JACKSON, Tenn. — Feb. 15, 2018 — Union University’s School of Education has been rated in the highest possible category on the Tennessee State Board of Education’s report card on the effectiveness of teacher training programs for the second year in a row.
The report card, which was implemented in its current version in 2015, is designed to give accountability to educator preparation programs and supply information they can use to improve their effectiveness. Union was rated on its undergraduate, graduate and Memphis Teacher Residency programs and received an overall performance score of four, the highest possible.
Dottie Myatt, assistant dean for teacher education and accreditation at Union, said the rating is a clear reflection of the quality of the faculty at Union.
“We have a very strong teacher preparation team that works diligently to prepare teachers for today’s classrooms, whether it’s an urban classroom or a rural classroom or anything between those,” Myatt said.
Union also received a score of four in the provider impact category, which specifically assesses the effectiveness of educators in Tennessee public schools who were trained at Union. The category includes teacher observation scores as well as student growth assessments and evaluates graduates who completed the programs between 2013 and 2015.
The university showed improvement over last year in its percentage of racially diverse completers and percentage of completers with endorsements in high-demand areas such as English as a second language, special education and secondary math and science.