AACTE Introduces Key Resource for Assessment and Accreditation Support in Educator Preparation

(May 26, 2015, Washington, D.C.) – The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) is proud to announce the AACTE Quality Support Initiative, designed to provide resources and support to educators interested in assessment and accreditation. Starting next month, the newly developed initiative will offer Online Professional Seminars (OPSs) for faculty at AACTE member and nonmember institutions, undergraduate and graduate students, PK-12 teachers—or anyone involved in educator preparation.

As part of its mission to advocate and build capacity for high-quality educator preparation, AACTE has established the initiative to help support the profession in efforts of continuous improvement and to achieve accreditation. The OPSs enable professional development for individuals and organizational development for institutions in a convenient, flexible format.

Beginning in June, AACTE will offer the first two OPSs, Building Quality Assessments and Data Use for Improvement, at no cost to participants. Subsequent seminars will be available for a fee, with discounts for AACTE members and for large groups. In fall 2015, AACTE will roll out additional OPSs and a credentialing program to enable faculty from AACTE member institutions to become consultants. The initiative will help establish and manage a corps of credentialed consultants to provide assistance to AACTE members and will administer a credential system for certification for consultants.

“As the single accreditor in educator preparation, CAEP commends AACTE’s Quality Support Initiative for helping programs to achieve the rigorous, high standards for professional accreditation,” said Dr. Christopher A. Koch, interim president of the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP).

Topics for the OPS series include the following:

• Building Quality Assessments
• Data Use for Improvement
• Creating a Quality Assurance System
• Accreditation Standards: Examples of Evidence
• Preparing for Accreditation
• Preparing for a Site Visit

“This initiative supports our members’ determination to use valid evidence to inform continuous improvement in program quality,” said Dr. Sharon P. Robinson, president and CEO of AACTE. “Further, we are exploiting the benefits of technology to engage more colleagues in the conversation. We developed this series of seminars in collaboration with the field to support their national or state accreditation work.”
For more information about AACTE’s Quality Support Initiative, visit www.aacte.org.

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AACTE: The Leading Voice on Educator Preparation
The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education is a national alliance of educator preparation programs dedicated to high-quality, evidence-based preparation that assures educators are ready to teach all learners on Day 1. Its over 800 member institutions represent public and private colleges and universities in every state, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Guam. AACTE leads the field in advocacy and capacity building by promoting innovation and effective practices as critical to reforming educator preparation. For more information, visit www.aacte.org.