Teacher Preparation Program Accountability:
Indiana

Analysis of Indiana's policies

Indiana's approval process for its traditional and alternate route teacher preparation programs is making progress when it comes to holding programs accountable for the quality of the teachers they produce.

Recent legislation now requires preparation program standards to include "benchmarks" for performance that include at least test score data for each teacher preparation entity on content and pedagogy tests, and the maximum number of times each program completer takes a licensing test before receiving a passing score. This information must be posted on the state's website. 

The following information must now also be reported and posted: the attrition, retention and completion rates of candidates, and the percentage of graduates who obtain full-time and part-time teaching positions and the names of their employers. 

By July 30, 2016, the state will establish a rating system for teacher preparation programs based on the performance of the programs as demonstrated by the data collected for the three most recent years. 

Indiana, however, does not apply any transparent, measurable criteria for conferring program approval. The state currently collects programs' annual summary licensure test pass rates (80 percent of program completers must pass their licensure exams). However, the 80 percent pass-rate standard, while common among many states, sets the bar quite low and is not a meaningful measure of program performance. 

In Indiana, there is some overlap of accreditation and state approval. Review teams are comprised solely of NCATE/CAEP members, and the state conducts its own program reviews. 

Citation

SB 409 (2013) Indiana Administrative Code 515 IAC 3-1-1, -3 Title II State Reports https://title2.ed.gov www.ncate.org

Recommendations for Indiana

Collect data that connect student achievement gains to teacher preparation programs. 

As one way to measure whether programs are producing effective classroom teachers, Indiana should consider the academic achievement gains of students taught by programs' graduates, averaged over the first three years of teaching. Data that are aggregated to the institution (e.g., combining elementary and secondary programs) rather than disaggregated to the specific preparation program are not useful for accountability purposes. Such aggregation can mask significant differences in performance among programs.

Gather other meaningful data that reflect program performance. 

Although measures of student growth are an important indicator of program effectiveness, they cannot be the sole measure of program quality for several reasons, including the fact that many programs may have graduates whose students do not take standardized tests. The accountability system must therefore include other objective measures that show how well programs are preparing teachers for the classroom, such as evaluation results from the first and/or second year of teaching, and satisfaction ratings by school principals and teacher supervisors of programs' student teachers, using a standardized form to permit program comparison.

Establish the minimum standard of performance for each category of data. 

Merely collecting the types of data described above is insufficient for accountability purposes. The next and perhaps more critical step is for the state to establish precise minimum standards for teacher preparation program performance for each category of data. Indiana should be mindful of setting rigorous standards for program performance, as its current requirement that 80 percent of program graduates pass the state's licensing tests is too low a bar. Programs should be held accountable for meeting rigorous standards, and there should be consequences for failing to do so, including loss of program approval.

Maintain full authority over the process for approving teacher preparation programs. 

Indiana should ensure that it is the state that considers the evidence of program performance and makes the decision about whether programs should continue to be authorized to prepare teachers. 

State response to our analysis

Indiana was helpful in providing NCTQ with facts that enhanced this analysis. The state noted that beginning teachers must demonstrate proficiency on at least eight of 10 performance standards in order to successfully complete the IMAP induction program and move on to a five-year teaching license. In addition, the department of education and state superintendent, in collaboration with deans of teacher preparation institutions and the Indiana Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, have established task forces to begin work on establishing benchmarks and high standards for teacher preparation institutions and to design an accountability system for teacher preparation programs that raises standards and promotes program improvement as required in legislation.