FY22 bill includes increases for education, but not nearly at the level that was originally requested by the Biden Administration. Considerable work lies ahead to secure a robust federal investment to support rebuilding and diversifying the special educator and specialized instructional personnel pipeline.

AACTE to Host Webinar on Colleges of Education: A National Portrait

By Jacqueline E. King, Ph.D.

AACTE will soon release the second edition of its signature report, Colleges of Education:  A National Portrait. In addition to updating information on colleges of education and their leaders, faculty, and students, this edition features a special analysis on the contributions that community colleges make to educator preparation. Topics to be covered will include:

• Scope of educator preparation in the U.S.
• Trends in undergraduate and graduate degrees conferred in education
• Demographics of leaders and faculty
• Student demographics
• Contributions of community colleges to educator preparation

Webinar and Report Draw National Attention to Pandemic’s Effect on Educator Preparation

By Jacqueline E. King, Ph.D.

As PK-12 schools, colleges, and universities around the country cope with the surge of coronavirus cases, AACTE’s fall 2021 member survey is drawing public attention to the pandemic’s continuing impact on educator preparation. The teacher shortage is now front-page news, and AACTE’s survey is providing vital information on how COVID-19 is affecting the supply of new teachers, counselors, and other educators.

AACTE members can access a free copy of the survey report and view a short video summary of key results. A new infographic provides a quick visual representation to share on social media.

How to Use National Data Sets for a Greater Purpose

By Kamilah Bywaters

This article is a reflection from Holmes Scholar Kamilah Bywaters on the session “How to Use National Data Sets for a Greater Purpose” one of a five-part Holmes Fall Learning Series convened by AACTE.

For all my change-makers in the world, there is a wide range of data sets that are available for your use. It is my pleasure to share with you what I recently learned when I attended the AACTE Holmes Fall Learning Series session entitled, “Using National Data Sets for Education Policy Research.” The session was led by Jacqueline E. King, who provided valuable resources to guide the researcher in collecting useful data for their policy research initiatives. King shared the websites for the National Center for Education Statistics and Title II Reports. The resources provide vital information for every level of education.

Join Colleagues to Discuss the Pandemic’s Continuing Impact and Plans for 2022

By Jacqueline E. King, Ph.D.

As PK-12 schools, colleges, and universities around the country cope with a surge of coronavirus cases, and concerns rise regarding the Omicron variant, AACTE is offering a webinar to look back on the pandemic’s impact on educator preparation and discuss plans for 2022.

Since spring 2020, when schools and colleges around the country switched to online instruction due to COVID-19, AACTE has periodically surveyed members on the impact of the pandemic on educator preparation. A new report updates that series with information collected in fall 2021. It describes how conditions have changed since 2020, highlighting the lasting effects of the pandemic.

New AACTE Member Survey Describes Pandemic’s Continuing Impact on Educator Prep

By Jacqueline E. King, Ph.D.

Since spring 2020, when schools and colleges around the country switched to online instruction due to COVID-19, AACTE has periodically surveyed members on the impact of the pandemic on educator preparation. A new report updates that series with information collected in fall 2021. It describes how conditions have changed since 2020, highlighting the lasting effects of the pandemic.

This report contains a lot of good news regarding the resumption of in-person instruction and field experience and the easing of enrollment and budget reductions. Nonetheless, the effects of COVID-19 linger for many institutions, with a sizable minority of respondents reporting significant enrollment losses, budget cuts, and staffing reductions. State licensing requirements have been reinstated, but some states are creating opportunities for prospective teachers to circumvent those rules, which may negatively affect enrollment in educator preparation programs and exacerbate the current shortage of profession-ready educators in the workforce.

CNN Cites AACTE’s Issue Brief

By Katrina Norfleet

CNN’s Katie Lobosco recently reported on President’s Biden’s universal pre-K plan that would make preschool available and affordable for six million more children and the resulting challenge of hiring “tens of thousands” of new teachers. In referring to the teaching shortage, Lobosco writes, “The average number of college graduates who completed teacher preparation programs fell 24% between the 2009-10 and 2018-19 academic years, according to the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.”

Fifty Percent of Teachers say, ‘Salary is Not Enough to Sustain Them Long-Term’

By Ellen Sherratt and Jacqueline Rodriguez

The Teacher Salary Project surveyed 1100+ teachers nationally, with an oversample of recognized teachers (e.g., State Teachers of the Year -STOYs, Nationally Board Certified Teachers – NBCTs, Teach Plus Fellows, and others) and found:

• Nearly half of the surveyed teachers say their salary was not sufficient to sustain them in teaching for the medium-to-long term (two-thirds when teachers who weren’t sure if they could continue teaching on their salary are included). 

Don’t Miss Out on Newest Member Resources

By Meghan Grenda

As the fall semester creeps to a close, it’s easy to forget about all that is available to you via your AACTE membership. Check out these member resources:

Resource Library – Have you accessed the AACTE Resource Library lately?  If so, you have probably noticed a few changes, including a single sign on system. AACTE has completed its database migration and with that you will find a seamless way to transition between your AACTE profile and the improved AACTE Resource Library.  Feel free to view some of the latest resources below:

• The History, Current Use, and Impact of Entrance and Licensure Examinations Cut Scores on the Teacher of Color Pipeline: A Structural Racism Analysis
• A Tale of Two Cities: State Evaluation Systems of Teacher Preparation Programs

NAEd Releases AACTE Commissioned Report Evaluating and Improving Teacher Preparation Programs

By National Academy of Education

Landscape Analysis Report

A Tale of Two Cities: State Evaluation Systems of Teacher Preparation Programs

The National Academy of Education (NAEd) steering committee for Evaluating and Improving Teacher Preparation Programs commissioned the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) to produce a teacher evaluation system landscape analysis, including a state-by-state summary of the evaluation system components and an analysis of similarities and differences between and among states. Authored by AACTE Dean in Residence Leslie T. Fenwick, this landscape analysis report presents information and data about state evaluation standards for teacher preparation programs and providers.

NAEP 2021 Report Card Assesses 13- and 9-Year-Olds’ Reading and Math Scores

By Grady Wilburn and James Elias

The reading and mathematics scores of 13-year-old students fell between 2012 and 2020—the first time in the almost 50-year history of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) long-term trend (LTT) assessment—according to results released today by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The performance of 9-year-olds remained the same in both subjects compared to 2012.

In both age groups and subjects, the scores of lower-performing students declined since 2012, the previous assessment year, mirroring patterns observed in other subjects assessed by NAEP, also known as The Nation’s Report Card.

Majority of Americans Support Local Public Schools on Ongoing Pandemic Response

By Joshua P. Starr

The 53rd annual PDK Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools reveals that despite the challenges of the pandemic, Americans have high opinions of their local schools and teachers in particular. Similarly, respondents have an overall positive opinion on their local school’s ability to handle potential challenges in the new school year.

The poll found that about two-thirds of adults overall, and as many K-12 public school parents, give their community’s public school teachers an A or B grade for their pandemic response. More generally, 63% of the public give their community’s public schools overall an A or B grade. As is customarily the case, public schools nationally fare less well with about 4 in 10 adults giving the overall national public school pandemic response and A or B grade.

DQC’s 2021 Poll Surfaces Challenges State Leaders Must Address Now

By Blair Mann

Leaders are grappling with the unprecedented challenge of working to understand and address the impact of the pandemic on students and communities. To support recovery, decisionmakers at all levels, from state policymakers to parents, must have access to data and use it to effectively address the challenges schools and districts face. But DQC’s 2021 public opinion polling of parents and principals uncovered considerable disconnects that could threaten efforts to use data to address the current moment and beyond.

As leaders turn their attention to the upcoming school year, data continues to be a critical tool for informing recovery efforts. State and local leaders are working together and using data to tackle the most pressing issues, which include:

The Consumer’s Guide to Data: New resource from DQC

By Blair Mann

As advocates, we want data to be used for accountability and transparency, to tell stories, and to inform impactful, equitable policies. But without context, clarity, transparency, the stories data could tell about school, student, and teacher experiences can be lost to misinformation and distrust.

Last week, the Data Quality Campaign released a new resource that breaks down what it means to build trust in data for both those who share it and those who consume it—providing tips to make meaning from the numbers that you see so you can demand clarity, uncover biases, understand how to foster trust in data, and take action armed with full information.

This Consumer’s Guide to Data is an especially great resource for producers of data (such as state or district leaders) and consumers of data (parents, families, or interested community members), but it can also be valuable to advocates who are looking to support good decision making and storytelling at every level.

Download the guide.

Education Data 101: A Briefing Book for Policymakers

By Blair Mann

Data Quality Campaign (DQC) released an updated version of it  Education Data 101: A Briefing Book for Policymakers. With information on everything from student growth data to state longitudinal data systems to teacher data literacy, our resource brings policymakers up to speed on the major data topics they need to know about. As policymakers make decisions to aid students, families, teachers, schools and districts in recovery, Education Data 101 offers the background information they need to make informed decisions.