Emergency Review of Certification Programs Procedure
Approved May 20, 2002/Amended September 22, 2003
Pursuant to KRS 161.028(1), the Education Professional Standards Board (“the Board”) has the authority to discontinue approval of educator preparation programs whose graduates do not perform according to criteria set by the Board. If the criteria set forth below is met, the following two-phase procedure will be used to conduct an emergency review of a program to determine is the deficiencies can be corrected or if the Board should take action to discontinue its approval.
Criteria:
A certification program[1] is subject to emergency review if any one or more PRAXIS (or state[2]) assessments required for that respective certification evidence a pass rate below 80 percent, effective with the 2003-04 Title II Report[3]. (The current 70 percent pass rate will be used for the 2002-03 Title II Report). For cells of less than 10 persons, an aggregate of program completer data from the past three years may be used to determine the need for an emergency review.
Procedure:
Phase One: The Executive Director is authorized by the Board to notify an institution that one or more of its certification programs is/are subject to emergency review. Within 30 working days of this notification, the institution submits to the Executive Director a written narrative, which may, at the Executive Director’s discretion address one or more of the following questions specific to the program(s) under review:
a) Why is (are) the PRAXIS (or state) pass rate(s) so low? (NCATE Standard 1[4])
b) What commonalities exist among students in this program who have failed the PRAXIS (or state) assessments? (NCATE Standard 1)
c) What is being done to provide remedial help for students who fail the assessments? (NCATE Standard 1)
d) How are students advised regarding their entrance into and successful completion of the certification program(s), including their need to pass the PRAXIS (or state) assessment(s)? (NCATE Standard 1)
e) How is course content aligned with the PRAXIS (or state) assessments and the Kentucky Board of Education’s Core Curriculum? (NCATE Standard 1)
f) How are students prepared to take the PRAXIS (or state) assessments? (NCATE Standards 1 & 2)
g) What are the entrance requirements for the certification program(s)? (NCATE Standards 1 & 2)
h) How many students have been admitted to the certification program(s) for each of the last five years, and how many have successfully completed the program(s) for the same time period? (NCATE Standards 1 & 2)
i) What have been the PRAXIS (or state) scores for program completers for the last five years, if available? (NCATE Standards 1 & 2)
j) What field experiences are provided in the program(s)? (NCATE Standard 3)
k) What faculty (e.g., number, qualifications, full-time/part-time) are assigned to the program(s), and what professional development is provided for them? (NCATE Standard 5)
l) What financial resources support the program(s)? (NCATE Standard 6)
m) What will be done to improve the PRAXIS (or state) assessment pass rate(s) so that at least 80 percent (70 percent for the 2002-03 Title II Report) of program completers are successful, and what will be the timeframe within which this will be accomplished? (NCATE Standard 1)
n) What follow-up, if any, has been done with graduates of the program(s)? (NCATE Standard 1)
o) What is/are the subsequent PRAXIS pass rate(s)?
p) Any other relevant questions as determined by the Executive Director.
The Executive Director reviews the institution’s submission and (1) accepts the institution’s documentation and plan for improvement, (2) requests a modification in the documentation and/or plan for improvement, or (3) assigns the institution to Phase Two. The Executive Director then makes a report to the Board.
Phase Two:
The Executive Director is authorized by the Board to send a team composed of Board of Examiner members and EPSB staff to do an emergency review of the certification program(s) pursuant to 16 KAR 5:010. The team makes recommendations to the Board regarding technical assistance needed in the areas addressed in Phase One, and the institution may respond to the recommendations if it so chooses. The Board reviews the recommendations, modifying them if necessary, and forwards the recommendations to the institution for implementation as the institution deems appropriate. The Board also informs the institution of the timeframe within which the certification program’s(s’) PRAXIS (or state) assessment pass rate(s) will be expected to reach at least the 80 percent level. Subsequently, staff reports to the Board regarding the institution’s progress.
[1] “Program” is defined as a certification area, e.g., English, math, guidance counseling. “Program” should not be confused with “unit,” which is defined as the entire education department and is reviewed during an accreditation visit.
[2] A state exam currently exists for Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education certification.
[3] Pursuant to October 2002 action of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education’s (NCATE’s) Unit Accreditation Board, effective 2003..
[4] NCATE. “Professional Standards for the Accreditation of Schools, Colleges, and Departments of Education,” 2002 Edition.
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