Teacher Education Task Force looks to strengthen program


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Changes in teacher preparation have been made across the nation to prepare students to be educators. 

Provost Michael Gealt said at the Feb. 19 Board of Trustees meeting there are efforts being made at Central Michigan University to reduce credit hours to graduate more teachers and fill roles in areas they are most needed.

“We've been working toward a real evolution, or revolution, of teacher preparation,” Gealt said.

To increase the quality of CMU's teacher education program, The Teacher Education Task Force convened in 2013-14, comprising representatives from all 23 teacher education units on campus. 

The task force addressed concerns about program quality, graduation time and alignment to state and accreditation standards. 

Task force recommendations are now in an implementation phase, including raising the GPA requirement of the program from 2.7 to 3.0. 

The Department of English is currently piloting a course for pre-identified students interested in teacher education who need intensive writing support.

College of Education and Human Services Dean Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson said now is the time for transformation. After completing an investigation into the quality and success of the program, it was found that requiring 165-220 credits only made students spend more time at college, accumulating debt.

Betty Kirby, associate dean of the College of Education and Human Services, said there have also been several changes in how teachers are being prepared and evaluated.

“There's been increased accountability in several areas,” Kirby said. “What we're seeing across the state and nation is a ranking of our program and our teachers as far as how they perform in the field during their first three years.”

With these results, many students are taking careers in human services areas. EHS is creating a leaner program, she said. 

Vice President of Development and External Relations Kathy Wilbur said Pehrsson will head to Lansing to meet with state leaders later this year to address concerns about the test. 

“The leaders are very happy to meet with us,” Wilbur said. “They're very concerned with the state of teacher education when they look at these PRE test results.”

Trustee Tricia Keith said the main focus should be getting students to graduate in a timely matter.

“The program needs to work with the actual job market,” Keith said.

Looking toward the future, Pehrsson said her hope is to create great teachers who can be looked up to.

“We are moving forward in EHS with a tremendous focus to have our teachers be leaders,” Pehrsson said. “I would say that we are leading the state in this. Schools are starting to look at CMU as a leader. The time is right, it's a good time.”

The professional readiness exam was implemented in 2013. Before this exam, a basic skills test was taken with a statewide pass rate of 82 percent. With the PRE, there was a 22 percent pass rate for CMU last year. 

In Sept. 2013, The Bridge Magazine reported the the basic skills test was insufficient for preparing teachers. The test was changed to the PRE later that year. 

This exam is a requirement to get into the teacher education program and begin student teaching. The test evaluates students' college readiness before coming to the university. 

According to PRE results from 2013-14, 38 percent of students in the state passed the writing portion of the exam. Twenty-six percent of CMU students passed. 

Eighty-four percent of CMU students passed the reading test, while 58 percent passed the math test. 

Pehrsson said this raises a lot of questions about how students are entering the program and what is going on in K-12 classrooms.

“This is not a reflection of our program,” Pehrsson said. “This is based on high school performance. The idea is that students will be prepared when they get here.”

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