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NMPED releases official educator preparation scorecards

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Scorecards to help ensure state educators are ‘Day One Ready’

ALBUQUERQUE – The New Mexico Public Education Department released the first-ever official Educator Preparation Program Scorecards Dec. 3.

Part of the State’s Plan under the Every Student Succeeds Act, the scorecards represent the culmination of years of stakeholder engagement, policy development, data collection and analysis.

NMPED has worked with teacher-leaders from across the state, leaders of the state’s educator preparation programs, and other state education agencies and expert organizations that have championed this work to-date.

The Scorecards reflect the state’s educator preparation programs’ efficacy in delivering improved outcomes across four domains: 1) track record in recruiting a diverse and academically prepared pool of candidates; 2) track record in developing candidates who demonstrate competence across a battery of assessments of knowledge and skill; 3) the degree to which program graduates are able to secure jobs in New Mexico, meet the state’s teacher workforce needs and persist in the profession; and 4) program graduates’ performance in the classroom.

Drawing upon best practices from other states, New Mexico’s EPP Scorecards are designed to be useful for prospective teaching candidates in selecting a program, school districts and charter schools in hiring talent and as a performance accountability and continuous improvement mechanism for EPPs.

“Teaching excellence should be honed from the day an aspiring teacher steps into formal training, so that incoming teachers are ready to serve their students on Day One,” Secretary of Education Christopher Ruszkowski said. “Just like we expect a medical professional or a pilot to have the best training because they hold lives in their hands, we expect the best training for our teachers because they hold the lives of our children in their hands.”

The call for changes to how teachers are prepared in New Mexico was heard consistently during the NM-Rising Together listening tour in 2016-17 — which resulted in the New Mexico’s top-rated, federally-approved State Plan under ESSA.

The official scorecards contain the most current data from EPPs performance, including data from the most recent school year.

Educator preparation program reform is a critical component of New Mexico’s broader strategy to ensure that the state’s students have greater access to top-performing teachers and schools.

All EPPs earned either a ‘B’ or a ‘C’. The ‘B’ programs are: Central New Mexico Community College, Eastern New Mexico University, New Mexico State University, University of New Mexico and Western New Mexico University. Programs earning a ‘C’ are: Northern New Mexico College, Santa Fe Community College, Wayland Baptist University, University of the Southwest and San Juan College.

Preparation Program Scorecards resulted from a comprehensive effort to support our state’s teachers across the educator life cycle and as a result of recommendations from the Legislative Finance Committee in their 2012 report.

The LFC recommended higher standards for entry into preparation programs, increased oversight by the PED, heightened programmatic quality, and inclusion of the performance of program completers in PED’s reporting.

The PED has satisfied all of the LFC’s recommendations, and has made significant investments in the improvement in the performance of EPPs. Yesterday, deans, directors and faculty from EPPs across the state attended a first-ever “EPP Summit” in Albuquerque, featuring promising work happening in New Mexico and across the country to better prepare teachers.

Additionally, three EPPs were selected in a competitive “Request for Application” designed to address a shared area in need of development among EPPs: recruitment and development of “high potential” candidates.

Nearly $450,000 in funds were awarded to launch new programs at New Mexico State University, Eastern New Mexico University and San Juan College designed to:

Attract, train and support high potential Native American teachers

Develop a new 5th year Master’s in education program targeting STEM majors

Create a “co-teaching” model designed to deeply integrate incoming teachers in proven, strong practice

The NMPED said in a Dec. 3 press release, “this unprecedented investment is ensuring that New Mexico’s students have the highest quality teachers possible for years to come.”

The scorecards can be found at: www.webnew.ped.state.nm.us/bureaus/licensure/educator-preparation-program-scorecards.

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