CCTC Accreditation 2022
Standard 5
Program Impact
(5.2) The unit and its programs evaluate and demonstrate that they are having a positive impact on candidate learning and competence and on teaching and learning in schools that serve California’s students.
As an institution, Fresno State prepares educators for nearly every facet of the education system, directly impacting schools and students throughout the region.
Fresno State’s education unit is housed within the Kremen School of Education and Human Development, which is home to many of our credential programs. As the largest preparer of educators in the region, each year Kremen completers number nearly 800 graduates. The majority of these completers end up employed by Fresno Unified School District, the third largest district in CA. Clovis Unified, the next largest district in our region, also hires a significant number of our program graduates. Still, Kremen has completers of our programs working in more than 40 school districts in our local region.
Formal data we review through Employment Surveys, including those formerly administered by the CSU Education Quality Center and surveys administered by specific programs, continually indicate satisfaction with graduates of our programs. Anecdotally, we continue to hear the same message from district and county administrators throughout the region who attend our bi-annual President’s Commission on Teacher Education meetings and from individuals who serve on our Community Council and the Dean’s Advisory Board.
Though we continue to receive positive feedback from employers throughout the region about the quality of preparation our candidates receive, our programs continue to look for ways to innovate in order to positively impact the teaching and learning in schools in our region.
Program-Specific Impact on Region
Education Specialist: According to a 2017 report, nearly 8 in 10 California schools were looking to hire special education teachers, and 87% of principals reported that finding them is a challenge. Our Education Specialist (ES) program impacts student learning by increasing the number of qualified Education Specialists who have the skills to teach students with disabilities.
The need for well prepared ES teachers is also demonstrated by districts naming this as a focus for two of our residency programs: Clovis and Fresno Unified. Additionally, the ES program provides embedded support by University faculty and clinical practice coaches to the Mentor Teachers who have ES student teachers. As they support our candidates, the Mentor Teachers also learn, in partnership with University faculty, the most up-to-date pedagogy to support all learners.
Finally, our ES Candidates also support students with special needs and their families. Teacher candidates in the ES program conduct research to address parent education and training regarding the IEP process. Projects like these support families by adding to their knowledge base and supporting them to become active members of the IEP team. Other projects being conducted seek to address issues regarding student learning, increasing communication supports, and providing spaces for individuals with disabilities to add their voice to lines of research intended to improve their lives.
Overall, completers indicate that their experiences in the program prepare them for their time in the classroom. Of 171 Education Specialist candidates who completed the program between Fall 2016 and Spring 2020 to the CSU Educator Quality Center Completer survey, 41% indicated the program was effective, while another 41% indicated the program was very effective.
Once our completers are working in schools in our region, their impact continues to be recognized. Each year, our ES program gives the Carolyn Dobbs Special Education Teacher of the Year Award recognizes the importance of the work of special education professionals. Moreover, alumni provide leadership in schools and districts with one alumni even winning the prestigious Golden Bell Award from the California School Boards Association.
Multiple Subject: Annually, Fresno State supports over 500 Multiple Subject candidates, the great majority of whom serve in regional Title I schools upon hire, making a direct impact on children from low-income, under-served communities in our region. These include teachers who teach in bilingual contexts and individuals who serve as middle school math and science teachers; all of which are high need hiring areas for our local region. Credential completion is an indicator of teacher quality, with educational research further confirming that teacher quality has a direct relationship to closing persistent opportunity and achievement gaps (Carter & Welner, 2013). As such the Multiple Subject credential program preparation of teachers plays a role in increasing teacher quality.
According to the 'Teacher Supply in California - A Report to the Legislature Annual Report 2018-2019', Kremen continues to be the leading CSU and public institution in preparing teachers to teach in elementary schools. The size of the multiple subject credential program has a direct impact on reducing the need for temporary credentials in our region. So much so that our local district partners are reporting that they finally have a fully credentialed, highly qualified teacher placed in each of their classrooms.
The CSU Educator Quality Center’s survey of completers of our Multiple Subject Program indicated that, overall, completers were pleased with the preparation they received from the program. Of the 754 completers who graduated from the program between Fall 2016 and Spring 2020 and responded to the survey, 81% indicated the program was Effective or Very Effective in preparing them to be Multiple Subject teachers. Additionally, 92% indicated they had taught in at least one school that was a good environment for student teaching; 83% indicated faculty had introduced core elements of the California Content Standards; and 77% indicated faculty modeled good teaching practices.
Bilingual Authorization Program: Upon reaching our credential program, BAP candidates serve TK-8th grade students in our region via placement in general education and/or dual immersion classrooms. By design and aligned to state standards, the BAP program aspires to provide pre-service teachers with opportunities to teach in both English and Spanish or Hmong. Program candidates accomplish this by serving recent immigrants/refugees--all emergent bilingual students--and validating and celebrating the rich linguistic and cultural diversity of school children and families. For example, candidates serve as language brokers for children and their families and support them through the process of learning English and acclimating to the school system.
The impact of BAP candidates and graduates in our region's schools is strengthening the multilingual/multicultural community of learners. The number of BAP graduates has directly impacted the number of Bilingual Education Programs our region has been able to provide, including multiple Spanish bilingual programs in schools in Fresno, Sanger, and Madera unified school districts, among others, and a Hmong bilingual dual immersion program in Fresno.
Single Subject: To examine the level of preparation provided by the Single Subject Program, Fresno State uses data from the CSU Educator Quality Center. The Program has a 100% participation rate on the EdQ Center’s Completer survey, due to the efforts of our Credential Analyst. The results of this survey indicate that, overall, completers provide a positive evaluation of the program. Of the 622 respondents who completed a Single Subject Credential between Fall 2016 and Spring 2020, 82% indicated the program’s overall effectiveness as effective or very effective. Additionally, of 52 measures in the Subject-Specific Pedagogical Skills for Single Subject Teaching Assignments, 90% of completers indicated a positive perception of 46 of the measures, while 80% indicated a positive perception for an additional eight of the measures.
Completers of our Single Subject programs have taken on leadership roles in professional development organizations and within districts. Examples include Jesus Renteria, who is an Associate Director of the San Joaquin Valley Writing Project; Thomas Soto who is the Director of Educational Services in Sanger Unified, and Flo Cheung, who is currently the Career and Technical Education Coordinator at Sunnyside High School and the 2018 recipient of a Fulbright fellowship to teach architecture and English at a vocational school in Indonesia.
PK3 Program Involvement in Evaluation Process:
As discussed in response to Standard 4, as a unit, we are developing a survey to send to employers of all program completers, including future PK3 credential completers, to evaluate how well our programs prepared them for their first year as credentialed educators.
Additionally, the Kremen School of Education and Human Development convenes key stakeholders from throughout the region to gather their input on the work we are doing as an institution to support their needs, including whether or not the programs are having a positive impact. These include:
- the President’s Commission on Teacher Education, which convenes regional district and county office of education leaders that is held each fall and spring (Spring 2024 agenda, which includes an item to discuss the development of the PK3 credential)
- the Kremen Administrative Leadership Committee, which convenes local superintendents that is held 3-4 times each academic year (January 2024 agenda)
Leaders from the PK3 ECE Specialist Instruction credential also regularly participate in multiple regional workgroups related to Early Childhood Education, including regional partners (Fresno County Local Planning Council, The Fresno County Higher Education ECE Workforce Roundtable, The 21CLSA UPK Collaborative Network) and CSU partners (CSU PK-3 ECE Credential workgroup). Being in these spaces allows program leadership to hear feedback from regional educational leaders about the impact of our programs. (Response to First Review)