Accountability Measures 2023

The EPP has no access to state or private systems student growth data. Student growth data is available through general statistics that do not demonstrate completers’ contributions to P-12 learning and development. The EPP is collecting data from Completers Visit to the Classroom Assessment Instrument, Focus Groups on Teaching Effectiveness and P-12 Impact, the Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Short Scale Results, and Completers Satisfaction Survey. The EPP is using verifiable information through multiple measures to demonstrate that completers have a positive impact on P-12 students learning growth.

The EPP did not have access to the public system due to preventive post pandemic measures that regulated access into schools. The preventive measures were regulated by law. All data was gathered in UIA laboratory school where many completers are hired. Even though this was an unusual year for Puerto Rico and the world, the EPP managed to comply with all the annual report measures.

Completer Visit to The Classroom Assessment

An EPP faculty visited eight completers at their workplace and observed a teaching period using the Completer Visit to the Classroom Assessment. The instrument consists of 21 items aligned to InTASC Standards for Effective Teaching. The instrument use a Likert Scale divided in four stages:
Distinguished (4); Proficient (3); Emerging (2); Underdeveloped (1). In addition, the instrument has three in-between stages: Partial Success at rating Distinguished (3.5); partial Success at rating Proficient (2.5); and Partial Success at rating Emerging (1.5). Table 1.1 shows completers scores on the Visit to the Classroom Assessment.

Mean scores are representative that all observed completers are between the Distinguished and Partial Success at rating Distinguished scores. These completers are teaching students that had experienced their first years of school in secluded environments. The lower scores (3.75) corresponded to InTASC standard #3: Learning Environment. Most of what completers reported in the focus group interview is directly related to the difficulties that students experiment with working collaboratively. In this matter, engaging students to work with each other has been one big challenge for completers. The highest scores were on InTASC standards 1, 2, 6, 9 and 10 (3.93). These scores are representative that completers are aware of students’ development and learning needs, that are using assessment to satisfy those needs, and that are competent and ethical leaders in their field.

Completers Focus Groups
The EPP programmed a Focus Groups to interview the same eight completers that were observed using the Completer Visit to the Classroom Assessment. The interview consisted of eleven open-ended questions and was conducted by a faculty member. Completers answers were coded and categorized, and several themes emerged. Table 1.3 shows the central themes derived from the interview.

Completers answers prompted a curricular revision. The EPP is working a merger of the Field Experiences courses to add more hours in the field. In addition, the Clinical Experience I course will have more opportunities to engage candidates in teaching and assessing P-12 students. Last year, the focus group results were similar and the EPP has been exploring more in-service experiences to strengthen completers skills.

Teachers’ Sense of Self-Efficacy

The Teachers’ Sense of Self-Efficacy Short Scale assesses teachers’ capability concerning instructional strategies, student engagement, and classroom management. The instrument uses 9 points rating scales: None (1) and (2), Very Little (3) and (4), Some degree (5) and (6), Quite a Bit (7) and (8), and A Great Deal (9). The EPP used it to support the Completers Case Study. For the 2021-2022 cycle, the scale was administered to seven completers. The scale distributes questions according to Efficacy in Student Engagement items 2, 4, 7, and 11; Efficacy in Instructional Strategies items 5, 9, 10, and 12; and Efficacy in Classroom Management items 1, 3, 6, and 8. Tables 1.4, 1.5 and 1.6 show the distribution of items and disaggregated scores. Table 1.7 shows The Teachers’ Sense of Self-Efficacy Short Scale aggregated mean scores and standard deviations.

Data from the Teachers’ Sense of Self-Efficacy Short Scale Instrument is consistent with the findings in the Completers Visit to the Classroom Assessment and the Completers Focus Group. Completers reported challenges with students’ engagement. Findings could be explained as repercussions of the pandemic and previous natural disasters that forced school’s lockdown. These events influenced students’ social and emotional development and resulted in less interactions and collaborative work.

Completers’ Satisfaction Survey

The Completer Satisfaction Survey was administered to seven (26.9%) out of twenty-six completers. The seven completers participated in the other measures that the EPP used to evidence Completers Effectiveness. The completer satisfaction instrument consists of 17 questions with a four-point Likert Scale: Well-Prepared (1); Sufficiently Prepared (2); Not Sufficiently Prepared (3); Not Prepared at All (1). Table 1.8 show Completers’ Satisfaction Survey Scores Disaggregated by Specialization.

Table 1.8 Completers’ Satisfaction Survey

Results suggested that completers feeel well-prepared to perform their teachers’ duties and to impact P-12 students positively. In conclusion, the EPP used multiples measures to demonstrate that 2021-2022 completers contributed effectively to P-12 student growth learning and applied the professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions required for a highly competitive teacher.

The EPP has been working on its Completers Case Study and all the information provided in the 2021-2022 Measures are from the same group of completers. The EPP wanted to have multiple sources of information from the same group of individuals to triangulate. In this matter, the EPP received eight Employers’ Satisfaction with Completer Questionnaires. Employers used the Employers’ Satisfaction with Completer instrument. The instrument includes general information questions about the organization and 10 questions that are based on Interstate Teachers Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC) standards for effective teachers. It has a five-criteria Likert Scale: Strongly Agree, Somewhat Agree, Somewhat Disagree, Strongly Disagree, and No Response. Table 2.0 shows Employers Satisfaction with Completers disaggregated scores by item scores for the 2021-2022 academic cycle.

The most significant finding was that six out of 10 questions regarding Employer Satisfaction with Completers were rated 100% in the Strongly Agree category. Only 3 out of ten completers (30%) received Somewhat Agree in questions related to InTASC Standards 5, 6, 9 and10. These scores exceeded EPP expectations for novice teachers demonstrating that they are well prepared to impact P-12 students’ growth and learning.

On 2022, the EPP placed a faculty member as the laboratory school’s liaison for academic purposes. This placement served to strengthen relationships with the Field and Clinical Experiences Coordinator and schoolteachers and directors. The EPP scheduled a ZOOM meeting with cooperative teachers and university supervisors to discuss the evaluation instruments and to address issues related to confusing items. The EPP scheduled a two-day retreat with stakeholders for June 2023. In addition, the Cooperative Teacher Certification have been programmed and open for EPP stakeholders starting April 2023.