Assessment of undergraduates who complete coursework in Education leading to the minor or to licensure as public school teachers are comprehensive and utilize multiple instruments at multiple points. Faculty members work collaboratively to standardize program assessment systems, thus enabling the program to aggregate data more efficiently and make a more meaningful interpretation of the data.
Data are collected using a variety of methods, instruments, and data-points. Data collected on undergraduates who seek to complete the full course of study within the Program in Education include, but are not limited to:
- Written application for acceptance into the teacher preparation program
- Formal interview of undergraduates by faculty members
- Transcript
- GPA
- SAT/ACT Scores
- Written evaluations and recommendations from faculty members
- Work samples which are part of a portfolio completed by undergraduates
- Lesson plans developed by undergraduates
- Evaluations by faculty members of students’ coursework
- University supervisor internship evaluation
- Discipline specialist internship evaluation
- Cooperating/mentor teacher internship evaluation
- Written candidate self-reflections
- Products which demonstrate competency in technology
- Student work samples
- Results on standardized tests such as the national Praxis exams
- Post graduate surveys of 1st-year teachers
- Post graduate surveys completed by hiring principals
- Trinity College teacher course evaluations
In addition to the data listed above, a series of surveys have been standardized across the program and have been administered to current undergraduates as well as to graduates and their employers (if graduates are working in school systems). Surveys are also completed by directors of the teacher licensure programs, faculty members, and public school partners. Results from these surveys are used to assess program effectiveness and to inform future development of the program.
The Program in Education at Duke differs from some other academic units in Trinity College because undergraduates who wish to complete the full course of study in the Program in Education must apply to be accepted into the program. Each undergraduate meets with the Director of Undergraduate Studies and obtains approval of a course of study. Undergraduates in the Program in Education must also complete an internship (in the case of teacher licensure candidates) or a supervised field-based experience in a public school (in the case of the Minor). Faculty members have decided that data on undergraduates should be collected at different times during an undergraduate’s course of study. The time of application and the semester of internship serve as defining moments in an undergraduate’s course of study. The table below outlines the points in time that faculty members collect and examine data on students in the Program in Education. Data are both qualitative and quantitative.