THEC Report Card grades College of Education as one of best in state
Janel Shoun-Smith |
College of Education gets an "A" from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission
For the fourth year in a row, Lipscomb University’s College of Education has been recognized by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission as one of the most effective teacher preparation programs in the state.
In an analysis of scores on THEC’s Report Card on the Effectiveness of Teacher Training Programs over three years, Lipscomb was found to be among the top five programs that have consistently produced teachers who outperform other teachers in the state from 2012 to 2014.
Those five programs were highlighted in the report card’s executive summary, with Lipscomb University and The University of Tennessee as the only two university programs included. In addition, Lipscomb was additionally recognized as one of the two largest teacher preparation programs among all private universities in the state. Lipscomb University and Lee University were tied with 176 graduates.
The Teach for America Nashville program was also highlighted for its effectiveness. Lipscomb serves as the summer institute host and the certification partner for Teach for America Nashville, providing the course work required for Teach for America corps members to pass the Tennessee certification exam.
Lipscomb has consistently fared well in the annual report card, produced by THEC at the behest of the Tennessee General Assembly, to inform the public of the effectiveness of teacher training programs and to provide programs with the opportunity to improve the quality of programs through the use of data.
Over the past three years, Lipscomb was found to have statistically positive results in the areas of TCAP scores, high school composite scores, math, reading/language arts, sciences, social studies, algebra and English.
"I am proud of the graduates of Lipscomb's teacher education programs,” said Candice McQueen, senior vice president and dean of the College of Education. “They are certainly making a significant impact on students as measured by TVAAS. This year's report card may be the best results we have had since the report card was established, so I am particularly excited about the consistency and growth we are showing."
Earlier this year, the College of Education’s secondary teaching undergraduate program was named as the No. 2 program in the nation by the National Council on Teacher Quality’s Teacher Prep Review, which evaluated more than 1,100 colleges and universities that prepare elementary and secondary teachers. Lipscomb’s elementary teaching graduate program was named No. 14 in the nation.