Indiana University Purdue University Fort Wayne
School of Education Assessment Report
YEAR 2004
Includes information on the following programs:
From Department of Educational Studies: Early Childhood Education (A.S.), Elementary Education & Secondary Education (B.S. &
M.S.)
From Department of Professional Studies: Counseling (M.S.), Educational Leadership (M.S.)
School* Assessment Report Template
Criterion
Y/N
Comments/recommendations
All departments/programs have assessment plans
Y
The SOE completed an NCATE Re-Accreditation Process in the
spring of 2003 and the visitation team reviewed all assessment
processes. The NCATE review team recognized the assessment
plan used in all programs in the SOE. They critiqued the
assessment plan of the Advanced (M.S.) Elementary and
Secondary Education programs, which was based on the old
North Central assessment system, which was not “performancebased.” They also critiqued some aspects of the Educational
Leadership assessment plan, and critiqued the Counseling
program for not having collected data in the Data Management
System. Because of these “Areas for Improvement” cited, we
will have a Focused NCATE Visit in November 2005 on the
Unit Assessment Systems for the Advanced (M.S.) Programs.
During 2004 we have been revising our Advanced programs and
building or rebuilding the Unit Assessment System (UAS) for
each. The Elementary and Secondary Education programs
underwent a Program Review in the 2003-2004 academic year;
the UAS for those programs was completed as a part of that
Review, which continued into the summer of 2004. The new
UAS for the Advanced Elementary and Secondary programs
was implemented in the Fall of 2004 and continues. The other
two Advanced (M.S.) Programs, Counseling and Educational
Leadership, have been in the process of redefining their
respective UASs. The Educational Leadership program has
developed a cohort program option, and has expanded its UAS
to fit that option, too.
The UAS for the Initial (B.S.) programs continues to operate as
we continually fine-tune it. The Portfolio Guidelines were
revised in Summer 2004 to further clarify expectations to
students and faculty. Portfolio Day continues to function well;
Educational Leadership is planning its own Portfolio Day.
Assessment measures are linked to program goals
Y
Assessment Plan Standards in Paragraph III,B,1 of
SD 98-22 have been followed.
Y
All departments/programs submitted reports
Y
Early Childhood grogram (A.S.) goals and all program courses
are linked to INTASC Standards, National Early Childhood
Program Standards, the SOE Conceptual Framework, and the
SOE Mission Statement. Undergraduate Elementary and
Secondary program goals and all program courses are linked to
the INTASC Standards, the SOE Conceptual Framework, the
SOE Mission Statement, and, when applicable, the Indiana
Professional Standards Boards standards for specific content
areas. Educational Leadership program goals are linked to the
NBPTS Standards, professional standards for School
Administrators, the SOE Conceptual Framework, and the SOE
Mission Statement. Counseling program goals are linked to the
NBPTS Standards, professional standards for Marriage and
Family Therapy or School Counseling, the SOE Conceptual
Framework, and the SOE Mission Statement. The newly
revised Advanced (M.S.) Elementary and Secondary Education
programs are aligned with its Vision Statement, the SOE
Conceptual Framework, the SOE Mission Statement, as well as
the Five Core Propositions of the National Board Standards for
Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), which replace the
INTASC standards, as per directions from NCATE.
Both Department Chairs serve on the Unit Assessment System
Committee, chaired by the Associate Dean. On a bi-weekly
basis the Committee reviews, updates, analyzes, and oversees
implementation of the UAS for all programs throughout the
academic year and during the summer. A detailed report of all
assessment work in the SOE in 2004 is available in the SOE’s
2004 Report to NCATE, submitted March 3, 2005. (Available
on request.)
Departments/programs use assessment for program
improvement
Y
The SOE’s Unit Assessment System, approved by the Indiana
Professional Standards Board, requires that the SOE present data
to the faculty for program improvement when applicable. The
UAS Committee analyzes data from the Data Management
System and reports to the faculty. It was NCATE’s criticism of
the UAS for our Advanced Programs that jump-started the
Program Review of the Advanced Elementary and Secondary
Education programs and led to the redesign and further
implementation of the UAS for all Advanced programs.
Departments/programs base recommendations on
data
Y
The SOE Data Manager, the Associate Dean, and the rest of the
UAS Committee collect and prepare reports based on this data.
This information is then distributed by Department Chairs for
additional discussions within their departments.
Prior year recommendations were implemented
Y
Revisions to all programs have been systematic and ongoing for
a number of years based on required changes by the State of
Indiana, the Indiana Professional Standards Board, and NCATE,
and by internal feedback received from assessment information.
A Program Review of the Advanced Elementary and Secondary
Education programs has been completed, and a UAS for both
programs has been totally revised. Implementation of the new
UAS began in Fall of 2004; implementation of the new
programs themselves began in Spring of 2005.
The UAS for the Advanced Programs in School Counseling and
Educational Leadership have also been revised and are in the
process of being implemented. A new cohort option in
Educational Leadership has been developed by the Educational
Leadership faculty. Its UAS has been aligned with the UAS for
the traditional program in Educational Leadership. The
Advanced Program in Special Education, in the approval
process at the moment and to be introduced in Fall 2006, has
also developed a UAS.
The Portfolio Guidelines for the Initial Programs has been
revised (Fall 2004) and the Educational Leadership faculty
members are in the process of developing Portfolio Guidelines
for Educational Leadership students and faculty. Educational
Leadership has also planned its own Portfolio Day on April 29,
2005. Area administrators will attend to help assess portfolios.
School* support for assessment requested/needed
Y
Our Data Manager, Dick Powell, who put in place our current
DMS, worked for us for two years, 2001-2003, half time, paid
for by a federal grant. When the grant ended, he continued as a
consultant, working about 20 hours per month. He had to work
in the evenings, so this arrangement was awkward to coordinate
with faculty. In 2003-2004 academic year, and into summer of
2004, the SOE considered e-portfolios as a way to manage our
ever expanding database. We worked with Erin Frew and a
campus committee of other departments/schools researching eportfolios. In the end, we decided to wait until after the NCATE
Focused Visit in fall of 2005 to initiate them. Instead, we hired
a Graduate Assistant, Jason Hoover, a student in the M.S.
program in Computer Science, to a 20 hour per week Data
Manager position. We also hired a part-time secretarial assistant
to enter data into the growing DMS. She assists four staff
members who also enter data. Because the original database
created in Access is proving insufficient to handle multiple users
at the same time, we are in the process of migrating the data to
Oracle. To handle this task, and continue maintenance and
growth of our database at the same time, we will be hiring
another part-time technical assistant to work with Jason.
University-level support for assessment
requested/needed
Y
The Focused NCATE Visit in November of 2005 will cost at
least $3,000, depending on size of the Board of Examiners team.
School*-level review effective
Y
The Unit Assessment System Committee within the School of
Education meets bi-weekly and maintains an on-going
monitoring process of program assessment for analysis and
curriculum review. We reviewed our Elementary and
Secondary M.S. programs, as mandated by the University and in
response to concerns of our accrediting body, NCATE. This
mainly meant sequencing the courses, so we could build an
effective UAS for the program. Our program review was lauded
by Susan Hannah, VCAA, and Steven Sarratore, Assistant
VCAA, for its effectiveness and results. The UAS Committee
also oversaw changes by the Educational Leadership faculty to
the traditional program, the revising of its UAS, and the
initiating of a cohort option for the program. The UAS
Committee also monitored progress of the School Counseling
program in fine-tuning its UAS and entering the data into the
DMS.
Recommended changes to department/program
plans
Y
The SOE has been in the process of responding to NCATE cited
“Areas for Improvement” in all of our programs, but particularly
in our Advanced Programs. We’ve been putting in place all of
their UAS plans, in preparation for an NCATE Focused Visit
November 6-8, 2005, on our Assessment Systems for the
Advanced Programs..
Recommendations to Assessment Council
Y
Continued funding for a Data Manager is critical to the future
assessment requirements for the School of Education. As the
state and national accreditation agencies continue to require
more extensive evidence of program and student performance
success, the need for continual monitoring of our programs and
the funds to accomplish these goals will continue to increase.
We are in the process of considering electronic portfolios for our
assessment process. If we do go to e-portfolios, we will need
more support from our Data Manager than we now can afford.
Submitted March 17, 2005
By Kathleen Murphey, Associate Dean, the School of Education.
*includes ACCS & Honors Program
Revised and approved by the Assessment Council April 2004