Three major pathways for teacher preparation and certification exist in the United States to recruit and train effective teachers, including traditional, alternative, and teacher residency programs. There is a growing but limited body of research on teacher effectiveness of educators who complete teacher residency programs and the factors of the…

Data on content knowledge and self-efficacy beliefs were collected from 41 elementary preservice teachers enrolled in a mathematics methods course. Correlational analysis was used to determine whether a relationship existed between elementary preservice teachers' mathematics content knowledge (MCK) and two factors representing mathematics teacher…

A well-constructed just qualified candidate (JQC) description is needed to arrive at a reasonable passing score for licensure tests. Traditionally, such descriptions consist of a list of knowledge and skill statements without sufficient context to internalize its intended meaning, allowing the standard-setting panelists to make idiosyncratic…

The primary purpose of this report is to provide preliminary evidence on the measurement properties for newly designed assessments of content knowledge for teaching (CKT) in elementary reading language arts (RLA) and mathematics. The goal is to offer the CKT tests through the "PRAXIS"® assessment. Additional analyses were conducted to…

The purpose of this report is to examine the performance of assessment items designed to measure elementary teachers' content knowledge for teaching (CKT) science as part of the ETS® Educator Series. The Elementary Education: CKT Science assessment is 1 component of licensure examination through the PRAXIS® assessments. The Elementary Education:…

Ensuring that students are reading proficiently by third grade is a key component of keeping students on track to graduate high school and pursue college and careers. Because of the magnitude of this academic milestone, states typically pursue policies that promote early identification and intervention for struggling readers. However, teachers are…

Programs that prepare elementary teachers have a daunting responsibility -- they are readying the people who will teach children reading and numeracy, build a foundation in STEM and social studies subjects, all while providing many children's first introduction to formal schooling. By rising to this challenge, programs may also help a more diverse…

Elementary education teacher candidates who studied under two delivery methods--online and face to face--were compared to determine if there was a significant difference in professional knowledge and skills using Praxis II test scores. The participants included 60 teaching assistant program (TAP) online candidates and 564 face-to-face candidates.…

The objective of this study was to compare the relationships between the subtests of the Interactive Computer Interview System and the ETS "Praxis II" Principles of Learning and Teaching examination. In particular, this study compares scores on the ICIS instrument subtests to those gathered from the same classroom teachers on the…

To meet the demands of living and working in the 21st century, it is critical that every P-12 student in every classroom have an effective teacher. Yet, each year, thousands of new teachers enter the field unprepared to meet the challenges of today's classroom. Recent federal policies such as No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top have made…

The purpose of my study was to determine if there are any differences in performance measures of student teachers with varying levels of participation in professional development schools. The population in my study was the 2002 through the spring of 2006 kindergarten through 6th-grade student teachers from a small, private postsecondary…

The job analysis study described in this report was conducted to serve as one of the bases for documenting the content validity of the Praxis II: Subject Assessment in Elementary Education, one of a series of assessments for beginning teachers being developed by the Educational Testing Service. Two inventories of knowledge elementary school…

The Educational Testing Service has initiated the development of a new series of tests to be used as part of the process states use to license or certify their teachers. Stage I of this new generation of tests will determine whether teachers possess an acceptable level of competence in the enabling skills the beginning teacher requires. This…

This report presents the results of a study in which one of the job analysis surveys for the Praxis Series: Professional Assessments for the Beginning Teacher was administered to teachers and teacher educators in California. The purpose of this special administration was to determine if the multidisciplinary content in the test form (Form 1 of…

The purpose of this paper is to examine how well-prepared vocational educators are to teach courses and programs that reflect the emphasis on academic skills in the Perkins III legislation. The paper examines the academic skills and pedagogical knowledge of elementary, secondary and secondary vocational candidates to assess how well-prepared…