CSU Credential Programs Score
High Marks
From Dateline (March 13, 2003)
Eighty-three percent of the graduates of California
State University teaching credential programs received high marks
from their supervisors for level of preparation to teach reading
and math skills in elementary schools, according to an evaluation
presented March 12 to the CSU Board of Trustees.
The trustees, who were meeting on campus, learned
that this level of effectiveness had improved from one year earlier,
when 81 percent were evaluated favorably for their preparation in
reading and 80 percent in math by supervisors.
At Cal State Fullerton that effectiveness is even
greater. Ninety-one percent of CSUF graduates were rated prepared
in reading and 83 percent in mathematics by their supervisors. Those
numbers were 71 and 72 percent respectively, one year earlier.
“Our reforms in teacher preparation are producing
dividends,” said CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed. “And
the children in California's public schools are the beneficiaries.
We intend to keep the focus on preparing outstanding teachers.
“Our goal is for every graduate of our credential
programs to be a top-quality teacher.”
CSU realized even greater improvements in preparing
high school teachers.
Ninety percent of CSU graduates teaching in grades
9-12 received high “preparation grades” from their supervisors,
up from 86 percent one year earlier. Cal State Fullerton graduates
were rated 97 percent prepared for teaching in grades 9-12. In high
schools, CSU graduates teach all subjects ranging from English and
math to science, history and the arts.
“According
to our graduates' responses on the survey, 92 percent selected
Fullerton for its strong reputation for quality, and 86 percent
felt that going to Fullerton would increase their chances
of getting a position.”
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“I find it very easy to place graduates from
Cal State Fullerton within the district,” said Donna Perry,
assistant superintendent of Anaheim Unified High School District.
“The district's collaborative efforts with California
State University, Fullerton is one of the strongest in the state
of California.”
“School principals and other site-supervisors
assess our graduates very thoroughly, and are telling us that CSU
teacher education is very effective,” said David S. Spence,
executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer. “This
is especially reassuring when you consider that 95 percent of the
supervisors have worked with many first-year teachers during their
careers as school administrators.”
A similar evaluation by the National Center for Education
Statistics, a federal agency, showed that first-year teachers throughout
the country were less prepared than CSU graduates - as much
as 17 percent less prepared in the case of high school teachers.
In 2000-01, almost 10,500 teachers graduated from
CSU campuses.
Other results of the CSU evaluation:
• 89 percent of CSU teaching graduates, and
92 percent of Fullerton grads, know and understand the subjects
of the curriculum, according to their supervisors, up from 87 percent
and 84 percent respectively, one year ago.
• 85 percent communicate effectively with parents,
up from 84 percent the year before. Fullerton alumni scored 90 percent,
up from 85 percent.
• 82 percent manage their classes effectively
for instruction, up from 81 percent a year earlier. Fullerton alumni
scored 84 percent, up from 83 percent a year earlier.
• 89 percent systemwide and 93 percent of Fullerton
alumni prepared good lesson plans, and 83 percent of CSU grads (91
percent of those from Fullerton) used a good “mix” of
teaching strategies - two important aspects of teaching that were
evaluated for the first time this year.
The evaluation also showed that 95 percent of CSU
students who earned state teaching credentials in 2000-01 served
as full-time teachers in California public schools one year later.
More than three-quarters taught in urban, metropolitan and rural
schools. At the same time, more than half worked in low-income communities.
According to the experienced supervisors, CSU preparation
was as effective in low-income schools as it was in schools serving
higher-income families.
The new teachers rated the value of distinct courses and fieldwork
activities in their CSU preparation programs, which they completed
one year before answering the evaluation questions.
For 84 percent, the assistance provided by classroom
teachers in the student-teaching phase was “very valuable
and helpful.” Preparatory courses in reading instruction for
grades K-8 and in advanced instruction for high school teaching
also were rated as “very helpful and valuable” before
teaching began.
“According to our graduates' responses on the
survey, 92 percent selected Fullerton for its strong reputation
for quality, and 86 percent felt that going to Fullerton would increase
their chances of getting a position,” said L. Y. “Mickey”
Hollis, acting associate dean for teacher education, College of
Human Develop- ment and Community Service.
The evaluation revealed that only half of CSU-trained
teachers received the benefits of student teaching because school
districts throughout California hired the others as classroom teachers
before they finished their preparation.
This premature hiring of unprepared teachers is the
strongest barrier to the effectiveness of CSU teacher education
programs, according to the evaluation report.
Initiated by the CSU Office of the Chancellor and
the deans of education, the evaluation gathered reports from 2,442
randomly selected teachers and 2,002 supervisors. The report's margin
of error is less than four percent.
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