Report on an Educational Program: ALTERNATIVE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM 2001–2002 - Houston Independent School District
BACKGROUND
The Houston Independent School District (HISD) implemented the Alternative
Certification Program (ACP) in 1985 because of the provisions of a law passed
by the Texas Legislature in 1984.
The intent of the law was to address the teacher recruitment and retention
issues present in Texas schools. Included in the bill were programs targeting
teacher education, tutorial programs to reduce academic failures, and changes
in school funding. The law also called for the development of an Alternative
Certification Program different from the Traditional university certification
program for teachers.
The Alternative Certification Program is a training program for teachers providing
a one-year internship, which integrates on-the-job training with District-developed
training modules. Interns who successfully complete the training program are
recommended by HISD to the State to be certified.
Currently, the ACP provides teacher training in instructional certification
areas of Bilingual Education and English as a Second language (ESL). In addition,
elementary, secondary, special education, educational diagnostician, and learning
resources are served. In compliance with the law, HISD developed dates, a passing
score on the oral and a written Spanish/ English Proficiency test. In addition,
candidates must have a 2.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale in the semester hours of their
certificate area. ESL candidates must possess 18 semester hours of English.
The training program for an intern is based on state mandated proficiencies,
content area competencies, current research and best practices.
The pre-assignment training consisted of 80 hours of HISD training and six
to nine hours of university coursework. Ongoing training consisted of six to
nine hours of university coursework and 36 hours of HISD training. Training
was based on content, which included instruction in Learner-Centered Knowledge,
Instruction and Communication, and Equity and Excellence for all Learners.
The HISD Alternative Certification program has certified more than 3,500 teachers,
learning resource specialists, and educational diagnosticians. Since its implementation
in 1985–1986, the Alternative Certification program has experienced several
changes. In particular, the need to address the continued teacher shortage
in the Houston Independent School District created the Rolling Cycle component
of the ACP program.
OBJECTIVES
With these objectives in mind, the following research questions were addressed:
1. What was the accreditation status of the HISD Alternative Certification
Program?
2. How did the Rolling Cycle, Traditional Cycle, and TFA interns compare on
the ExCET examination?
3. What was the average length of stay in HISD for teachers admitted via the
ACP program?
4. What were the attitudes and perceptions of interns toward the face to face
training received from the ACP program?
5. What were the attitudes and perceptions of the ACP staff regarding the ACP
program?
FINDINGS
Accreditation Status
• The results indicated that HISD’s ACP program received accredited status between September 1995 and August 2001; for all subgroups in the first-time takers and cumulative groups, the passing rates were above 70%, with the exception of African Americans (64%) in the 1998–1999 school year.
Cycle Comparison
•
The Preliminary ExCET results by subject area for the Rolling, Traditional
and TFA interns, 2001– 2002 indicate that TFA interns had the highest
average in three subject areas Professional Development Elementary, Professional
Development Secondary, and Biology Secondary on the ExCET exam. The presence
of TFA interns in Cycle 22 increased the average scores of Cycle 22 by two
to four points. Cycle 21b interns had the second highest average for the subject
area test taken followed closely by Cycles 22b, 22c, 22d and 22.
Length of Stay with the District
•
On average interns admitted via the ACP program remained with HISD 6.7 years.
White teachers remained with HISD an average of 6.01 years while Black and
Hispanic teachers remained with 6.78 and 7.57 years, respectively. Male teachers
remained an average of 0.13 years longer than females. Teachers who received
their certification in the first three Cycles of HISD’s ACP have remained
with the district for an average of 13.93 years. Of the 2,329 ACP certified
teachers identified as remaining with the district, 1,782 or 77% are classified
as active within the district.
Intern Perceptions of Training
•
The interns generally had positive perceptions of the pre-assignment training.
Seventy-seven percent agreed or strongly agreed that intern orientation was
effective. Eighty-five percent of the interns agreed or strongly agreed that
the ACP staff used effective instructional materials and 74% agreed or strongly
agreed that the instructional techniques used were effective.
•
The major weaknesses included the lack of time spent with mentors, lack of
effective communication from the mentor regarding objectives (25%), lack of
effectiveness of the mentor program (28%). A concern was that 28% of the interns
indicated that time during the ongoing night training was not used effectively
and another 39% indicated that the 7:30 p.m. meetings with their supervisors
were not beneficial. One out of four interns indicated that time was not used
effectively in the training.
•
ACP staff indicated that understaffing is a major concern because the number
of interns seeking certification has increased disproportionately to the number
of staff members providing support.
•
ACP staff indicated that adequate accommodations for training interns have
not coincided with the increasing number of interns seeking certification.
•
ACP staff indicated that inadequate work space is also a concern. The sharing
of small office space makes it difficult to track and store the numerous items
that interns have to submit on a weekly basis, which ultimately affects work
productivity and efficiency.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. To improve the scores of interns, a more stringent selection process is
needed to evaluate potential candidates prior to their entry into the certification
program.
2. Improve the proficiency and ongoing training sessions in order for ACP interns
to reach parity with TFA interns on the ExCET exams.
3. To increase the length of time an ACP teacher remains with the district,
consideration should be given to placing a mentor with the intern for a period
of two years providing communication and support when needed.
4. To make the ongoing training sessions more effective and beneficial, develop
shorter training programs that reflect better time management and ensure that
materials presented in training sessions are not redundant.
5. Ensure that all assigned mentors meet with their interns regularly and provide
the relationship necessary to foster the intern’s professional growth.
6. Provide the requisite number of staff members to adequately deal with the
increasing number of interns.
7. Provide the facilities necessary to train interns in a centralized location.
METHODOLOGY
This program evaluation used several data sources to address the research
questions. The following sources of data were used. Demographic data for the
interns who participated in the ACP program were obtained from the Alternative
Certification Department and the PeopleSoft Technical Team. The examination
for Certification of Educators in Texas (ExCET) data were compiled by the Texas
Education Agency (TEA) and forwarded to HISD’s ACP. The TEA also provides
a specialized database/ reporting software, the Accountability System for Educator
Preparation (ASEP). It reports the individual intern test scores, summary statistics,
and the accreditation status of HISD in regard to its alternative certification
program.
The State Board for Education Certification (SBEC) sends the ASEP Accreditation
Report to HISD’s ACP. Alternative certification verifies the report and
addresses discrepancies, if any, and then sends the ASEP Accreditation report
back to SBEC.
ASEP was first implemented in February 1995 and was based on the 1995 and 1996
administrations of the Examination for the Certification of Educators in Texas
(ExCET). ASEP follows business rules set by TEA.
1. ASEP includes the results of all ExCET test plus Texas Oral Proficiency
Test (TOPT) results.
2. Passing rates are calculated as the number of ExCET tests passed divided
by the number of tests taken.
3. Only students verified as eligible to take the ExCET by the local authority
are included in the calculations.
4. Cumulative passing rates are computed as the prior year’s first-time
takers divided by the prior year’s first-time takers who pass plus subsequent
passers who failed in the prior year.
5. Student groups are All Students, Female, Male, African American, Hispanic,
Other (Native-American plus Asian), and White.
6. An entity’s certification area, whether it is an individual or a grouped
subject certification area, may undergo a program review if the current or
cumulative ExCET pass rate of any student group is below 70%.
ACP provided preliminary ExCET results for interns in the Rolling Cycle program
and interns in the Traditional program between 2001–2002.
The preliminary ExCET data compiled by TEA is not in aggregate form. The data
consist of the individual results for interns taking components of the ExCET
test. Thus, the data are incomplete in that all required ExCET examinations
have not been taken by the interns. The official copy of the Accreditation
report will not be available until August 2002.
Although these data do not provide a comprehensive look at intern success on
the ExCET, it does provide a comparative glimpse at intern success in both
the Traditional and Rolling Cycle. Intern perceptions of their face to face
training were elicited through the Alternative Certification Training Survey
The Alternative Certification Training Survey form was developed to ascertain
the attitudes and perceptions of interns toward the face to face training received
from the ACP program. All interns in the Alternative Certification Program
were eligible to complete the Alternative Certification Training Survey.
The survey consisted of 6 sections (orientation, curriculum week, field experience,
mentor program, mentor characteristics, and on-going training) that assessed
the training interns received from HISD’s ACP.
The first 2 items solicit the interns’ assessment of the ACP staff and
face to face training. Items 3 through 6 solicit the interns’ perceptions
of the training received during curriculum week. Items 7 through 12 solicit
the interns’ perception of the curriculum support training received online.
Items 13 through 16 solicit the interns’ perception regarding the mentor
program. Items 17 through 24 solicit the interns’ perception regarding
the mentor’s characteristics. Finally, items 25 through 30 solicit the
intern’s perception of the ongoing training they received.
The items on the survey adhered to a Likert scale format, with four response
options scored as follows: “Strongly Agree” = 4; “Agree” =
3; “Disagree” = 2; and “Strongly Disagree” = 1. Items
marked “NA”, indicating that the item did not apply, were not scored.
Using this method, a mean of 2.5 would indicate that as many respondents agreed
as disagreed.
The surveys completed online were forwarded to a research specialist in the
department of Research and Accountability. In an attempt to increase participation,
the surveys were later distributed to the interns during an evening training
session. The responses were completely anonymous. The results of the survey
were compared across Cycle groups.
The analysis of the results from the survey was limited to descriptive statistics
for each Cycle group. Information on the ACP’s goals, budget, online
course work development, and history was collected during interviews and meetings
with ACP department managers, supervisors, and staff. Data Analysis research
specialist designed and constructed databases, presented descriptive and frequency
statistics using the Statistical Package for the Sciences (SPSS) and Microsoft
Excel to assess the data.
This approach included descriptive statistics and frequency distributions.
The ExCET test results, which were provided by ASEP were disaggregated by Cycle
and subject area. The first-time test takers passing rate is 70%, while the
second time takers must have a passing rate of 80% cumulative to achieve accreditation.
The ASEP is the accreditation system developed by TEA for educator preparation
entities and their certification areas. The system is based on indicators that
measure an alternative certification program’s ability to produce teachers
who demonstrate knowledge in learner-centered proficiencies.
The program was designed to be aligned with the public school essential elements:
1. Fair and equitable-indicators and standards apply equally to all student
population groups;
2. Valid-indicators that are appropriate and accurate measures; and
3. Reliable-indicators that are consistent and uniform over time.
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