Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 505-3-.02 - Educator Preparation Provider Annual Reporting and Evaluation
(1)
Purpose. This rule states requirements for the annual evaluation
of educator preparation programs and educator preparation providers, and
requirements for annual reporting of program effectiveness by educator
preparation providers that prepare individuals for certification as education
personnel in Georgia.
(2)
Definitions.
(a)
Advanced Preparation/Degree-Only Program: An educator
preparation program at the post-baccalaureate level for the continuing
education of educators who have previously completed initial preparation and
are certified in the program's subject area or field of certification. Advanced
preparation/degree-only programs commonly award graduate credit and include
masters, specialist, and doctoral degree programs.
(b)
Approval: A
process for assessing and enhancing academic and education quality through peer
review, to assure the public that an educator preparation provider (EPP) and/or
educator preparation program has met institutional, state, and national
standards of educational quality; also, a Georgia Professional Standards
Commission (GaPSC) decision rendered when an EPP or educator preparation
program meets GaPSC standards and required annual reporting
requirements.
(c)
Approval Review: Examination of evidence and
interviews of stakeholders conducted by GaPSC Site Visitors either on-site at
an institution/agency, or electronically using web and telephone conferencing
systems as part of a Developmental, First Continuing, Continuing, Focused, or
Probationary Review.
(d)
Candidates/Teacher Candidates: Individuals enrolled in
programs for the initial or advanced preparation of educators, programs for the
continuing professional development of educators, or programs for the
preparation of other professional school personnel. Candidates are
distinguished from students in B/P-12 schools. Candidates in programs leading
to Teaching (T) certification may also be referred to as Pre-service Teacher
Candidates. (The term enrolled is used in the GaPSC approval process to mean
the candidate is admitted and taking classes.)
(e)
Certified/Classified
Personnel Information (CPI): A tri-annual data collection
performed by the Georgia Department of Education of active certified and
classified employees at each school/district location. The data includes job
assignment, subject matter, percentage of time assigned, local years of
service, years of experience for payroll purposes, employment basis, and
contract salary including all supplements for each certified
employee.
(f)
Clinical
Practice: Culminating residency (formerly referred to as
student teaching) or internship experiences with candidates
placed in classrooms for at least one (1) full semester where they experience
intensive and extensive practices in which they are fully immersed in the
learning community and provided opportunities to develop and demonstrate
competence in the professional roles for which they are preparing. In initial
preparation programs in Leadership (L) or Service (S) fields, candidates will
complete such culminating residency or internship experiences in placements
that allow the knowledge, skills, and dispositions included in the programs to
be practiced and applied. In non-traditional preparation programs, such as
GaTAPP, clinical practice is job-embedded as candidates must be hired as a
classroom teacher to be admitted to the program.
(g)
Council for the Accreditation
of Educator Preparation (CAEP): The national accreditation
organization formed as a result of the unification of the National Council for
the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and the Teacher Education
Accreditation Council (TEAC). CAEP advances excellence in educator preparation
through evidence-based accreditation that assures quality and supports
continuous improvement to strengthen B/P-12 student learning.
(h)
Educator Preparation
Program: A planned sequence of courses and experiences for
preparing B/P-12 teachers and other professional school personnel that leads to
a state certification. See the definitions for the three (3) types of educator
preparation programs: Initial, Endorsement, and Advanced/Degree-Only.
(i)
Educator Preparation Provider
(EPP): The institution of higher education (IHE), college, school,
department, agency, or other administrative body responsible for managing or
coordinating all programs offered for the initial and continuing preparation of
teachers and other school personnel, regardless of where these programs are
administratively housed.
(j)
Endorsement Program: A planned sequence of courses and
experiences, typically three (3) to four (4) courses in length, designed to
provide educators with an additional, specific set of knowledge and skills, or
to expand and enhance existing knowledge and skills. Successful completion of
an endorsement program results in the addition of the endorsement field to the
Georgia educator certificate designating expertise in the field. Endorsement
programs may be offered as non-credit bearing programs, or they may lead to
college credit; they must be approved by the GaPSC and administered by a
GaPSC-approved EPP, and may be offered as either a stand-alone program or,
unless otherwise specified in GaPSC Educator Preparation Rules
505-3-.82 through
505-3-.115, embedded in an initial
preparation or advanced/degree-only program. Depending on the needs of the
individual educator, endorsement programs may also be included as a part of an
educator's professional learning plan/goals. See GaPSC Rule
505-2-.14 ENDORSEMENTS.
(k)
Field
Experiences: Activities that include organized and sequenced
engagement of candidates in settings providing opportunities to observe,
practice, and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions delineated in
institutional, state, and national standards. The experiences must be
systematically designed and sequenced to increase the complexity and levels of
engagement with which candidates apply, reflect upon, and expand their
knowledge and skills. Since observation is a less rigorous method of learning,
emphasis should be on field experience sequences requiring active professional
practice or demonstration, and that include substantive work with B/P-12
students and B/P-12 personnel as appropriate. In non-traditional preparation
programs (e.g., GaTAPP), field experiences occur outside candidates' classrooms
with students with different learning needs and varied backgrounds in at least
two (2) settings during the clinical practice.
(l)
Induction: (1)
The formal act or process of placing an individual into a new job or position
and providing appropriate support during the first three (3) years of
employment. The Georgia Department of Education defines The Induction Phase
Teacher as any teacher who has been hired into a new permanent position in any
Georgia school. (2) A Georgia level of professional educator certification; for
additional information see GaPSC Rule 505-2-04 INDUCTION CERTIFICATE.
(m)
Initial Preparation
Program: A program designed to prepare candidates for their
initial, or first, professional certificate in a Teaching (T), Leadership (L),
or Service (S) field. Examples include degree programs at the baccalaureate,
master's, or higher levels; or post-baccalaureate programs, non-degree
certification-only programs, and non-traditional programs, such as the Georgia
Teacher Academy for Preparation and Pedagogy (GaTAPP) or Alternative
Preparation for Educational Leadership program. Programs leading to an
educator's first certificate in a particular field are considered initial
preparation even if the educator is certified in one or more other
fields.
(n)
Non-traditional Teacher Preparation Program (GaTAPP):
A program designed to prepare individuals who at admission hold an appropriate
degree with verified content knowledge through a major or its equivalent in the
content field or a passing score on the state-approved content assessment in
the content field. If the state-approved content knowledge was not required at
admission, it must be passed for program completion. Non-traditional teacher
preparation programs lead only to a certificate, not to a degree or college
credit and:
1. Feature a flexible timeframe
for completion;
2. Are job-embedded
allowing candidates to complete requirements while employed by a regionally
accredited local unit of administration (school district or private school), a
charter school approved by the Georgia State Charter School Commission, or a
charter school approved by the Georgia Department of Education as a classroom
teacher full-time or part-time for at least a half day;
3. Require that candidates are supported by a
Candidate Support Team;
4. Require
an induction component that includes coaching and supervision;
5. Provide curriculum, performance-based
instruction, and assessment focused on the pedagogical knowledge, and
dispositions necessary for the candidate to teach his/her validated academic
content knowledge; and
6. Are
individualized based on the needs of each candidate with respect to content
knowledge, pedagogical skills, learning modalities, learning styles, interests,
and readiness to teach. See GaPSC Rule
505-3-.05 GEORGIA TEACHER ACADEMY FOR
PREPARATION AND PEDAGOGY (GaTAPP).
(o)
Preparation Program
Effectiveness Measures (PPEMs): A set of common measures applied
to all teacher preparation programs leading to initial certification in a
field. Teacher Preparation Program Effectiveness Measures (TPPEMs) are further
defined in this rule.
(p)
Out-of-State Institution: An institution of higher
education that is administratively based in a state within the United States
other than Georgia.
(q)
Program Completer: A person who has met all the
requirements of a GaPSC-approved or state- approved out-of-state educator
preparation program, to include all GaPSC requirements such as attempting all
assessments required for state certification.
(r)
State-approved Content
Assessment: A content-specific, standardized test aligned with
preparation program standards (state and national) and Georgia's P-12
curriculum, and developed to ensure that educators have the content knowledge
necessary for successful performance as an educator. A passing score on the
appropriate assessment is required for state certification.
(s)
Teacher Preparation Program
Effectiveness Measures (TPPEMs): A set of common measures applied
to all GaPSC-approved teacher preparation programs leading to initial
certification in a Teaching field.
(t)
Traditional Preparation
Program: A credit-bearing program designed for the preparation of
educators offered by an institution of higher education.
(3)
General Requirements and
Applicability.
(a) The requirements
stated in this rule apply to all GaPSC-approved educator preparation providers
(EPPs) and all educator preparation programs leading to initial
certification.
(b) Data will be
reported in the aggregate, so as not to identify individual program candidates.
Personally identifiable information will not be reported by
GaPSC.
(4)
Preparation Program Effectiveness Measures (PPEMs).
(a) Completion Reporting Year. The PPEM
reporting year for program completion starts September 1 and ends August
31.
(b) Teacher Preparation Program
Effectiveness Measures (TPPEMs) are comprised of a set of three measures
representing the performance of candidates while enrolled in the preparation
program and their performance in the classroom after program completion when
completers are employed in Georgia public schools or Georgia public charter
schools and in their fields of preparation. TPPEMs are collected and reported
annually. TPPEM measures include:
1. Employer
Perceptions of Preparation data are derived from the common, statewide survey
conducted annually of employers of those program completers (referred to as
inductees) employed in Georgia public or public charter
schools. For each cohort, the survey will be administered one time near the end
of the first year of inductees' employment in the field of
preparation.
2. Inductee
Perceptions of Preparation data are derived from the common, statewide survey,
conducted annually of those program completers employed in Georgia public or
public charter schools and in their fields of preparation. For each cohort, the
survey will be administered one time near the end of the first year of
inductees' employment in the field of preparation.
3. Assessment of Content Knowledge
(state-approved content assessment; Georgia Assessments for the Certification
of Educators [GACE]).
(i) Every candidate
enrolled in a teacher preparation program for which there is a GACE content
assessment must attempt the entire assessment (all tests within the assessment)
within a window of time beginning at a point determined by the EPP and ending
on August 31 in the reporting year of program completion, and at least once
prior to program completion (an attempt results in an official score on all
tests within the assessment). Candidates enrolled in non-traditional teacher
preparation programs may be required to pass the appropriate GACE content
assessment prior to program admission, depending upon the field of
certification sought (see GaPSC Rule
505-3-.05 GEORGIA TEACHER ACADEMY FOR
PREPARATION AND PEDAGOGY).
(ii) For
all teacher preparation programs, the best attempt for each program completer
prior to or on August 31 in the reporting year of program completion will be
used in reporting.
(c) Refer to the PPEM Technical
Specifications document for additional information on each measure, and the
schedule of data collection and reporting.
(5)
Annual Reporting.
(a) State Reporting.
1. All GaPSC-approved EPPs are required to
regularly and accurately submit all required candidate-level data to the
Traditional Program Management System (TPMS) or the Non-traditional Reporting
System (NTRS) as appropriate for all programs offered and according to the
timelines established in Educator Preparation Rule
505-3-.01 REQUIREMENTS AND STANDARDS
FOR APPROVING EDUCATOR PREPARATION PROVIDERS AND EDUCATOR PREPARATION PROGRAMS,
paragraph (3) (c) 8.
2.
Out-of-state EPPs with teacher candidates fulfilling field and clinical
experiences in Georgia schools are required to regularly and accurately submit
to TPMS all data specified by GaPSC staff in association with the issuance of
the Pre-Service Certificate, and in accordance with the reporting requirements
and deadlines specified in Rule
505-3-.01, paragraph (3) (c)
8.
(b) Federal Reporting:
Title II. All GaPSC-approved EPPs are required to submit annually the data
required for federal Title II reporting. Failure to submit Title II data,
accurately, completely, and by published deadlines may result in adverse
changes in approval status, up to and including recommendation to the
Commission of revocation of approval, and may result in
fines.
(6)
Uses of
PPEMs and Annual Report Data.
(a)
Reporting to EPPs. When sufficient data are available, PPEMs will be provided
annually to each GaPSC-approved EPP. All data will be aggregated at the program
level; no individual level data will be provided. EPPs are expected to use
PPEMs and other data to improve programs.
(b) Reporting to the Georgia Professional
Standards Commission. PPEMs will be provided annually to the 18-member
standards commission via the public dashboard; data will be aggregated at the
program and EPP levels and no individual level data will be provided.
(c) Reporting to Other State Agencies. The
Georgia Professional Standards Commission is a participating agency in
GAAWARDS, Georgia's Academic and Workforce Analysis and Research Data System,
which is the state's Pre-K through workforce (P20W) longitudinal data system.
Data of individual candidates is provided to GAAWARDS annually. All personally
identifiable information is removed prior to being used for research
purposes.
(d) Reporting to the
Public. PPEMs will be provided to the public annually via the GaPSC website.
Data will be aggregated at the program and EPP levels; no individual level data
or aggregations of fewer than ten (10) individuals will be
provided.
Notes
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