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The Level of Overall Effectiveness rating is a quantitative score comprised of teacher observations, student growth data gathered from the Tennessee Valued-Added Assessment System (TVAAS), and student achievement data. Data from these sources are combined to create a scale score between 100 and 500. Descriptors of score ranges are listed here:

Score Range	Overall Level of Effectiveness	Educator Effectiveness Descriptors
<200	1	A teacher at this level has limited knowledge of the instructional skills, knowledge, and responsibilities described in the rubric, and struggles to implement them. He/she makes little attempt to use data to set and reach appropriate teaching and learning goals, and has little to no impact on student achievement.
200-274.99	2	A teacher at this level demonstrates some knowledge of the instructional skills, knowledge, and responsibilities described in the rubric, but implements them inconsistently. He/she may struggle to use data to set and reach appropriate teaching and learning goals. His/her impact on student achievement is less than expected.
275-349.99	3	A teacher at this level understands and implements most of the instructional skills, knowledge, and responsibilities described in the rubric. He/she uses data to set and reach teaching and learning goals and makes the expected impact on student achievement.
350-424.99	4	A teacher at this level comprehends the instructional skills, knowledge, and responsibilities described in the rubric and implements them consistently. He/she is skilled at using data to set and reach appropriate teaching and learning goals and makes a strong impact on student achievement.
425-500	5	A teacher at this level exemplifies the instructional skills, knowledge, and responsibilities described in the rubric, and implements them without fail. He/she is adept at using data to set and reach ambitious teaching and learning goals. He/she makes a significant impact on student achievement and should be considered a model of exemplary teaching.

 

Results of ETSU completers are shown below reflective of the 2014-2015, 2015- 2016 and 2016-2017 academic years.

 

 A three year composite score represents the combined scores for 2014-2017 completers by LOE level.  96.7% of Tennessee teachers prepared by East Tennessee State University earned Levels of Effectiveness scores of 3 and higher. 

 

Limitations of the LOE Data

1.      The information reported is for individuals receiving their licenses with effective years, 2014-2015; 2015-2016; and 2016-2017.  LOE data is not yet available for 2017-2018.

2.      The information reported is for individuals who are employed in public schools within the State of Tennessee. Impact data for teachers prepared by East Tennessee State University who are employed in other States or in private education settings are not included in the displayed data.

3.      Due to legislative changes made in the 2013 legislative sessions, the calculation for overall levels of effectiveness is dependent upon whether a teacher has an individual growth score (due to teaching in a tested subject/grade level) or a school- or system-wide growth score (due to teaching in a non-tested subject/grade level).

The Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) consists of student growth scores collected annually by the Tennessee Department of Education (TNDOE). These scores are shared with Tennessee Educator Preparation Programs via an online data system, TNAtlas, provided by the Tennessee Department of Education. The availability of data encourages continuous review and improvement in Educator Preparation Programs. 

Results of ETSU completers are shown below reflective of the 2014-2015, 2015- 2016, and 2016-2017 academic years.

 A three year composite score represents the combined scores for 2015-2017 completers by LOE level.  64.5 percent of Tennessee Teachers prepared by the EPP Unit at East Tennessee State University who received a TVAAS score earned a score of 3 or higher.

Limitations of the TVAAS Data

1.      The information in the chart above is for those individuals who received their licenses from East Tennessee State University in 2014-2015, 2015-2016 and 2016-2017.  There is a delay in receiving the most recent TVAAS data, 2017-2018. Those data will be reviewed and added next year’s annual report when it becomes available from Tennessee Department of Education.

2.      Student growth data is generated from all TCAP assessments, regardless of subject or grade, including TNReady. The student growth data that factors into the score for a specific education will come from results of that teacher’s students, in whichever grade(s)/subject(s) that educator taught them. These weightings assume stability in the number of tested students per teacher year to year.

3.      New legislation in Tennessee resets the weighting of TNReady scores at 10 percent for 2016-2017 school year, 20 percent for the 2017-2018 school year; and 35 percent for the 2018-2019 school year and thereafter. Additionally 2015-2016 growth will only be used if it benefits the educators. If it does not, or if the educator does not have scores from the 2015-2016 year, the qualitative (TEAM evaluation) component of the evaluation composite will increase.

4.      The state accountability test, TNReady, was not administered to students in grades 3 – 8 in the 2016-2017 academic year, thus the Tennessee Department of Education was unable to generate individual TVAAS scores for all fourth –eighth grade teachers in the 2016-2017 year. Therefore, these teachers will have the same evaluation composite scores as teachers in non-tested grades and subjects.

Teacher Observation Ratings

The teacher evaluation in Tennessee public schools consists of frequent observations and constructive feedback for teachers through multiple observations and pre- and post-conferences. Using the indicators of the Tennessee Educator Acceleration Model (TEAM) rubric, teachers and school leaders work together to identify what is working well in the classroom (area of reinforcement), where there is room for improvement (areas of refinement), and options for professional development to support continued growth.

The standards included in the TEAM rubric were developed through a collaboration with the Tennessee Department of Education and the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET). The rubrics are based on educational psychology and cognitive science research on learning and instruction as well as an extensive review of publications from national and state teacher standards organizations.

The Teaching Skills, Knowledge, and Professionalism Performance Standards are divided into four domains: Instruction, Environment, Planning and Professionalism.   Performance definitions are provided at levels 5, 3, and 1, but raters can also score performance at levels 2 or 4 based on their professional judgment.

Observation ratings are collected annually by the Tennessee Department of Education (TNDOE) and shared via the TNAtlas system, an online system to house data and to encourage continuous improvement of programming.

 A three year composite score represents the combined scores for 2015-2017 completers for TEAM Observation Ratings.  96.5 percent of Tennessee Teachers prepared by the EPP Unit at East Tennessee State University who received a TEAM score earned a score of 3 or higher.

% of ETSU completers with observation score

 

Limitations of the Observation Data

1.      The information in the report is for those individuals receiving their licensure with effective years of 2014-2015, 2015-2016 and 2016-2017.

2.      Given the delay in which data is shared by the TNDOE, current access to observation ratings is only available for 2014-2015, 2015-2016, and 2016-2017 completers. Upon receipt of the 2017-2018 observation ratings, an analysis of completers' teaching effectiveness will be provided in the next annual report.

Satisfaction of Employers and Employment Milestones

Principal Survey: At the end of the 2017-2018 school year, Principals from local partnering schools were asked to rate their satisfaction with teachers they hired at the beginning of the 2017 school year who were graduates from the ETSU teacher education program.   Twelve Principals participated in this study.  Principals were asked on a 4-point scale (strongly disagree/strongly agree) their perceptions on the capability of the ETSU teachers they hired in relation to inTASC teaching behaviors.  Principals reported that they agreed or strongly agreed (all means >3.0) that the hired teachers were meeting expectations for all teaching behaviors.  Of specific note, Principals noted that the teachers hired from ETSU were specifically strong in their ability to assess student performance (M= 3.42, SD= .9), collaboration with various stakeholders (M= 3.42, SD= .9), and overall professionalism (M= 3.33, SD= 1.0).  Teaching behaviors that were reported the lowest by Principals were the ETSU teachers’ ability to plan instruction based on assessment data (M=3.0, SD= .95), use verbal and nonverbal communication with individuals with diverse cultural backgrounds (M=3.08, SD= .79), and to recognize learning misconceptions of a discipline to build future learning experiences (M=3.08, SD=.9).

Limitations: Though, overall, principals rated ETSU employed teachers high on their teaching behaviors and professionalism, one limitation of this study is that principals rated employed teachers from the 2017-2018 school year collectively.   As a result, a principal at a specific school who hired three ETSU graduates for 2017-2018 rated all three employees collectively.  Though the study address specific licensure areas, it is unable to differentiate specific teachers (unless only one teacher was hired from ETSU in a school year)

Satisfaction of Completers

The Tennessee Department of Education through TN Atlas provides the following data on Completer Satisfaction for the 2014-2017 cohort. 

Completer Satisfaction for 2014-2017

Area assessed	% of ETSU completers reporting satisfaction	State value
Clinical experience and coaching/mentoring (e.g., student teaching, job-embedded)	88.2	88.35
Coursework and faculty expertise/relationships (e.g., readings, faculty lectures, assignments, research, projects)	86.8	85.49
Overall preparation for teaching in their current school setting	86.8	83.68

 

(Data Source: East Tennessee State University)

ETSU piloted a completer survey to assess completer satisfaction. Sixty-five undergraduate students and seven graduate students responded to the survey request. To summarize the findings, 97.03% of the completers agreed or strongly agreed on their self-confidence in their subject matter content knowledge related to the INTASC content areas. In addition 91.4% of the completers agreed or strongly agreed that their program prepared them adequately with the ability to implement the INTASC-related teaching behaviors. Finally, 88.9% of the completers rated agreed or strongly agreed that their mentor teachers modeled and demonstrated INTASC-related teaching behaviors during residency placements. Overall completers felt well prepared. Our EPP is reviewing our placement process with partnering local education agencies to improve upon the placement experiences of our candidates. 

(Data Source: East Tennessee State University)

 

(Data Source: East Tennessee State University)

Advanced Level Programs	2016-2018
School Librarianship-M.Ed	92.3 % (n = 26)
Reading Specialist-M.Ed	70% (n = 10)

 

(Data Source: East Tennessee State University)

Instructional Leader/Principal Preparation	2014-2017
M.Ed	100% (n =11)
Ed.S	100% (n = 1)*
Ed.D	92.3% (n = 13)

*Only includes 2014-2015 admitted students

Ability of Completers of Teacher Preparation Programs at East Tennessee State University to Meet Licensing (certification) and any additional state requirements

(Data Source: ETS Client Services, Title II Report)

For initial licensure in the state of Tennessee and State Requirements all teacher candidates must complete the required tests including Principles of Learning and Teaching (PLT) and separate subject area tests for the licensure area sought.  100 percent of completers of the Educator Preparation Program at East Tennessee State University meet the licensing requirements required for certification.

The Praxis II data reported here outlines a summary of pass rates in addition to the number of testers, average scaled score, number of passing tests, and pass rate percentage for program completers for the following academic years: 2015-2016, 2016-2017, and 2017-2018. Tests in which there are less than 10 test takers are noted as <10 and additional data are omitted.

Reporting Period 2015-2018
(Data Source: Educational Testing Service)

 

Data per TN Atlas indicate that across the years 2014-2017 66.5% of our initial licensure graduates obtained teaching jobs within 1 year of obtaining their initial license. Limitations: These data do not account for completers who entered a teaching position outside of Tennessee or in private educational settings. Additionally, some graduates may have entered additional educational opportunities in higher education.

For our advanced level program completers, internal program data indicate the following. Upon completion of the principal preparation programs from years 2014-2017, 50% of the completers (n = 30) enter principal positions while 100% of those completers stayed in education related positions. Upon completion of the school librarianship program for 2017-2018, 62.5% of the completers (n = 16) became employed as librarians. For our school counseling completers (n = 20) in 2014-2017, 95% of the completers entered counseling positions.

Data source: US Department of Education

The three-year (2014-2017) federal student loan default rate average for students at East Tennessee State University was 10 percent which is below the national average.