The System by Which Candidate Performance is Regularly Assessed.
Assessment--Initial preparation program. Eastern Michigan University prepares teacher candidates who demonstrate proficiency in the knowledge, skills, and dispositions identified in 22 Teacher Preparation Benchmarks or Outcomes. These program outcomes have served as a guiding framework for faculty as they evaluate and modify courses to insure that course assignments and assessments measure student proficiency on each outcome.
Certain assessments have been in place for many years. However, since the last review by NCATE, there has been particular emphasis on (a) additional assessments as students move through the program and (b) assessments during the first year of teaching. Leadership for the additional assessments as students move through the program has come from the faculty in the Department of Teacher Education.
Students in initial teacher preparation programs are assessed at these points:
1. Admission to the university.2. Admission to the initial teacher preparation program.3. Retention in the initial teacher preparation program.4. Six course assessments and related field experiences.5. During and at the culmination of the student teaching experience(s).6. The applicable tests of the Michigan Tests for Teacher Certification.7. During the first year of teaching.
A variety of assessment tools is used, ranging from observation to performance-based assessments to standardized tests. EMU is one of the members of the "Teacher Quality" consortium of The Renaissance Group, in which the "teacher work sample" methodology is being used. As a result, a portion of our students have been assessed using this process. Detailed information about each of these assessments is provided elsewhere in materials available to students, the university community, various constituencies, and external review bodies.