Accreditation

CAEP 2023 Report

CAEP 2021 Report

CAEP 2020 Report

CAEP 2019 Report

CAEP 2018 Report

As articulated in our mission, the NKU College of Education “enriches the education profession by preparing skilled and adaptable educators and leaders who effective promote the learning of all students and positively impact their schools and communities.” It is our goal to prepare educators who are effective teachers in classrooms demonstrated by their application of the knowledge, skills, and dispositions learned while in their preparation program at NKU resulting in a positive contribution to P-12 student learning growth. To evaluate the effectiveness of our program completers and their contribution to P-12 student learning growth, the NKU College of Education engaged in case study methodology (Stake, 2006). Case study methodology allowed the College and its individual programs to conduct an in-depth observation and analysis of selected program completers’ teaching effectiveness as part of our ongoing quality assurance system.

Case Study Findings

2020-2021 Completer Cohort 

During the fall of 2022, program faculty in early childhood, elementary, and middle grades education participated in case study analysis of program completers. After analysis of the video recorded lessons, faculty scored completers related to the desired knowledge, skills, and dispositions taught in the program from which they graduated. Areas of strength across program completer’s during lesson implementation were the ability to clearly communicate content and create a safe learning environment for P-12 students. Faculty also noted areas for improvement related to the use of formative assessments and facilitating multiple levels of student learning.

Program faculty also analyzed the pre- and post-assessment measures to analyze the impact the completer had on P-12 student learning growth. This included the analysis of gap groups. Faculty noted that the program completer assessment data do indicate a positive impact on P-12 student learning, including gap groups across all programs.

Employer satisfaction surveys were also conducted and analyzed by the program teams. Employer’s scored the completers in the highest two categories of “prepared” or “well prepared” related to all ten of the Kentucky Teacher Performance Standards. Additionally, employers unanimously indicated they were “highly satisfied” and that they would be “highly likely” to hire an NKU College of Education completer in the future.

Case Study Process

College of Education programs are selected to participate in a case study on a rotating basis. Each initial certification program participates in at least one case study cycle during the seven-year accreditation period. Participating programs recommend several completers from the previous year’s graduating class. From these recommendations, one completer is selected by the accreditation team, and the completer and his/her principal are asked for their consent to participate.

Case study data supplied by the program completer consists of four sources:

• Video recordings of three lessons from an instructional unit of the completer’s choice
• Pre- and post-assessment data for the instructional unit
• A satisfaction survey completed by the completer’s principal
• Other documents of the completer’s choice (e.g., lesson plan, unit plan, etc.).

Case study data are returned to the program faculty for the following analysis:

• Video recordings are scored by a minimum of two faculty for inter-rater reliability using the NKU Lesson Observation Form. The form has been validated using Lawshe content validity methodology (Lawshe, 1975). Program faculty discuss the results of the video scoring to arrive at consensus on the lesson observation scores.
• Using modified Teacher Work Sample methodology (Schalock & Myton, 1988), program faculty examine the pre- and post-assessment data for the completer’s instructional unit including gap group analysis as evidence of impact on P-12 student learning growth.
• The program faculty review the results of the College of Education Employer Satisfaction Survey submitted by the completer’s principal. The survey consists of Likert-type items designed to determine the employer’s perception of the candidate’s preparation related to the Kentucky Teacher Performance Standards and the employer’s overall satisfaction with the candidate’s preparation.  

With a structured template as a guide, the program faculty use the data sources to address questions related to the completer’s teaching effectiveness as demonstrated by their application of the knowledge, skills, and dispositions learned while in the program and the completer’s contribution to P-12 student learning growth. The program report is used by the program for program improvement and is submitted to the accreditation team and Quality Assurance Committee for analysis across programs.

References

Lawshe, C. H. (1975). A quantitative approach to content validity. Personnel Psychology, 28(4), 563-575.

Schalock, H. D. & Myton, D. (1988). A new paradigm for teacher licensure: Oregon’s demand for evidence of success in fostering learning. Journal of Teacher Education, 39(6), 8-16.

Stake, R. (2006). Multiple case study analysis. Guilford Press.

The NKU College of Education can only achieve its mission to prepare educators and leaders who will positively impact schools and communities by working collaboratively with community partners. Our engagement with community partners is a truly reciprocal relationship, and the College of Education values feedback from the employers who hire our program completers. The employer’s feedback is an integral part of our quality assurance system. To measure the satisfaction of employers, the College of Education annually surveys employers who have hired initial and advanced program completers from the previous academic year.

Employer Satisfaction Survey Findings

2020-2021 Program Completers

After conducting a thorough search for the employing schools/districts of the 2020-2021 initial and advanced program completers, the College of Education identified 52 different employers in the region who had hired initial and/or advanced completers from the 2020-2021 cohort. These employers were community partners from schools in Northern Kentucky. Of 52 employers, 21 hired advanced program completers, and 31 hired initial program completers. Several employers hired multiple completers at both levels. The combined survey response rate for both initial and advanced programs was 26.9%. 

As demonstrated in the chart below, the great majority of employers, 92.9%, stated they were either very satisfied or satisfied with the preparation of the NKU graduates. Additionally, 100% of respondents stated they would be either highly likely or likely to hire a completer from the educator preparation programs at NKU.

Employer Satisfaction Survey Process

The College of Education surveys employers who have hired initial and advanced program completers from the previous academic year. The purpose of the survey is to determine the employers’ satisfaction with the completers’ preparation for their assigned responsibilities in working with diverse P-12 students and their families.

The College of Education developed its own survey instrument. The Employer Satisfaction Survey consists of Likert-type items aligned with applicable standards (e.g., Kentucky Teacher Performance Standards, Professional Standards for Educational Leaders). Each item asks the employer to rate the preparation of recent program completers as well-prepared, prepared, somewhat prepared, or not prepared. The survey concludes with two items asking the employer to rate her/his overall satisfaction with program completers from the NKU College of Education and the likelihood she/he would hire completers in the future.

Each spring, the accreditation team compiles a list of the program completers from a selected academic year. To be included, completers must be from the previous academic year. For example, students who completed programs in 2020-2021 are included in the spring 2022 survey cycle. A thorough search is conducted to locate the employing school/district for each completer in the cohort and the name and email address of the employer. Each employer receives an email invitation with a link to participate in the online survey. After survey responses are collected, responses are aggregated and disaggregated by program and shared with the program faculty for review and analysis. Survey results are also shared with members of the Quality Assurance Committee for analysis across programs and recommendations for program improvement.     

Kentucky requires all teacher candidates to take and pass relevant PRAXIS exams before they can become fully certified as teachers. These exams are part of the Educational Testing Service (ETS) Professional Educator Program. During the past academic year, Northern Kentucky University students took a total of 1083 Praxis exams. The total pass rates vary by program; however, the overall pass rate for initial licensure was 68.4%.

The highest pass rates were on the Principles of Learning and Teaching (PLT) exams, with 100% of students taking the middle and secondary level exams passing and 96.15% of students taking the elementary exam passing. Areas for growth include the elementary social studies exam, which had a pass rate of 71.11%.

NKU teacher candidates are in high demand in the northern Kentucky region and beyond. Our graduates have great success in attaining employment within their fields of study. In fact, NKU’s College of Education consistently hears from local schools and districts that these employers seek out NKU graduates because they find our completers to be well-prepared. As shown in the first graph below, 100% of those completing an initial program are currently employed in a position that allows them to use their most recent degree, certification, or endorsement from NKU.

The second graph reveals that 42.86% of those completing advanced programs are currently employed in a position requiring their most recent degree, certification, or endorsement. While the numbers for those completing advanced programs who are presently utilizing their most recent area of study are not as high as those completing initial certification, we believe this reflects where these completers are in their career path. For example, Kentucky offers financial incentives for teachers who attain advanced degrees and additional certifications, even if these teachers are not yet ready to transition to a new position; therefore, these numbers are most certainly a reflection of the fact that some completers have not yet attempted to gain employment related to their most recent degree or certification areas. Moving forward, we will be adding a question to the surveys for the advanced completers asking them if they have attempted to be hired in a related position.