College of
Education
STATE RELEASES SCORES ON BASIC SKILLS TEST FOR PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS
There is good news and bad news for EMU from the recent release of basic skills test scores by the Michigan Department of Education. Two administrations of the basic skills test have been held (February, April).
The good news is that the cumulative pass rate for EMU students on the reading portion is slightly higher than the cumulative pass rate for students state wide. The EMU reading pass rate to date is 98.5%. The state reading pass rate to date is 98.4%.
The bad news is that the cumulative pass rate for EMU students on both the mathematics portion and the writing portion of the mandatory state test is several percentage points below the cumulative pass rates for students state wide.
The EMU pass rate to date is 89.8% on the mathematics test, compared with 94.4% state wide. The EMU pass rate to date is 87.9% on the writing test compared with 92.9% state wide.
Failure to pass all portions of the basic skills test prohibits a student from moving forward in the professional education sequence of courses. The state test has replaced the former use of the PPST.
FIRST RELEASE OF SUBJECT-AREA TEST SCORES FOR EMU SHOWS WIDE RANGE OF RESULTS
Among the 39 subject field tests taken by students credited to EMU in the April administration of the new Michigan Test for Teacher Certification, 16 of them had a 100% pass rate. These were art education, astronomy, computer science, early childhood, economics, emotionally impaired, fine arts, home economics, language arts, physically and otherwise health impaired, physics, political science, sociology, Spanish, speech, and visually impaired.
In some of these cases, the difference in the pass rate for EMU and the state-wide pass rate was considerable. For example, the state-wide pass rate in Spanish was 74% and in physics was 80%.
EMU pass rates were at or above state-wide pass rates in 21 of the 39 fields. In addition to those already named, these were hearing impaired (95% EMU, 94% state-wide), French (90%, 90%), music education (87%, 85%), history (79%, 73%), and geography (64%, 63%). Other fields with pass rates near 100% included chemistry and English (92%).
For the 39 fields, the statistics for EMU show an overall pass rate of 84.1% (87.2%, same fields, state-wide). EMU students were 21.5% of those examined.
EMU APPOINTMENTS TO MI DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION STRUCTURES
The state-mandated teacher testing program is advised by two standing committees--STAC (Standing Technical Advisory Council) and TEAC (Teacher Examination Advisory Committee). TEAC has 11 members and the terms of 6 expired July 1.
Jerry Robbins was appointed by the State Board of Education to a two-year term on TEAC, beginning July 1.
The Periodic Review/Program Evaluation Council is the core of what is, in effect, the state-level "accreditation" function for teacher education programs. This group has been dormant in recent times.
In the process of reactivating the group and restructuring terms, former dean Scott Westerman will serve on this Council until 1995.
Provost Ronald Collins has been appointed to a term extending until 1996.
PLANNING AHEAD
July 27--Registration for 2nd term ICPSR summer program in quantitative methods (UM, free to EMU faculty).
July 31--Deadline for nominations for AACTE Annual Award ($500) for Excellence in Professional Writing.
August 1--Deadline for submission of applications for ATE Distinguished Research in Teacher Education Award. Deadline for manuscripts to JTE on "Teacher Assessment."
August 2-4--"Focus on Men" symposium, Corporate Education Center. For information, call 487-0407.
August 7--Deadline for nominations for Alumni Association Teaching Excellence Awards.
August 12--Phillip Schlechty meets with EMU professional preparation faculty on reforming preparation programs, 2:00-3:30, WISD.
August 31--COE Fall Faculty Conference (all day), Sheraton University Inn, I-94 and State. Lunch included.
September 15--deadline for AASA convention papers on collaborative field-university school-based research.
October 1--Deadline for manuscripts to JTE on "The Impact of Accreditation and State Program Approval on Teacher Education Programs."
October 15--deadline for manuscripts to Proteus on "Multiculturalism."
October 31--deadline for submission for AACTE's Outstanding Dissertation Research Award.
November 6--deadline for submissions to AERA for Outstanding Book Award, Outstanding Contributions Relating Research to Practice, and the Cattell Early Career Award for Programmatic Research.
November 8-11--NCATE Board of Examiners visit.
November 13--Deadline for submission for ASCD's Outstanding Dissertation Award (for dissertations completed in curriculum/instruc-
tion/supervision between 9/1/91 and 8/31/92)
December 1--Deadline for manuscripts to JTE on "Restructuring Schools, Colleges, Departments of Education (SCDE's) and the Public Schools."
February 1--Deadline for manuscripts to JTE on "Teacher Education in Relation to National Goals."
April 1--Deadline for manuscripts to JTE on "Supply and Demand of New Teachers and Proposed National Standards and New Sources for Teachers."
Late-breaking news: MI House of Representatives declined to pass amendments to teacher testing law, leaving original law in place and creating state-wide uncertainty for a number of this fall's student teachers. State Education deans to confer today in a conference call about how to cope.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - EMU teacher educators produce:
KNOWLEDGEABLE PROFESSIONALS WHO ARE CARING, REFLECTIVE DECISION-MAKERS IN A CULTURALLY DIVERSE SOCIETY.