Teachers for a New Era
Assessment Committee Minutes
October 19, 2007
11:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Meeting Purpose:
To review surveys and other research issues tied to TNE.
Present:
Michael Alfano, Scott Brown, Sandy Chafouleas, Patricia Jepson, Al
Larson, Cheryl-Li, Xing Liu, Katherine Picho, Peter Prowda, Rohini
Sen, Yuhang Rong, Mary Yakimowski
Absent:
Barbara Beaudin, Dipak Dey (on sabbatical), Jaci VanHeest, H.
Jane Rogers, Jason Stephens, Hariharan Swaminathan, Mary
Truxaw
Welcome
Committee members were welcomed to the first meeting of the 2007-2008 school year.
Individuals around the table introduced themselves. The committee charge and agenda
were reviewed. Committee members were given the opportunity to provide additional
agenda items and operating rules; none were added.
The meeting started with providing the primary role of the TNE Assessment Committee,
which falls within the organizational structure of TNE, is to help provide useful feedback
on surveys and generate meaningful surveys that can capture important data.
Common Entrance/Exit Surveys
The background information regarding the Common Entry and Exit Surveys was
provided. More specifically, the surveys are used across TNE institutions to assess how
students in the teacher preparation program feel coming into the program (via the entry
survey) and what level they are at when they leave the program (via the common exit).
An overview of last year’s Common Entrance and Exit survey results along with this
Fall’s Common Entrance survey results were shared. The committee members were
asked to suggest further analyses and areas of improvement for the report. Discussions
focused on the homogeneity of the students that join the teacher preparation program at
the NEAG School of Education (as per the findings that most students consistently come
from middle to high social economic status backgrounds with moderate to high
achievement in school). The committee members discussed the possibility that
participants are “overrating” schools and therefore suggested minor modifications to the
survey to mitigate these demand characteristics.
Next Steps: Committee members will be asked, via e-mail, to submit additional
suggestions for these reports within two weeks of this meeting. Committee members will
receive the final updated version once completed.
Alumni Survey
The purpose was to present a summary of the preliminary results from the teacher
education alumni survey. Following the presentation, there was additional discussion on
the report which generated a suggestion for possibly improving the survey in future
administrations. An example given was modifying the survey by adding a teacher
disposition section before sending the surveys out this year. The committee members
were asked to suggest further analyses and areas of improvement for the survey. The
following is a list of suggestions that were offered as part of that discussion:
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Data should go back no further than five years prior to this year
Consider not sending out the survey annually
Send surveys out only electronically to save on resources
TNE should find ways to drive response rates up
Consider changing the name ‘Graduate Survey’ to ‘Alumnae Survey’
The committee also discussed methods for TNE sharing the data with the faculty at
NEAG. The general consensus concluded that the information gathered should be shared
with faculty in installments rather than all at once.
Next Steps: Committee members will be asked, via e-mail, to submit additional
suggestions for the preliminary report.
Employer Survey
A brief overview of the employer survey was given. It is administered to teachers,
superintendents, and immediate supervisors who have hired former NEAG students.
Committee members input was solicited. One individual stated that a question rating
UCONN graduates with graduates from other schools should be posed. A concern was
raised regarding a superintendent’s ability for knowing which schools each of his
employees graduated from in order to make effective comparisons between UCONN
graduates and their counterparts. Another comment indicates that survey questions should
be designed in such a way that the respondents might be hesitant to answer questions
truthfully.
Next Steps: Committee members will be asked, via e-mail, to submit additional
suggestions for this survey.
Clinic Placement Evaluations
A brief overview of the 2006-2007 clinical placement evaluations was provided. A
member asked about how well the NEAG School of Education’s teacher education
instrument compared to the State Department of Education’s instrument for measuring
clinical performance. The consensus was that the NEAG School of Education’s
instrument was easier to administer and equally effective.
Next Steps: Committee members will be asked, via e-mail, to submit additional
suggestions for this report. Committee members will receive the final updated version
once it is completed.
Educational Expansions
The committee will be examining data from the Connecticut Mastery Test for pupils in
the 3rd to 8th grades who are taught by Neag graduates. More specifically, there will be
comparisons of pupil performance for those taught by Neag graduates versus non-Neag
graduates. The study will be comprised of longitudinal analyses. We will also be working
with the State of CT to create a data warehouse that will be electronically accessible and
beneficial to the educators that use it; it will be ready over the next three years. Review of
the one-page reference will be helpful in describing these studies
Next Step: A subcommittee will meet to brainstorm on analyses that should be used.
Adjournment
All members were thanked for their participation in the meeting and for serving on this
important committee this year. The committee’s input was seen as timely and relative, as
well as extremely valuable.
The meeting adjourned at 2:10 p.m.