More than ever before, our nation needs teachers who are not only motivated to teach but who are also properly educated, trained, and prepared for the many challenges that are facing our nation's K-12 public schools. The education departments and schools at our colleges and universities cannot continue to do business as usual--they need to adjust…

Employing data from a stratified random survey of newly certified teachers in Texas, we compare the mathematical content preparation of traditional teacher program graduates with graduates of alternative programs. We find that graduates of traditional programs have statistically significantly higher content preparation even when taking precollege…

This investigation examined the Praxis I perceptions of Black undergraduate Education majors seeking admission into the Teacher Education Program at a historically Black university. Participants were 52 students conveniently selected from an Introduction to Teacher Education course where preparation for the Praxis I is emphasized. Academic…

Since 2006, the National Education Association (NEA) and Educational Testing Service (ETS) have been working collaboratively to support teacher candidates in preparing for "The Praxis Series"[TM] of teacher licensure assessments, currently used in 41 states and territories. Their focus has been particularly targeted to assisting minority…

Calls for evidence-based reform of teacher preparation programs (TPPs) suggest the question: Do the current indicators of progress and performance used by TPPs predict effectiveness of their graduates when they become teachers? In this study, the indicators of progress and performance used by one program are examined for their ability to predict…

This study determined the effects that organization of a science curriculum would have on students' ability to apply the concepts comprising that curriculum. A test was designed by the investigator to measure behaviors of concept application. An experimental group consisted of students in a professional science education course while the control…

Each year, Austin Independent School District Department of Research and Evaluation (DRE) staff develop a plan of work to describe the scope of work for the coming year. The plans that make up this document identify programs to be evaluated and services to be provided by DRE staff and provide the blueprints for evaluation that staff will follow…

THE CRITICAL THINKING ABILITY AND UNDERSTANDING OF SCIENCE POSSESSED BY STUDENTS COMPLETING PLANNED CURRICULA IN SCIENCE EDUCATION WERE INVESTIGATED. THE EFFECTS OF SCIENCE CURRICULA UPON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THESE ABILITIES AND UNDERSTANDINGS WERE EXAMINED BY COMPARING MEAN TEST SCORES OF SCIENCE TEACHER-CANDIDATES TO THOSE OF (1) FRESHMEN IN…

Outlining educational problems, the author believes that the development of leadership is needed. He presents steps for preservice and inservice teacher education aimed at leadership development. (MD)

A study of 84 North Carolina agricultural education graduates found that performance on the communication skills and general knowledge portions of the National Teacher Examinations (NTE) and in an educational psychology course are good predictors of success on the professional knowledge portion of the NTE. (SK)

School-bashers bemoaning declining SAT scores since 1967 do not consider the greater numbers of students now taking these tests. Some parents believe children are overtested. Teachers generally are well prepared, and administration is not top-heavy. Business is faster, but not necessarily more efficient than education. (MLH)

The links between the characteristics of teacher education institutions, their programs, and teacher effectiveness as measured by scores on teacher licensure examinations were studied for the Southeast United States. Four sources of data were used: (1) data on 39,140 prospective teachers who took the Praxis II examinations for teacher licensure;…

For educational technology integration in content disciplines to succeed, teachers and teacher educators need clear standards delineating why, how, where, and how much educational technology they should include in their teaching. This paper examines the visions offered by current science, mathematics, and educational technology standards for…

A joint research project between an office of institutional research and the education department at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) is described. The study focuses on factors that might affect the scores of NCCU students on the National Teacher's Examination (NTE). The project enabled the education department to begin counseling NCCU…

The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and undergraduate grade point average were examined as possible predictors of scores on the National Teacher Examination (NTE). The study population consisted of 166 education major graduates from North Carolina Central University (NCCU), a predominantly black institution, over a two-year period. The data on SAT…