Accountability Measures 2025

Measure 2- Satisfaction of Employers and Stakeholders Involvement

To demonstrate employers’ satisfaction with completers, the EPP used two measures: The Principal’s Teachers’ Evaluation Rubric and the Employer Satisfaction with Completer Questionnaire. The EPP used data from academic years 2021-2022, 2022-2023, and 2023-2024. Data from 2023-2024 are scarce, since Spring 2024 completers are on their first semester as novice teachers and the report data compilation work coincided with their integration into the labor force. The Principal’s Teachers’ Evaluation Rubric is an instrument that the EPP piloted with the 2020-2021 completers. The instrument was developed to measure teachers’ competencies from a direct supervisor. The rubric is divided into the eight competencies that are expected for effective teachers: Communication and Interpersonal Skills; Organization and Planning; Classroom Management; Facilitation and number of; Assessment and Coaching; Collaboration and Teamwork; Caring and Inclusiveness; and Flexibility and Adaptability. It uses a three-point scale High Competency (3), Distinguished Proficient (2), and Emergent (1).

This instrument was validated by ten judges. Validation results were 0.0884 medium validity, using Validity Index of Aiken and Cronbach’s Alpha of -.076. For academic year 2021-2022, completers’ lower scores were related to Organizing and Planning, Classroom Management, and Assessment and Coaching. Completers strengths were demonstrated at Communication and Interpersonal Skill, Collaboration and Teamwork, Caring and Inclusiveness, and Flexibility and Adaptability. The EPP worked on strengthening planning in all methodology and field experiences courses. For academic year 2022-2023, completers lower scores were on the areas of Classroom Management and Assessment and Coaching, and the areas of strength were Communication and Interpersonal Skills, Collaboration and Teamwork, Caring and Inclusiveness, and Flexibility and Adaptability. Although the area of Organization and Planning improved with the changes proposed by the EPP, completers were still showing emergent skills in the areas of Assessment and Coaching, and Classroom Management. The EPP recognized that classroom management skills are acquired with experience and completers were all novice teachers. As for assessment and coaching, the EPP has no explanation since candidates are prepared to assess diverse students in diverse school settings. The EPP attributed this finding to administrative and curricular requirements in school systems that novice teachers are learning to manage. For 2023-2024, the sample was smaller but showed that the Special Education program completer had lower scores in the areas of Organizing and Planning and Classroom Management while the others performed in the Distinguished Proficient in all areas. The Special Education completer scores could be the result of all the bureaucratic processes assigned to these specialists to comply with the Puerto Rican Department of Education Federal Funds for the Special Education program. In addition, although special education candidates are trained in classroom management, they are often placed in classrooms with students that have multiple disabilities that a novice teacher could find challenging. There is no other explanation since the EPP has been using annual assessments information to revise and strengthen the program. Tables 4.2.1 through 4.2.3 shows Principal’s Teachers’ Evaluation Rubric results for completers for academic years 2021-2022; 2022-2023; and 2023-2024 disaggregated by area of competency.

The EPP also used the Employer Satisfaction with Completer Questionnaire to assess employer satisfaction. For the 2021-2022 cycle, the EPP used the Employers’ Satisfaction with Completer Survey to assess completers’ mastery of teaching and professional competencies as perceived by the employer. The Employers’ Satisfaction with Completer Survey uses a five-point Likert Scale and has 10 questions that are based on Interstate Teachers Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC) standards for effective teachers. The Likert scale goes from Strongly Agree (5); Somewhat Agree (4); Somewhat Disagree (3); Strongly Disagree (2); No Response (1). Mean scores were 4.7 out of 5. The lower scores (mean 4.2) were on questions #2 and #4 related to providing learning opportunities to support children’s intellectual, social, and personal development, and in using a variety of instructional strategies to encourage critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills. Findings suggested that completers were still adapting to a group of children that had been secluded at home for almost two years prior to their first year of teaching. In fact, schools were trying to figure out what were the best strategies to positively impact P-12 students. Despite all the changes, employers were satisfied with the completers’ achievements. Table 4.2.4 shows Employers’ Satisfaction with Completers’ disaggregated scores. For the 2022-2023 cycle, employers rated 78% of completers as doing an exceptional job (Totally Agree). Only 21% of completers received Somewhat Agree in questions related to InTASC Standards 2, 3, 4 and 8. These standards are related to the use of assessment techniques, instructional strategies, attention to diverse learners, and planning to address development stages. Findings are consistent with the ones in other completers instruments. Nevertheless, scores are like what the EPP reported for the 2021-2022 cycle (Table 4.2.5), but no trends can be established due to differences in areas that need improvement. Employers seem to be very satisfied with completers as novice teachers. For the 2023-2024 cycle (Table 4.2.6), 80% of completers were rated as doing extraordinary work and 20% received a somewhat agree score that exemplifies the learning curve of a novice teacher. Although the EPP has been working on areas of improvement yearly as evidenced in the EPP CAEP Annual Report, for January 2025 the EPP will be implementing a curricular revision that strengthens teacher knowledge, competencies, skills, and dispositions.

Table 4.2.6 Employers Satisfaction with Completers Disaggregated by Item, Completer and Scale for Academic Year 2023-2024