Program Areas
Strides Toward Oklahoma's Education Goals
Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation
Since the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation (OCTP) was charged with monitoring and facilitating teacher education, it has set into motion a program that provides multiple measures for improving the quality of teacher preparation throughout the state of Oklahoma. The program emphasizes three areas: (a) program accreditation, (b) teacher assessment, and (c) professional development. It is based on a set of competencies that include both national and state standards.
Teacher Candidate Assessment
- Oklahoma has developed and validated a 3-part performance-based teacher assessment system consisting of a general knowledge exam (math, science, social studies, language arts, and critical thinking), a professional education exam (developmentally-appropriate instruction and professional knowledge), and 47 subject area exams.
- All assessment components incorporate current state and national standards. Educators from both common and higher education contributed to the assessment development.
Teacher Education Program Accreditation
- In the fall of 1997 Oklahoma implemented its performance-based teacher preparation system. For accreditation purposes, the system includes three components: (a) candidate portfolio assessment, (b) program reviews, and (c) unit accreditation.
- As part of the teacher candidate's educational experience, he/she currently develops a portfolio that provides a description of the activities that he/she has been involved in as part of his/her teacher preparation experience. Thought the creation of a portfolio is considered a developmental process, a team of trained evaluators assesses the portfolios. The purpose of assessment is to determine if the objectives (e.g., conceptual framework, state teachings competencies, etc.) of the teacher education unit are being realized in the student's educational experience. An assessment rubric designed in the Buros Center for Testing at the University of Nebraska is used in this assessment process. The rubric allows for individual differences in teacher preparation programs, while still offering measures that insure continuity across institutions.
- Each program (.e.g., math, reading, etc.) within a teacher education unit is required to submit a program review as part of the accreditation cycle. Programs are evaluated based on the standards of national learned societies and/or/ on state standards.
- Every five years, each teacher preparation program (i.e., unit) is evaluated for accreditation purposes. At institutions that are affiliated with National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), the accreditation process includes both national and state evaluation teams; trained state educators evaluate institutions seeking only state accreditation. Both the state and national teams use NCATE and state standards for evaluation purposes. Thus, even schools that are not affiliated with NCATE are measured against national standards.
- The accreditation process insures that teacher preparation programs are providing students with a knowledge-based education that offers multiple learning opportunities. It also provides a means for assessing the quality of faculty members serving in the teacher education unit and the caliber of students being admitted by the unit for teacher candidacy.
Education Leadership Oklahoma
Education Leadership Oklahoma is a challenge to Oklahoma teachers to
participate and complete a process enabling them to reach the highest
standards of their field-National Board Certification. Currently, Oklahoma
ranks ninth in the nation in the number of National Board Certified teachers with a total of 1289 teachers as of November, 2005.
Professional Development Institutes
- Over 8000 teachers have successfully completed the Reading Literacy Professional Development Institute (Literacy First), which provides a balanced approach between whole language and phonics. The response from the participants was overwhelmingly positive.
- 240 teachers are selected each year for the Integrated Math & Science Professional Development Institute (Success in Science & Math), which is designed to help teachers make math and science more accessible, understandable, and engaging for their students.
- 200 teachers from across Oklahoma are participating in the Mentors for Resident Teachers Professional Development Institute, a program that prepares veteran teachers to assist first-year teachers in making the successful transition into the profession.
The Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation
- The 1998 Education Week's "Education Report Card" gave Oklahoma an A- (the highest grade given any state) for its quality of teacher preparation.
- In 1999, Oklahoma also received an "A" from Education Week in the category of teacher preparation.
- The Quality Counts 2000 Report ranked Oklahoma number three in the nation in improving teacher quality. The publication singled out "teacher education and extensive support for new and veteran teachers" as particularly impressive elements of Oklahoma's teacher preparation system.
- "Goals 2000" awarded Oklahoma the national award for Goal Four: having the largest percentage of teachers teaching in field. Currently, 99% of Oklahoma's teachers are certified in the areas in which they teach.
- Oklahoma serves as an original partner state for the National Commission for Teaching and America's Future.
- Oklahoma has continued to rank in the Top 8 states in the nation in the quality of teacher preparation.
