The Office of Educator Quality today updated the State Board on the 2014 Annual Performance Report (APR) for educator preparation programs (EPPs) in Missouri. The APR allows the programs to see how well they are meeting state expectations for preparing teachers and school administrators and to determine where improvement is needed. The performance report is one step in the process of raising standards for Missouri’s educators and providing effective educators in every classroom helping children succeed.

This annual reporting system replaces the seven-year review cycle that was part of the Missouri Standards for Teacher Education Programs (MoSTEP).  The previous system was limited to reviewing what programs had done previously.

“The Missouri system is now a continuous improvement model helping prepare and support educators from college student to master teacher,” said Director of Educator Preparation Gale Hairston, Ed.D. “The goal is to drive program improvement for educator candidates so that ultimately every child in Missouri has an effective teacher.”

The APR focuses on multiple performance indicators, including educator candidate academics, field and clinical experiences, and how well teacher candidates transition to first-year educators. Benchmarks include passing rates on specific content assessments, meeting GPA requirements for certification, and survey results from teachers and their principals indicating how well they were prepared.

Preparing, developing and supporting effective educators is one of the primary goals of Missouri’s Top 10 by 20 initiative, an ambitious effort to improve student achievement in Missouri to rank among the top 10 states by 2020.