General Teacher Preparation Policy
GPA/Testing Requirement: Georgia requires a cohort average GPA of 3.0, at the provider level. Individual candidates must obtain a GPA of 2.5 for admission. Programs may accept up to 10% of the admitted cohort with GPAs below 2.5 as long as the admitted cohort meets the 3.0 minimum requirement.
Georgia requires that approved teacher preparation programs accept only teacher candidates who have passed the Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators (GACE) Program Admission Assessment. Although the state sets the minimum score for this test, it is normed only to the prospective teacher population. The state also allows candidates to substitute equivalent scores on the SAT, ACT, and GRE for its basic skills testing requirement.
Diversity Programs: Georgia is not implementing any programs designed to increase the diversity of its teacher candidates.
Require that teacher preparation programs screen candidates for academic proficiency prior to admission using more rigorous criteria.
Teacher preparation programs that do not screen candidates invest considerable resources in individuals who may not be able to successfully complete the program, pass licensing tests, and ultimately succeed in the classroom. Candidates in need of additional support should complete remediation before entering the program to avoid the possibility of an unsuccessful investment of significant public resources. Georgia should require candidates to pass a test of academic proficiency that assesses reading, mathematics, and writing and that is normed to the general college-going population prior to program admission. Alternatively, the state could require a minimum grade point average of at least 3.0 for individuals or 3.2 for cohorts of accepted candidates in order to establish that prospective teachers have a strong academic history.
Support programs that encourage greater numbers of qualified individuals of color to enter and successfully complete teacher preparation programs.
Georgia should support strategies — such as scholarships, mentorships, "grow your own" and academic support programs — that aim to increase teacher diversity in a manner that does not diminish teacher licensure, certification, and entry requirements. Intentionally recruiting a diverse pool of candidates into teacher preparation programs can benefit both programs and the students that these candidates will eventually teach.
Consider requiring candidates to pass subject-matter tests as a condition of admission into teacher programs.
In addition to ensuring that programs require a measure of academic performance for admission, Georgia
may also consider requiring subject-matter testing prior to program admission, rather than at the point of program completion. Doing so would provide candidates lacking sufficient subject-matter expertise with an opportunity to remedy deficits prior to entering formal preparation.
Georgia was helpful in providing NCTQ with facts that enhanced this analysis.
Georgia also responded with a comment regarding NCTQ's recommendation that it should consider requiring subject-matter testing prior to program admission. The state clarified that in Georgia, content assessments are administered after a candidate has been prepared by their program, and must be taken before that candidate completes the program and passed prior to certification. Georgia further provided that it structures testing in this way because it views the purpose of the assessment to determine if a candidate is ready for the classroom, and because programs can use data from these assessments to inform the effectiveness of their content preparation and data from these assessments is also used in a new teacher's individualized Professional Learning Plan. The state added that is believes that requiring passage of a content test prior to admission does not maximize the potential of the assessment to the same degree that the state's current system does.
NCTQ appreciates Georgia's thorough response regarding content testing as a condition of admission to teacher preparation programs and notes that content testing as a condition for admission is not a formal component of the Program Entry goal. Therefore, Georgia's score on this goal was not impacted by the timing of it content testing requirements.
1A: Program Entry
Evidence is strong that countries whose students consistently outperform U.S. students set a much higher bar for entry to teacher preparation programs than what is typically found in the United States.[1] Far from the top third or even top tenth to which more selective countries limit candidates, most states do not even aim for the top 50 percent.[2] Previous analysis has shown that many states do not require that preparation programs evaluate candidates' academic proficiency as a condition of admission to teacher preparation at all; most others set a low bar by requiring basic skills tests that generally assess middle school-level skills[3] or by requiring a minimum GPA, but too few demand at least a 3.0.
In addition to the low skill level tested by current basic skills tests (e.g., the Praxis Core), another concern is that they are normed only to the prospective teacher population, which does not allow for comparability between prospective teachers and the entire college-bound population. Tests normed to the general college-bound population would shine a clearer light on the academic proficiency of those admitted to teacher preparation programs and allow programs to be truly selective.
While a positive start, CAEP standards are no substitute for states' own policies. CAEP's standards require that the group average performance on nationally normed ability assessments such as ACT, SAT, or GRE be in the top 50th percentile. However, CAEP allows programs the unnecessary freedom to determine whether the minimum criteria will be measured prior to admissions or at some point during the program. Clear state admission policies would send an unequivocal message to programs about the state's expectations for high admissions standards.[4]
Research is clear about the positive effects of teachers with stronger academic backgrounds on student achievement.[5] Higher teacher selectivity, as measured by factors such as SAT/ACT scores,[6] GPA prior to program admission,[7] and an institute of higher education's (IHE) general competitiveness or selectivity,[8] has a significant, positive correlation with student achievement. Some studies support higher academic admissions standards for entry into TPPs, including studies showing a relationship between student achievement and teachers' verbal ability[9] or selectivity of the teachers' college.[10] Although research supports applying greater selectivity when admitting teacher candidates, some recent work has found no correlation between teachers' scores on tests normed to the general college-bound population (e.g., SAT, ACT) or IHE selectivity and student achievement.[11]
States should support increased diversity in the teacher pipeline,[12] in addition to maintaining high admissions standards for teacher preparation programs.[13] Recent data show that 49 percent of students in the US were students of color, while only 17 percent of teachers were teachers of color.[14] Twenty-eight states had gaps between the percentage of students and educators of color that were greater than 25 percentage points.[15] A growing body of research suggests that students of color—students who often face the largest achievement gaps—benefit from having same-race teachers.[16] Exposure to same-race teachers positively benefits student achievement,[17] teachers' expectations and perceptions of students,[18] teachers' assessments and perceptions of student behavior,[19] students' rates of suspension and expulsion,[20] students' assignment to Gifted and Talented programs,[21] and students' perceptions of teachers.[22] Some research suggests that teachers of the same race as their students are more likely to reduce high-school dropout rates as well as increase student attendance and college attendance intent,[23] and improve discipline.[24] Moreover, white students report that they favor teachers of color.[25]