NCTQ

 
 

Methodology: Training model

Because this standard is still in a pilot phase, the findings should only be viewed as exploratory. This standard is not rated, nor does it factor into overall program or institutional ratings. We requested of each institution the names of 10 elementary schools used for placement. The schools were classified as "high needs and high functioning" if 40 percent or more of students received free or reduced-price lunches and if the average student performance in reading and mathematics on the Illinois Standards Achievement tests exceeded the district average.1 The proportion of such schools was provided to institutions in a report on preliminary findings of fact, with the acknowledgement that the 10 schools provided were not necessarily representative of all those used for placement. Institutions were given the opportunity to provide complete lists of schools used for student teaching placements and some did so.

1There should be considerable overlap among schools with these characteristics and the schools that the Illinois State Board of Education designates as "Illinois Spotlight Schools" that have 1) at least 50 percent of students from low-income families, 2) at least 70 percent of students that pass the state achievement tests in reading and mathematics (50 percent until 2009), and 3) made "annual yearly progress" as defined by federal guidelines under the No Child Left Behind Act for the past two years.