ABSTRACT

Over the last decade, shifts in state and federal policy and the introduction of new national accreditation standards have put increased pressure on educator preparation programs (EPPs) to produce more credible evidence of program quality. The theory of action underlying current accountability policies assumes, in part, that with access to more credible data, EPPs will improve the quality of preparation provided. Data literacy itself is challenge, with many EPPs struggling to help faculty and program leaders develop the skills necessary to access, interpret, and act on data for improvement. A literature review and discussions with experts in field then yielded 66 instruments that could be used to track teacher-candidate development and program performance in the identified data categories. Taken together, the experiences of trailblazers people spoke to suggest that regardless of context, there are common strategies that can help any EPP interested in taking concrete action to create conditions to collect common data for cross-institutional learning to inform program improvement.