General Teacher Preparation Policy
GPA/Testing Requirement: Rhode Island requires a cohort average GPA of 3.0 at the program level. Individual candidates must obtain a GPA of 2.75 for admission.
Rhode Island requires that approved undergraduate teacher preparation programs ensure that their cohort mean score on nationally normed tests such as the ACT, SAT, or GRE is in the top 50th percentile in 2016. By 2020 the mean cohort score on these nationally normed tests must be in the top 33rd percentile.
Individual candidates must meet the current year's threshold on nationally normed tests. Students not meeting the current year's threshold must achieve at least the previous year's threshold and also meet Rhode Island's score requirements on the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators test.
Additional Requirements: Rhode Island allows programs, in rare instances and with state approval, to offer conditional acceptance to candidates not meeting these requirements. Approval is predicated on the requirement that these candidates are provided appropriate support through academic support programs and monitoring.
Diversity Programs: Rhode Island is not implementing any programs designed to increase the diversity of its teacher candidates.
Require that teacher preparation programs screen candidates more rigorously for academic proficiency prior to admission.
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. Rhode should require candidates to pass a nationally normed test of academic proficiency that assesses reading, mathematics, and writing and that is normed to the general college-going population prior to program admission. The state should not allow candidates to meet this testing requirement using scores from the Praxis Core, which is normed only to the prospective teacher population. 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.
Rhode Island 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, Rhode Island
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.
Rhode Island recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis; however, this analysis was updated subsequent to the state's review.
Rhode Island added that while is accurate to say that the state does not have any specific programming coming from the state education agency to increase diversity, there are a couple of diversity initiatives worth mentioning. Specifically, Rhode Island commented that it is instituting a teaching pathway endorsement for high school students where local education agencies can design programs that expose high school students to teaching, and that this is a strategy for increasing overall interest and diversity in teaching. Rhode Island also added that it is establishing diversity goals as part of its ESSA work.
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]