Writing Your Program’s SPA Report(s)

Cynthia Conn, Ph.D., Associate Director, Office of Academic Assessment

Chris Geanious, Project Director, College of Education

Kathy Hildebrand, Ph.D., Assistant Dean of Assessment & Continuous Improvement, College of Education

Meeting Objectives

Provide opportunity to work on and receive assistance in writing program’s Specialized Professional Association (SPA) report(s)

Review examples SPA reports Generate initial data reports from

TaskStream and consider ways to improve data collection (if necessary)

Receive direct consultation and peer review regarding program report

Where are you?

Where are you in terms of writing your program’s SPA or assessment plan and report(s)?

What would you like to get out of this meeting and any future meetings?

What challenges are you encountering in writing your report(s)?

NCATE Overview

FOCUS: Assessment of Student Learning! Connects to institutional assessment processes

(North Central Association), ABOR 7 year Program Review, and Arizona Department of Education Review

NCATE web site: http://www.ncate.org

SPA Standards & Report Forms http://www.ncate.org/public/programStandards.a

sp?ch=4

Questions your report should answer…

General Directions (SPA Report Template, p. 2)

Overarching questions your report should answer: Have candidates mastered the necessary knowledge for

the subjects they will teach or the jobs they will perform? Do candidates meet state licensure requirements? Do candidates understand teaching and learning and can

they plan their teaching or fulfill other professional education responsibilities?

Can candidates apply their knowledge in classrooms and schools?

Do candidates focus on student learning?

SPA Report Requirements

General Directions Be aware of:

formatting and page limits for narrative sections and attachments (see p. 2)

NCATE template items vs. SPA language

Specific Instructions Look here for specific information

regarding: which programs are eligible for

review SPA specific decision rules if grades can be used for

assessment purposes

SPA Report Requirements

General Directions Connect the brief directions regarding each

report section on page 2 with the detailed instructions for each section described later in the report NOTE: Review examples listed in Section IV

BEFORE selecting assessments for Section II

Don’t Delay…Start Writing

Sections I, II, III, and IV (except item 3 and 5.c.) and Attachments A and B should be drafted NOW as part of your assessment planning efforts Program Assessment PLAN

Sections IV 3, 5.c., and V are the ONLY items that require data and analysis Program Assessment REPORT

February2008!

Section 1: Context

Six-page maximum narrative, plus three attachments not to exceed five pages each

Respond to the items provided (see page 4 of your SPA Report Template)

Section 1 Examples: From NCATE website: http://

www.ncate.org/public/ExPgmRepSection.asp?ch=90

Section 1: Context (continued)

Example: Educational Technology Assessment Portfolio:

To access the portfolio, please go to the following url and enter the password listed. url: 

http://www.taskstream.com/ts/administrator3/EdTechAssessmentPortfolio.html

password: isteassessment

Section 1: Context (continued)

Added introductory item: 0. Description of program and required course work.

Item 3. Description of the criteria for admission… Admission requirements can be pulled directly from the

catalog

Item 4. Description of the relationship of the program to the unit’s conceptual framework.

Consider adapting a table Kathy created that align NAU’s Values to the Professional Education Unit’s Conceptual Framework Values

Section 1: Context (continued)

NAU Value Professional Education Unit Value

Educational Technology Program Value

Student Success Learner-Centered Education: We value programs that give candidates the greatest chance of success by including components that are experiential, collaborative (often in mutually-beneficial partnerships with schools), problem-centered, reflection-oriented, outcome-based, research-guided, and technology-rich. We are committed to modeling effective learner-centered practices and dispositions.

Learning Paradigm: We strive to create environments and experiences that support students in discovering and constructing knowledge for themselves. We encourage candidates to form a community of learners that discuss ideas, share experiences, and solve problems.

Educational Access; Diversity

Commitment to Diversity: We actively promote diversity among administration, faculty, staff and candidates. We endorse respect for diversity in our curriculum and pedagogical applications.

Commitment to Diversity: Throughout our curriculum, we advocate the use of technology to support the needs of diverse learners. Specifically, we engage our candidates in the integration of technology to support second language learners, and promote cultural diversity. We also emphasize assistive technologies available

to support special needs learners.

Section 1: Context (continued)

Item 5. Indication of whether the program has a unique set of program assessments and their relationship of the program’s assessments to the unit’s assessment system.

Consider using the Rubric Alignment Table Template Attachments

Attachment A: Program of Study Attachment B: Enrollment and Program Completion Data

Pull from PAIR website: http://www4.nau.edu/pair/EnrollmentDegree/EnrollmentDegree.asp

Attachment C: Faculty Information For COE faculty some data is available through the Faculty Vita

database; other information will need to be collected directly from faculty members

Data Collection

How much data has your program collected? Step 1: Complete worksheet for monitoring

data collection Step 2: Check the PAIR website for past and

current course enrollments Step 3: For current semester courses

ONLY, send table to program faculty members to insert assessment due date information

Step 4: Generate preliminary TaskStream reports to compare enrollment with data collected

Step 5: Send table to appropriate program faculty members to follow-up in terms of data collection for past semester or once the due date for an assessment has past during the current semester

Step 1: Complete Worksheet

Monitoring Worksheet Current semester Past semesters

Summer 2007 Spring 2007

Step 2: Check Enrollment

Course Enrollment Data Go to:

http://www4.nau.edu/pair/EnrollmentDegree/EnrollmentDegree.asp Data Updated Daily, Current

Class Information Final Grade, Class Grade

Distribution

Step 3: Send to Faculty

Assessment due date Send chart to program faculty

members to insert assignment due date for current semester

Steps 4 & 5: Generate Report

Generate Preliminary TaskStream Report Check by course to compare

the data collected with the course enrollment data Use in combination with due date

information to monitor data being collected this semester

Use to follow-up with faculty members for missing data from past semesters

What’s Next? Action Items

Draft Section 1: Context Complete Data Collection Worksheet, and

follow-up with faculty members regarding data collection efforts for this semester as well as missing data

When would you like to meet again? Two weeks from now? Monthly?

Direct Consultation

Direct Consultation How can we help?