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Quality Assurance System

The University of Arkansas - Fort Smith (UAFS) School of Education assessment system, based on the School's conceptual framework, represents an ongoing process that uses authentic, comprehensive, and integrated assessment measures to evaluate the achievement of the School's mission and goals. This system was created through the collaborative efforts of School of Education faculty and personnel.

In developing the assessment system, university faculty and staff and the pre-K-12 community integrated ideas from their respective knowledge and experience backgrounds. 
 
The interdependent components of the system described in this document include:
The School of Education assessment system provides data for use in decision making to:

The School of Education assessment system is designed to monitor candidates as they progress through their approved programs. Monitoring is achieved through ongoing assessment of the content knowledge, pedagogical and other professional knowledge and skills, and core dispositions of the candidates throughout their enrollment at UAFS. Both qualitative and quantitative data related to candidate and graduate performance are utilized in making needed changes in all aspects of the teacher preparation program.

All unit assessments show face validity through consistent alignments with CAEP, TESS, and ISTE standards. The Lawshe method for content validity will be used to assess all rubrics currently being utilized in the School of Education after appraising subject expert agreement of each criterion as being essential/nonessential to the chosen assessment. As data resulting from the assessments are all housed in LiveText, analytics are run to determine the statistics from each electronically scored rubric. Inter-rater reliability is also found within the LiveText reporting tools.

Policy & Procedures

The purpose of the following policies and procedures is to establish a system for the review, analysis, evaluation, and use of assessment data to help inform decisions about the UAFS SOE teacher education programs and overall unit improvement.

UAFS School of Education Assessment Student/Faculty/Mentor Assignments are sent out each semester to ensure all faculty members are aware of unit assessments in each course.

The data resulting from each semester is compiled according to the various gates. The following listing indicates the responsibilities of staff/faculty members in gathering the data.

Learn More

  • external evaluations
  • UAFS School of Education exit interview
  • Graduate and employee surveys
  • Mean cumulative GPA for entry, exit, and area of specialization
  • Novice Teacher Survey results
  • Graduates' impact on student learning data (employer survey)
  • Impact on student learning (graduate survey)
  • Impact on student learning (employer survey three years after graduation)

The assessment coordinator will create a semester report and present it to the Education Coordinators' Council (EEC) and the School of Education faculty. The report will be reported by cohort (fall, spring). The assessment coordinator will meet with the coordinators and faculty of each program area (elementary, middle level, and secondary) to review the data from the previous semester to identify strengths and weaknesses. The assessment coordinator will document the strengths and weaknesses of the program in addition to the plans for improvement. The assessment coordinator will present a summary of each program's identified strengths, weaknesses, and goals for improvement to the ECC, School of Education, and Teacher Education Council each fall.

The assessment coordinator will create an annual assessment report. A summary of the assessment report and all related data will be posted on the School of Education website. The annual assessment report will be presented to the TEC each fall (previous year cohort).

The assessment system is reviewed each spring by ECC, School of Education, and Teacher Education Council. Any changes will be noted by the assessment coordinator, and the assessment manual will be updated to reflect the changes. The assessment manual will be presented to the TEC each fall.

  • Structured team interview for admission to Educator Preparation Program (EPP)
  • Self-evaluation of dispositions
  • Candidate's reflection upon lesson planning
  • Diversity case study performance
  • Intended Candidate Outcomes (ICOs) by clinical practice supervisors and university supervisors
  • Candidate dispositions combined from selected courses
  • edTPA Assignments for Practicum I, Practicum II, and internship (local evaluations)
  • edTPA Tasks 1-3: Percentage of students scoring basic, proficient, and distinguished (local evaluations)
  • Internship placement interview results
  • Evaluation of the internship experience (university supervisor evaluation by intern)
  • Student advising questionnaire completed after internship
  • Gates 4, 5, 6 - Danielson FFT Formative Observation results (Practicum II)
  • Danielson FFT Formative Observation results (internship)
  • Danielson FFT Summative Observation results (internship)
  • Lesson Plan Rubric in assigned courses

  • Cumulative GPA upon admission to EPP
  • Praxis Core mean scores for those admitted to the EPP
  • Admission interview process
  • Admission to the program
  • Background check review
  • Child Maltreatment review

  • Graduate and employer surveys (assessment coordinator compiles data)
  • Mean Praxis II Content Knowledge Exam results
  • Mean Praxis II Pedagogy Exam results
  • Survey to Clinical Supervisor/Mentor Teacher and University Supervisor (Assessment Coordinator compiles data)
  • Graduates' impact on student learning data (Employer Survey) (Assessment Coordinator compiles data)
  • Impact on student learning (Graduate survey) (Assessment Coordinator compiles data)
  • Impact on student learning (Employer survey 3-years after graduation)(Assessment Coordinator compiles data)

Full Quality Assurance System Report