Impact and Outcome Measures
The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) requires EPPs to annually disseminate information on eight reporting measures to the public, prospective teacher candidates, policy makers, and the media to provide information on both program outcome and program impact. The eight measures and their supporting evidence provide another pathway to drive continuous program improvement. The measures are discussed below.
Impact Measures
Information on EPP candidates’ impact on P-12 student learning provides an opportunity for providers, the state, and the candidates themselves, to examine their impact on student growth.
The New Jersey Educator Preparation Performance Report (NJEPPR) provides evidence that the EPP’s certified completers contribute to the growth of public school students in tested grades and subjects (e.g. English/Language Arts or Math, grades 3 through 8).
One metric from this report provides Teacher Student Growth Objective (SGO) scores, assessed by the district’s evaluation system for assigning teacher performance ratings. One highlight from the latest report, 2019, indicated that 79.6% of the EPP’s certified completers were evaluated as highly effective and 14.8% were evaluated as effective. This represents an upward trend as the previous report from 2018 indicated that 62.5% of the EPP’s certified completers were evaluated as highly effective and 25% were evaluated as effective.
In analyzing Student Growth Percentiles (SGPs) and Student Growth Objectives (SGOs) from 2016 through 2019, the EPP’s certified completers are performing above the state average in the categories of highly effective and effective. The percentage of the EPP’s certified completers scoring in the partially effective and ineffective categories are well below the state average. The fundamental benefit of these data is the information they provide about the efficacy of GCU’s initial program preparation. Using program performance data along with the data from the New Jersey Educator Preparation Performance Report (NJEPPR), the EPP can focus on completers’ strengths and challenges, ensuring that future completers are highly prepared to impact the learning of their P-12 students. These data help the EPP move forward with continuous program improvement.
A key metric of teaching effectiveness is provided by the New Jersey Educator Preparation Performance Report (NJEPPR). This report provides evidence that the EPP’s completers demonstrated, through a structured validated observation instrument, effective application of the professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions that the preparation experiences were designed to achieve. In analyzing the Teacher Practice Scores summative report from 2016 through 2019, nearly 100% of the EPP’s graduates who were evaluated performed in the highly effective or effective categories. In the latest 2019 report, 3.6% of the 55 EPP’s certified completers were evaluated as partially effective, well below the state average.
Initial Programs:
The EPP aims to demonstrate satisfaction of employers using measures that result in valid and reliable data and that include employment milestones. The EPP measures this via an Employer Satisfaction Survey. Due to a low response rate to the initial survey, a focus group discussion is planned for Fall 2020-Spring 2021 and will be structured to gather responses evaluating the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of the EPP’s graduates based on the NJPST.
Advanced Programs:
To ensure that employers are satisfied with the completers’ preparation for their assigned responsibilities in working with P-12 students, the EPP conducted an employer satisfaction survey. The results of employer survey have historically received less than the 2019 CAEP Standard 4 expectations in terms of data representativeness. Therefore, a phased-in plan for all 6 advanced programs has been developed for implementation in Spring 2021.
Initial Programs:
A total of 214 surveys were sent to initial programs’ graduates of the 2016-17; 2017-18; and 2018-19 academic years. The results of the completer survey have historically received less than the 2019 CAEP Standard 4 expectations in terms of data representativeness. It has been modified and developed into an on-line survey and will be distributed in Fall 2020 to program completers. The modified survey is based on the NJPST and complies with CAEP content and data quality criteria. Modified survey questions have been aligned with the EPP’s mission, CAEP and the respective professional standards; individual items have a single subject and the language used is unambiguous; items are stated in terms of behavior/practices; and feedback is actionable. Scoring is based on a qualitatively defined, specific set of criteria with key attributes and uses a 3-point scale: Above Proficient; Proficient; and Below Proficient. The response results will be calculated to whether they meet the 2019 CAEP Standard 4 expectations in terms of data representativeness. If not, the initial programs’ department faculty will convene an Alumni Focus Group in the 2020-21 academic year to gauge program satisfaction perceptions.
Advanced Programs:
To ensure that completers are satisfied with their preparation for their assigned responsibilities in working with P-12 students, the EPP conducted an alumni survey. The results of completer survey have historically received less than the 2019 CAEP Standard 4 expectation in terms of data representativeness. Therefore, a phased-in plan for five of the six advanced programs: Administration & Leadership; Teacher of Students with Disabilities; ESL; Reading/Literacy Specialization, and School Counseling has been developed for implementation in Spring 2021.
The School Psychology advanced program surveyed graduates of the program in November of 2019. The survey was deployed via Qualtrics and was sent to students who had graduated within the last three years via email (N =39). In total, twenty-two (22) alumni completed the survey, a 56% response rate. All respondents indicated that they are currently employed full-time as school psychologists in public school systems. Fifty-nine percent of respondents (N=13) indicated that they are Nationally Certified School Psychologists (NCSP).
Outcome Measures
Initial Programs:
Graduation rates for undergraduate education majors are calculated based on the date of enrollment in their first education course at the EPP. Of the 191 undergraduate candidates who entered an initial program in Fall 2013, 156 graduated in eight (8) semesters representing an overall 82% graduation rate.
Advanced Programs:
Graduation rates for graduate education students are calculated based on the date of enrollment in their first education course at the EPP. Of the 349 graduate students who entered an advanced program in Fall 2013, 263 graduated in eight (8) semesters representing an overall 75% graduation rate. Data is disaggregated by advanced program.
Initial Program:
The ability of initial program candidates to meet licensing and state requirements is measured by the results of ETS Praxis II Subject and Elementary Education: Content Knowledge for Teaching tests. ETS Title II Results reflect a 100% pass rate for all academic years for the EPP: AY 16/17, AY17/18, AY18/19, and AY19/20. Summary data from the Title II report the number of total candidates and pass rates for the state test: AY 16/17 (n=85), AY17/18 (n=56), AY18/19 (n=42), and AY19/20 (n=50).
Initial Program:
Data about EPP program completers who are working in New Jersey public schools is another key metric provided by the New Jersey Educator Preparation Performance Report (NJEPPR).
Highlights from this report reveal that of the 99 certified completers from the 2016-2017 academic year, 68 were employed in of the 2017-2018 school year. Of those 68 completers, 67.6% maintained employment at the school level during 2018-2019; 72.1% maintained employment at the district level for the same time period; and 83.8% maintained employment at the state level for the same time period.
A school’s cohort default rate is the percentage of a school’s federal student loan borrowers who enter repayment within the cohort fiscal year and default within the cohort default period. The student loan default rate is inclusive of all of students at the university, not limited to Education programs. The most recent data indicates a Loan Default Rate of 4.5% in fiscal year (FY) 2014; 7% in FY 2015, and 5.2% in FY 2016. These are considered low default rates compared to the 11.3% national loan default rate. Here are the most reports:
In accordance with the Higher Education Opportunity Act (Public Law 110-315), the university provides consumer information on the public Web site (https://georgian.edu/heoa/). Information found on this page includes student diversity statistics, student outcomes, the price of attendance, and the net price calculator along with the refund policy, accreditation and approval of the institution and programs. There is also a direct link to university information on the U.S. Department of Education’s College Navigator Website. The College Navigator database provides consumer information regarding the university’s academic programs and majors, enrollment, admissions ratio, retention rate, and graduation rate, among other statistics.