Teacher Preparation Program Accountability :
New York

Analysis of New York's policies

New York's approval process for teacher preparation programs does not hold programs accountable for the quality of the teachers they produce.

Most importantly, New York does not collect value-added data that connect student achievement gains to teacher preparation programs.

The state also fails to collect other objective, meaningful data to measure the performance of teacher preparation programs, and it does not apply any transparent, measurable criteria for conferring program approval. New York gathers programs' annual summary licensure test pass rates (80 percent of program completers must pass their licensure exams). However, the 80 percent pass-rate standard, while common among many states, sets the bar quite low and is not a meaningful measure of program performance.

Further, although New York's website used to include public information about school performance, no such information is currently posted.

According to New York's winning Race to the Top application, it plans to link student achievement and growth data to preparation programs, and will use these data as part of program approval criteria. New York articulates that it will develop performance profiles based on teacher effectiveness for every preparation program. Beginning in June 2012, the system will publicly report accountability data for the following areas: graduates' performance on certification exams, percent certified in shortage subjects, percent employed in high-needs schools, retention rates and performance in positively affecting student growth. However, there is no evidence to date of specific policy to support these plans.  

Citation

Regulations of the Commissioner of Education 52.21 Title II State Reports https://title2.ed.gov Race to the Top Application http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/phase2-applications/new-york.pdf

Recommendations for New York

Collect data that connect student achievement gains to teacher preparation programs.
To ensure that programs are producing effective classroom teachers, New York should consider academic achievement gains of students taught by the programs' graduates, averaged over the first three years of teaching. Although the state has commendably outlined its intentions in its RttT application, to ensure that preparation programs are held accountable, it is urged to codify these requirements.

Gather other meaningful data that reflect program performance.
In addition to knowing whether programs are producing effective teachers, other objective, meaningful data can also indicate whether programs are appropriately screening applicants and if they are delivering essential academic and professional knowledge. New York should gather data such as the following: average raw scores of graduates on licensing tests, including basic skills, subject matter and professional knowledge tests; satisfaction ratings by school principals and teacher supervisors of programs' student teachers, using a standardized form to permit program comparison; evaluation results from the first and/or second year of teaching; and five-year retention rates of graduates in the teaching profession.

Establish the minimum standard of performance for each category of data.
Programs should be held accountable for meeting these standards, with articulated consequences for failing to do so, including loss of program approval after appropriate due process. 

Publish an annual report card on the state's website.
To inform the public with meaningful, readily understandable indicators of how well programs are doing, New York should present all the data it collects on individual teacher preparation programs. NCTQ acknowledges that the state has articulated a plan to post an annual report card for the public as part of its RttT application. However, to date, this plan has not been enacted or codified in state policy.

State response to our analysis

New York recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis.