44% of ed majors graduate with honors but study sees lack of rigor in programs |
On Board Online • December 15, 2014
Gayle Simidian
Research Analyst
Education majors tend to receive higher grades than their peers, according to a study by the National Council on Teacher Quality. About 44 percent of education majors graduate with Latin honors (e.g., cum laude) compared to 30 percent for all graduates.
It could be that education majors are smarter and harder-working than their peers. But the report, called "Easy A's," suggests a lack of rigor in assignments accounts for these high grades.
The group reviewed student readiness or preparation in their given field by comparing GPA-based honors rates of graduating teacher candidates to those of all graduating students (inclusive of teacher candidates) at more than 500 colleges and universities.
Of 23 colleges in New York that were rated on the group's "rigor standard," 11 were rated as meeting the standard. Six partially met the standard and the remaining six were deemed as not meeting the standard.
Notably, 214 universities and colleges didn't have any drastic differences between the grades of teacher candidates and all graduating students. The report called that "powerful evidence that teacher preparation programs can hold their grading standards in line with those of other majors on the same campus."
One problem in many schools of education is that many assignments merely ask students to express "beliefs, opinions or feelings," according to the report. These "criterion-deficient" assignments don't deal with a specific skill or concept, are subjective and don't warrant much feedback. The report said students are better served by "criterion-referenced" assignments that deal with mastery of a specific skill or concept that can be objectively measured and compared with other teacher candidates' work.
For example, says the report, a criterion-deficient assignment would ask students to write a five- to 10-page paper on "How to teach reading." A criterion-referenced based assignment would ask candidates to summarize the "big five" components of effective reading instruction from the National Reading Panel and offer examples of how they would implement each in a first-grade classroom using a specific book.
Researchers examined more than 1,100 courses from more than 30 colleges and universities and categorized 7,500 assignments as either criterion-referenced or criterion-deficient.
Findings show that "planning and teaching" assignments such as creating a lesson plan comprised 18 percent of the course grade for teacher education programs in the sample, yet only 1 percent of these assignments are criterion-referenced. This represents missed opportunities for faculty to give critical feedback to students, according to the report. Researchers found a positive relationship between criterion-deficient assignments and high grades.
Tests account for just over one-quarter of the course grade for teacher education programs reviewed, and comprise the bulk of criterion-referenced work. If these tests are given without a practice-based application of the skill or concept being tested, says the report, students don't have a chance to connect theory to practice. The report said this could be a reason why many teachers struggle during their initial years of teaching.
Founded in 2000, National Council on Teacher Quality is a non-partisan Washington, D.C. think tank that describes itself as "an alternative national voice to existing teacher organizations and to build the case for a comprehensive reform agenda that would challenge the current structure and regulation of the profession." Its board members have had prominent positions in state or city education departments, universities, and educational foundations including the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation and the Core Knowledge Foundation.
To view the report, go to http://www.nctq.org/dmsStage/EasyAs