Virginia Law

Education endorsement programs in Virginia shall be approved by the Board of Education and demonstrate achievement biennially of the accountability measures in this section. The institution of higher education must report evidence of the standards for Board of Education review biennially.

1. Candidate progress and performance on prescribed Board of Education licensure assessments. Candidate passing rates, reported by percentages, shall not fall below 80% biennially for program completers and program noncompleters. Program completers are individuals who have successfully completed all coursework, required licensure assessments, and supervised student teaching or required internship. Program noncompleters are those individuals who have been officially admitted into the education program and who have taken, regardless of whether the individual passed or failed, required licensure assessments, and have successfully completed all coursework, but who have not completed supervised student teaching or the required internship. Program noncompleters shall have been officially released (in writing) from an education endorsement program by an authorized administrator of the program.

2. Candidate progress and performance on an assessment of basic skills as prescribed by the Board of Education for individuals seeking entry into an approved education endorsement program.

Indicators of the achievement of this standard shall include the following:

a. Results on Board of Education prescribed entry-level assessments;

b. Documentation that candidates enrolled in the program who fail to achieve a minimum score established by the Board of Education have the opportunity to address deficiencies; and

c. Documentation of the number of candidates admitted into the program who did not meet the prescribed admission assessment and the opportunities provided to the candidates to address deficiencies.

3. Structured and integrated field experiences to include early clinical experiences and a summative supervised student teaching experience.

Indicators of the achievement of this standard shall include the following:

a. Evidence that candidates receive quality clinically-based structured and integrated field experiences that prepare them to work in diverse educational environments; and

b. Evidence that supervised clinical experiences are continuous and systematic and comprised of early field experiences with a minimum of 10 weeks of successful full-time student teaching under the supervision of a cooperating teacher with demonstrated effectiveness in the classroom, as indicated by a proficient or exemplary evaluation rating. The supervised student teaching experience shall include at least 150 clock hours spent in direct teaching at the level of endorsement.

4. Evidence of opportunities for candidates to participate in diverse school settings that provide experiences with populations that include racial, gender, exceptionality, religion, geographic, economic, linguistic, and ethnic diversity throughout the program experiences.

The indicator of the achievement of this standard shall include evidence that the professional education program provides opportunities for candidates to have program experiences in diverse school settings that provide experiences with populations that include racial, gender, exceptionality, religion, geographic, economic, linguistic, and ethnic diversity within each biennial period.

5. Evidence of contributions to preK-12 student achievement by candidates completing the program.

Indicators of the achievement of this standard shall include the following:

a. Evidence to show that candidates know about, create, and use appropriate and effective data-driven assessments in teaching that shall provide dependable information about student achievement;

b. Evidence to document that faculty have made provisions for evaluating the effects that candidates have on preK-12 student learning in the context of teaching as they design unit assessment systems and assessments for each program; and

c. Evidence that the education program assesses candidates' mastery of exit criteria and performance proficiencies, including the ability to affect student learning, through the use of multiple sources of data such as a culminating experience, portfolios, interviews, videotaped and observed performance in schools, standardized tests, and course grades.

6. Evidence of employer job satisfaction with graduates completing the program.

Indicators of the achievement of this standard shall include:

a. Documentation that the professional education program has two years of evidence regarding graduates performance based on employer surveys.

b. Documented evidence of teacher effectiveness, including student academic progress.

7. Partnerships and collaborations based on preK-12 school needs.

Indicators of the achievement of this standard shall include the following:

a. Documented evidence that the education endorsement program has established partnerships reflecting collaboratively designed program descriptions based on identified needs of the preK-12 community.

b. Documented evidence that the administration and supervision program collaborates with partnering schools to identify and select candidates for school leadership programs who meet local needs, demonstrate both potential for and interest in school leadership, and meet the qualifications for admission to advanced programs.