RIDE releases first set of annual educator reports

STATE EDUCATION COMMISSIONER DEBORAH GIST SAID the reports will help the department support the quality of its educator-preparation programs and improve the process of program approval. / PBN FILE PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY
STATE EDUCATION COMMISSIONER DEBORAH GIST SAID the reports will help the department support the quality of its educator-preparation programs and improve the process of program approval. / PBN FILE PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

PROVIDENCE – Data in the statewide report on Rhode Island educator-preparation programs released Thursday show nearly 100 percent of the 2,242 educators who were reviewed passed all tests required for certification.
That’s just one of the findings in the R.I. Department of Education’s first set of annual reports.
Called the Rhode Island Educator Preparation Indices, these reports provide information on trends, employment, retention and effectiveness of newly prepared teachers, school leaders and other certified educators from nine of the educator-preparation programs approved by RIDE.
The educator-preparation programs include: Rhode Island College, the University of Rhode Island, Brown University, Providence College, the Rhode Island School of Design, Roger Williams University and Salve Regina University. Also included are the Principal Residency Network and Teach for America.
Each of the nine programs has its own report, along with the one for the state as a whole. They provide data on individuals completing preparation programs in each of the past three school years, starting with 2011-12.
RIDE adopted new standards for the approval of educator-preparation programs a year ago. These standards raise admissions requirements, strengthen partnerships between the preparation programs and Rhode Island schools, and require evidence that program graduates succeed in the classroom, said Eva-Marie Mancuso, chairwoman of the Board of Education.
“The reports we have released today are a way for us to monitor the progress of our educator-preparation programs and of their recent graduates and program completers, with the goal of improving public education in Rhode Island,” Mancuso said.
The release of these reports marks the first time that RIDE has been able to link new educators in Rhode Island with the programs that prepared them for certification, said Mancuso.
“I am proud that, working with our approved educator-preparation programs, we have been able to prepare these reports and to provide valuable information to the public,” Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist said in a statement. “We believe that these reports will help us support the quality of our educator-preparation programs and improve the process of program approval.”
The data also show that, once working in Rhode Island public schools, newly certified educators perform well. During the previous school year (2013-14), 41 percent of those completing programs and employed in Rhode Island public schools were rated highly effective and 56 percent received ratings of effective, RIDE said.
RIDE plans to hold meetings with educators over the next several months to gather feedback on the reports, and will leave open the online survey on the RIDE website to gather more information toward improving future reports.
The reports can be found at http://www3.ride.ri.gov/RIEdPrepIndex/Default.aspx.
A link to the survey on these reports is HERE.

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