Figures reflect performances of 6,398 total students preparing for teaching professions at the state's dozen public universities in 1999-2000. Together, the 12 institutions taught 57 percent of the 11,252 students preparing in Illinois for the teaching profession that year. The remainder either attended private schools or entered the corps by receiving credits for previous careers in other professions. After a recent call for greater accountability in education, Congress enacted new rules requiring states this year to publicize state-mandated exam scores of aspiring teachers schooled at federally funded colleges and universities. Students who fail the two exams cannot earn teaching certificates in Illinois.
Actual tests vary state by state.
There's a tendency these days, he added, to think of tests as infallible predictors of future success. But it's teacher quality that most determines how well youngsters learn. And the more responsive and comprehensive teacher preparation programs become, he said, the better quality teachers they'll turn out. And the deans' association wants parents and the public to get a feeling for the depth and breadth of teacher education programs at the 12 schools represented. These partnerships provide numerous benefits.