2012 Educator Preparation Performance Report Reaffirms Defiance College Program

January 8, 2013

 

DEFIANCE, Ohio - The 2012 Educator Preparation Performance Report recently released by the Ohio Board of Regents reaffirms what the Teacher Education Program at Defiance College has known for some time, the program prepares and graduates effective educators. 

The report provides the community information from each of the following areas:  licensure test scores for individuals completing education programs; value-added data for individuals completing educator preparation programs; candidate academic measures; field and clinical experiences; the results of an Ohio Board of Regents pre-service teacher survey, national accreditation, and the teacher residency program. 

Defiance College’s Educator Preparation Performance Report shows the strength of the college’s teacher education program in the areas where data was available.  In most areas, Defiance College's Teacher Education Program completers exceeded or were close to the state average scores.

On the Teacher Licensure Test scores, during the year 2010-2011, Defiance College had 26 students complete their teacher education programs and 100% of these students passed their licensure tests.  This exceeded the state average of 96%.  The report rated this area as “Effective” since the percentage of completers who passed their licensure tests was greater than 80%. 

Under Candidate Academic Measures Defiance College’s report shows that during 2012, there were 13 program completers with an average ACT score of 22.64 (state average of 23), a high school GPA of 3.6 (state average of 3.4), and a program admission GPA of 3.43 (state average of  3.43).   In terms of those entering the program in 2012, the Defiance College Teacher Education Program admitted 25 candidates with an average GPA of 3.47 (state average 3.35) and has set a requirement of a minimum 2.9 GPA to be admitted to the program.

In terms of Field and Clinical Experiences, the data reflects the Defiance College Teacher Education Program's commitment to clinical education.  The minimum number of field/clinical hours required of candidates in the teacher education program was 645 (state average of 460) with a potential of obtaining 725 hours of clinical experience (depending on the licensure program).  In addition, Defiance College’s Teacher Education Program requires candidates to complete a 15-week internship and  four weeks of full-time teaching (the state requires a 12-week internship with four weeks of full-time teaching).  During 2012, 80% (10 out of 13) of the candidates enrolled in the Defiance College Teacher Education Program successfully completed their internship.

Of candidates graduating in 2012, 100% successfully completed the first year of the Ohio Department of Education's Resident Educator program.  This program is a robust four-year teacher development system designed to improve teacher retention and increase student learning.  The first year of the system was school year 2011-2012, and the report shows that Defiance College had 20 graduates employed as teachers during this school year and all completed their first year of residency.

Professor Joshua Francis, Chair of the Education Division at Defiance College, said, "I am pleased that there is a source of data for our local community to see what an excellent job the faculty at Defiance College do in training high quality teachers.  We use this data, as well as many other sources of data, to consistently monitor and adjust our program to ensure we are providing Ohio's students with the best possible teachers.  I believe that this report, as well as those that will be released in the future, will demonstrate that fact."

Mike Struble, superintendent of Defiance City Schools, said, “We are pleased to be able to make contributions to Defiance College’s Teacher Education Program through our partnership. Not only does this replenish Defiance College, but it replenishes our teachers as well.”

Struble explained that the Defiance City Schools’ partnership with Defiance College offers a unique Early Clinical Experience program for students who are exploring education as a career.  “Our schools benefit from the extra help, and the college benefits by having students gain practical experience in the profession that aligns with their course content. This provides students real-life connections to reinforce what they are learning in the college classroom,” he said.

The Defiance College Teacher Education program is fully accredited by the National Council or the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).  In addition, Defiance College has several programs that have received national recognition by their affiliated professional associations: Early Childhood, Middle Childhood, Integrated Mathematics, Integrated Language Arts, Integrated Social Studies and Health and Physical Education.  The programs not listed have received approval by the Ohio Board of Regents.

At Defiance College, undergraduate students can receive licensure as Early Childhood Educators (grades Pre-K through 3), Middle Childhood (grades 4 through 9) in Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, or Reading and Language Arts, Adolescent to Young Adult (grades 7-12) in Integrated Mathematics, Life Science, Life Science and Chemistry, Integrated Social Studies, or Integrated Language Arts, or Multi-Age (grades K-12) in Visual Arts or Health and Physical Education.  In addition, Defiance College offers graduate level licensure in the Adolescent to Young Adult fields listed, Multi-Age Visual Arts as well as Intervention Specialist.

Questions about this report or the Defiance College Teacher Education Program can be directed to Mr. Ian MacGregor (imacgregor@defiance.edu, 419.783.2324), Director of Teacher Education, or Professor Joshua Francis (jfrancis@defiance.edu, 419.783.2571), Chair of the Education Division.

Defiance College, chartered in 1850, is an independent, liberal arts institution in Northwest Ohio offering more than 40 undergraduate programs of study as well as graduate programs in education and business. Defiance College has received national recognition for its educational experience of service and engagement. The college website is www.defiance.edu.