As reported in 2019-20, COVID has continued to effect PK-12 schools, where remote instruction remained in place across the Commonwealth into the Spring 2021 semester. Given the added pressures our completers faced as teachers managing instruction in a range of modalities (face-to-face, remote, and hybrid) and meeting the increased socioemotional and instructional needs of their students, we elected not to collect assessment data of completer impact on P-12 student learning growth or completer effectiveness in applying professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions. Although schools have returned face-to-face in 2021-22, we recognize that our school partners continue to face extraordinary challenges in supporting the significant needs of students. Our faculty continue to explore how best to assess completer impact and effectiveness in this changing context. We anticipate having data to report in the 2021-22 report.
Initial Licensure Programs:
In 2020-21 ODU began participating in the Virginia Education Assessment Collaborative (VEAC), a growing partnership among Educator Preparation Programs in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Our purpose is to provide a centralized assessment structure for Virginia EPPs that standardizes and reduces the complexity of data collection for both the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) and the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). During the 2020-21 cycle, ODU was one of 27 EPPs participating in this effort, with 1,405 responses (40% response rate). ODU had 122 responses (33% response rate). Access to completer emails and school employment is a continuing challenge given limitations for collecting and sharing data within the state education agency. In addition, the retirement of a senior staff member who provided EPPs with completer lists has further constrained the EPP's ability to provide comprehensive completer lists for inclusion in the VEAC state efforts. As an EPP we continue to work with our completers as they leave ODU and enter the teacher workforce to obtain and monitor completer outcomes and employment milestones.
Employer satisfaction:
Employers of initial completers reported high levels of overall satisfaction with ODU's preparation, with a mean 4.49. This is comparable to the VEAC aggregate mean of 4.52 across the 27 participating EPPs. Employers were asked to rate their satisfaction with the preparation of completers' performance on several items aligned to the Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC) standards. Employers of ODU completers were slightly lower, but generally comparable to the VEAC mean.
Instruction
- Demonstrates an understanding of the curriculum, subject content, and the developmental needs of students by providing relevant learning experiences
- EPP Mean: 3.34
- VEAC Mean: 3.37
- Plans using state standards, the school's curriculum, effective strategies, resources, and data to meet the needs of all students
- EPP Mean: 3.33
- VEAC Mean: 3.35
- Effectively engages students in learning by using a variety of instructional strategies in order to meet individual learning needs
- EPP Mean: 3.23
- VEAC Mean: 3.36
- Systematically gathers, analyzes, and uses all relevant data to measure student academic progress, guide instructional content and delivery methods, and provide timely feedback to both students and parents throughout the year
- EPP Mean: 3.19
- VEAC Mean: 3.22
Technology
- Selects technologies, informed by research, to promote learning for all students
- EPP Mean: 3.33
- VEAC Mean: 3.37
- Integrates technology into instructional materials
- EPP Mean: 3.31
- VEAC Mean: 3.44
Diversity and Inclusion
- Brings multiple perspectives to instruction, including the learners' personal, family, and community experiences/norms
- EPP Mean: 3.31
- VEAC Mean: 3.32
- Integrates diverse language and cultures into instruction to promote the value of multilingual/multicultural perspectives
- EPP Mean: 3.20
- VEAC Mean: 3.25
These data were shared widely with program faculty and key stakeholders to review and analyze trends, and to inform program improvement efforts.
Advanced Licensure Programs:
As noted in the plans developed as part of the CAEP reaccreditation process, the advanced licensure programs have invested in advisory boards to provide ongoing opportunities for meaningful engagement and feedback from our stakeholders (completers, school and district leadership, community members). These advisory boards have helped deepen our partnerships with school districts through cohort programs that help respond to the critical and emerging priorities in our school communities. Due to the continuing challenges faced by our school leaders due to COVID, we have delayed our planned survey efforts in order not to add an additional burden on our schools. However, we will have employer satisfaction data for the 2021-22 year due to ongoing efforts. As part of our involvement with the Virginia Education Assessment Collaborative (VEAC), we have been developing a common survey instrument for advanced programs. We are participating in a pilot of this instrument in Summer 2022, which will provide data specific to ODU with statewide aggregate benchmark data.
In the 2020-21 academic year, the following completers successfully completed all licensure requirements in initial or advanced programs:
- Completers of undergraduate, graduate, and endorsement-only initial teacher licensure programs: 270
- Completers of graduate and endorsement-only advanced licensure programs: 151
We continue to develop a database of completers with their employment data. We also rely heavily on an annual report by the Virginia Department of Education about completers from the last three years employed in Virginia public schools. While these data are limited to those completers working in VA and in public schools, we do believe these are reflective of our graduates overall. We continue to communicate to candidates while still enrolled about the critically important role that evaluation data plays in our ongoing improvement efforts. We describe the ways we will be reaching out to them (e.g., surveys, observations of teaching, evaluation of impact on student learning and development) and their employers (e.g., survey).