Cal State Fullerton First-Year Teachers Perform Above CSU Average

Annual Study Links Effects of Teacher Preparedness to Student Achievement

May 7, 2007

By Debra Cano Ramos

First-year teachers who completed Cal State Fullerton’s teacher preparation programs continue to perform above the California State University average and are well prepared to teach in the classroom, according to a recent study.

“In almost every category that teachers are rated, K-12 teachers educated at Cal State Fullerton scored well-above average,” said Claire Cavallaro, dean of the College of Education. “These strong scores exemplify the high quality of our teacher preparation programs, students and faculty members.”

Conducted by the CSU’s Center for Teacher Quality, the annual Teacher Preparation Program Evaluation provides findings on the link between teacher preparation and student achievement. With the teacher preparedness data, the 23 CSU campuses are able to better evaluate and improve effectiveness of their programs. The report found that more than 80 percent of CSU-taught teachers are very effective in teaching reading-language arts, mathematics and in the use of instructional technologies.

In 2006, systemwide, supervisors of 2,165 new teachers, including 427 supervisors of Cal State Fullerton-taught teachers, responded to the survey and were asked to assess the CSU’s effectiveness in preparing them for the rigors of classroom teaching in elementary, middle and high schools.

According to the findings, first-year teachers who completed teacher preparation programs at Cal State Fullerton, as compared to the CSU system, were “well prepared or adequately prepared” to teach in the following subject areas:
• Reading/Language Arts (K-8): CSUF 92 percent, CSU 84 percent
• Mathematics (K-8): CSUF 90 percent, CSU 83 percent
• Mathematics (7-12): CSUF 83 percent, CSU 81 percent
• History (7-12) 88 percent, CSU 83 percent
• English (7-12): CSUF 95 percent, CSU 82 percent
• Science (7-12): CSUF 90 percent, CSU 80 percent

Teaching skills in the following areas also were assessed with Cal State Fullerton-taught teachers found to:
• use technology: CSUF 80 percent, CSU 73 percent
• use good teaching practices: CSUF 86 percent, CSU 79 percent
• plan instruction: CSUF 90 percent, CSU 81 percent
• motivate students: CSUF 88 percent, CSU 80 percent
• address equity and diversity: CSUF 85 percent, CSU 76 percent
• teach English learners: CSUF 88 percent, CSU 78 percent
• teach young children (K-3) CSUF 91 percent, 80 percent
• teach middle grades (4-8): CSUF 87 percent, CSU 76 percent
• teach high school (9-12): CSUF 86 percent, CSU 76 percent

In the 2004-05 academic year, 828 Cal State Fullerton students completed the university’s preliminary teaching credential program. Of that figure, 538 students (65 percent) also earned their bachelor’s degrees at Fullerton. The rest completed degree programs at other colleges and universities within and outside the CSU system.