IndianaUniversityPurdueUniversityFort Wayne

School of Education Assessment Report

YEAR 2004

Includes information on the following programs:

From Department of Educational Studies: Early Childhood Education (A.S.), Elementary Education & Secondary Education (B.S. & M.S.)

From Department of Professional Studies: Counseling (M.S.), Educational Leadership (M.S.)

School* Assessment ReportTemplate

Criterion / Y / N / Comments/recommendations
All departments/programs have assessment plans / Y / The SOE completed an NCATE Re-Accreditation Process in the spring of 2003 and the visitation team reviewed all assessment processes. The NCATE review team recognized the assessment plan used in all programs in the SOE. They critiqued the assessment plan of the Advanced (M.S.) Elementary and Secondary Education programs, which was based on the old North Central assessment system, which was not “performance-based.” They also critiqued some aspects of the Educational Leadership assessment plan, and critiqued the Counseling program for not having collected data in the Data Management System. Because of these “Areas for Improvement” cited, we will have a Focused NCATE Visit in November 2005 on the Unit Assessment Systems for the Advanced (M.S.) Programs.
During 2004 we have been revising our Advanced programs and building or rebuilding the Unit Assessment System (UAS) for each. The Elementary and Secondary Education programs underwent a Program Review in the 2003-2004 academic year; the UAS for those programs was completed as a part of that Review, which continued into the summer of 2004. The new UAS for the Advanced Elementary and Secondary programs was implemented in the Fall of 2004 and continues. The other two Advanced (M.S.) Programs, Counseling and Educational Leadership, have been in the process of redefining their respective UASs. The Educational Leadership program has developed a cohort program option, and has expanded its UAS to fit that option, too.
The UAS for the Initial (B.S.) programs continues to operate as we continually fine-tune it. The Portfolio Guidelines were revised in Summer 2004 to further clarify expectations to students and faculty. Portfolio Day continues to function well; Educational Leadership is planning its own Portfolio Day.
Assessment measures are linked to program goals / Y / Early Childhood grogram (A.S.)goals and all program courses are linked to INTASC Standards, National Early Childhood Program Standards, the SOE Conceptual Framework, and the SOE Mission Statement. Undergraduate Elementary and Secondary program goals and all program courses are linked to the INTASC Standards, the SOE Conceptual Framework, the SOE Mission Statement, and, when applicable, the Indiana Professional Standards Boards standards for specific content areas. Educational Leadership program goals are linked to the NBPTS Standards, professional standards for School Administrators, the SOE Conceptual Framework, and the SOE Mission Statement. Counseling program goals are linked to the NBPTS Standards, professional standards for Marriage and Family Therapy or School Counseling, the SOE Conceptual Framework, and the SOE Mission Statement. The newly revised Advanced (M.S.) Elementary and Secondary Education programs are aligned with itsVision Statement, the SOE Conceptual Framework, the SOE Mission Statement, as well as the Five Core Propositions of the National Board Standards for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), which replace the INTASC standards, as per directions from NCATE.
Assessment Plan Standards in Paragraph III,B,1 of SD 98-22 have been followed. / Y
All departments/programs submitted reports / Y / Both Department Chairs serve on the Unit Assessment System Committee, chaired by the Associate Dean. On a bi-weekly basis the Committee reviews, updates, analyzes, and oversees implementation of the UAS for all programs throughout the academic year and during the summer. A detailed report of all assessment work in the SOE in 2004 is available in the SOE’s 2004 Report to NCATE, submitted March 3, 2005. (Available on request.)
Departments/programs use assessment for program improvement / Y / The SOE’s Unit Assessment System, approved by the Indiana Professional Standards Board, requires that the SOE present data to the faculty for program improvement when applicable. The UAS Committee analyzes data from the Data Management System and reports to the faculty. It was NCATE’s criticism of the UAS for our Advanced Programs that jump-started the Program Review of the Advanced Elementary and Secondary Education programs and led to the redesign and further implementation of the UAS for all Advanced programs.
Departments/programs base recommendations on data / Y / The SOE Data Manager, the Associate Dean, and the rest of the UAS Committee collect and prepare reports based on this data. This information is then distributed by Department Chairs for additional discussions within their departments.

Prior year recommendations were implemented

/ Y / Revisions to all programs have been systematic and ongoing for a number of years based on required changes by the State of Indiana, the Indiana Professional Standards Board, and NCATE, and by internal feedback received from assessment information.
A Program Review of the Advanced Elementary and Secondary Education programs has been completed, and a UAS for both programs has been totally revised. Implementation of the new UAS began in Fall of 2004; implementation of the new programs themselves began in Spring of 2005.
The UAS for the Advanced Programs in School Counseling and Educational Leadership have also been revised and are in the process of being implemented. A new cohort option in Educational Leadership has been developed by the Educational Leadership faculty. Its UAS has been aligned with the UAS for the traditional program in Educational Leadership. The Advanced Program in Special Education, in the approval process at the moment and to be introduced in Fall 2006, has also developed a UAS.
The Portfolio Guidelines for the Initial Programs has been revised (Fall 2004) and the Educational Leadership faculty members are in the process of developing Portfolio Guidelines for Educational Leadership students and faculty. Educational Leadership has also planned its own Portfolio Day on April 29, 2005. Area administrators will attend to help assess portfolios.
School* support for assessment requested/needed / Y / Our Data Manager, Dick Powell, who put in place our current DMS, worked for us for two years, 2001-2003, half time, paid for by a federal grant. When the grant ended, he continued as a consultant, working about 20 hours per month. He had to work in the evenings, so this arrangement was awkward to coordinate with faculty. In 2003-2004 academic year, and into summer of 2004, the SOE considered e-portfolios as a way to manage our ever expanding database. We worked with Erin Frew and a campus committee of other departments/schools researching e-portfolios. In the end, we decided to wait until after the NCATE Focused Visit in fall of 2005 to initiate them. Instead, we hired a Graduate Assistant, Jason Hoover, a student in the M.S. program in Computer Science, to a 20 hour per week Data Manager position. We also hired a part-time secretarial assistant to enter data into the growing DMS. She assists four staff members who also enter data. Because the original database created in Access is proving insufficient to handle multiple users at the same time, we are in the process of migrating the data to Oracle. To handle this task, and continue maintenance and growth of our database at the same time, we will be hiring another part-time technical assistant to work with Jason.
University-level support for assessment requested/needed / Y / The Focused NCATE Visit in November of 2005 will cost at least $3,000, depending on size of the Board of Examiners team.
School*-level review effective / Y / The Unit Assessment System Committee within the School of Education meets bi-weekly and maintains an on-going monitoring process of program assessment for analysis and curriculum review. We reviewed our Elementary and Secondary M.S. programs, as mandated by the University and in response to concerns of our accrediting body, NCATE. This mainly meant sequencing the courses, so we could build an effective UAS for the program. Our program review was lauded by Susan Hannah, VCAA, and Steven Sarratore, Assistant VCAA, for its effectiveness and results. The UAS Committee also oversaw changes by the Educational Leadership faculty to the traditional program, the revising of its UAS, and the initiating of a cohort option for the program. The UAS Committee also monitored progress of the School Counseling program in fine-tuning its UAS and entering the data into the DMS.
Recommended changes to department/program plans / Y / The SOE has been in the process of responding to NCATE cited “Areas for Improvement” in all of our programs, but particularly in our Advanced Programs. We’ve been putting in place all of their UAS plans, in preparation for an NCATE Focused Visit November 6-8, 2005, on our Assessment Systems for the Advanced Programs..
Recommendations to Assessment Council / Y / Continued funding for a Data Manager is critical to the future assessment requirements for the School of Education. As the state and national accreditation agencies continue to require more extensive evidence of program and student performance success, the need for continual monitoring of our programs and the funds to accomplish these goals will continue to increase. We are in the process of considering electronic portfolios for our assessment process. If we do go to e-portfolios, we will need more support from our Data Manager than we now can afford.

Submitted March 17, 2005

By Kathleen Murphey, Associate Dean, the School of Education.

*includes ACCS & Honors Program

Revised and approved by the Assessment Council April 2004