The Making of a TeacherThe Making of a Teacher
Copyright © 1999 by the Center for Education Information.
All rights reserved.
IV. ADMISSION INTO TEACHER PREPARATION
Level of Entry
More than one in four individuals studying to be teachers began doing so after they had already received at least a Bachelors degree. This represents a marked increase in the last 15 years. In 1984, only three percent of IHEs that prepared teachers reported that people beginning a program for the initial preparation of teachers enter such a program at the Post-baccalaureate level.
For Undergraduate Teacher Preparation Programs, about half of students are formally admitted in their sophomore year, about one-third in their junior year, 12 percent as freshmen and six percent as seniors. (See Table 3)
Public institutions formally admit students into their initial Teacher Preparation Programs much later in their academic careers than do Independent non-profit and Profit-making/Proprietary institutions.
The largest institutions formally admit students into their initial Teacher Preparation Programs much later in their academic careers than do the smaller institutions.
Over the last 15 years, there has been a shift of formal entry into teacher preparation to later years in ones academic career. This shift is most dramatic in the largest IHEs.
Tests Required for Admission
Virtually all institutions that have Teacher Preparation Programs now require passing some kind of test for admission into their programs. This is up from the 60 percent that did in 1984.
Of the institutions that responded to the question, 59 percent said they required passage of a standardized basic skills test and 49 percent reported they required passage of a state-approved basic skills test for entry into their Undergraduate programs. At the Post-baccalaureate level, 49 percent said they required passage of a standardized basic skills test and 46 percent reported they required passage of a state-approved basic skills test for entry into their programs.
Public Undergraduate programs, and the largest institutions require passage of tests for admission into their Teacher Preparation Programs most frequently. (Table 16)
Other Criteria for Admission into Teacher Preparation
There has been a marked increase in the proportion of IHEs that require such admissions criteria as Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores, grade point averages (GPA), recommendations, interviews and experience working with children for entry into their Teacher Preparation Programs. At the Undergraduate level, nearly one in three IHEs in the 1999 NCEI survey said they used SAT scores, 94 percent used overall college GPA, 67 percent used college GPA in major subject, 80 percent used recommendations, 65 percent interviews and 56 percent required experience working with children as admissions criteria for entry into Teacher Preparation Programs. This compares with 18 percent for SAT scores, 78 percent for college GPA, 65 percent recommendations, 52 percent interviews, and 39 percent experience working with children in the 1984 NCEI survey. (Table 17)
It would also appear that the the bar has been raised for entrance into Teacher Preparation Programs. For example, the average overall grade point average required in 1983 was 2.29. In the 1999 survey, 51 percent of IHEs reported a required GPA in the
2.5-2.74 category. At the Post-baccalaureate level, the GPA cut-off was even higher. This trend was also true for GPA in ones subject major.
These trends hold true for all types and sizes of IHEs.
Dr. Feistritzer is president of the National Center for Education Information
in Washington, D.C.The National Center for Education Information
4401 Connecticut Ave., NW, PMB 212
Washington, D.C. 20008-2322
http://www.ncei.com
Tel: (202) 822-8280 Fax: (202) 822-8284
