AY24/25 CAEP Accountability Measures

Measure 2: Satisfaction of employers and stakeholder involvement

The UAF School of Education measures satisfaction of employers through a supervisor survey developed by the Network for Excellence in Teaching (NExT). The NExT Supervisor Survey, now an open-source survey, is administered every spring. It asks employers of teachers who graduated from UAF School of Education teaching licensure programs in the prior academic year (Initial and Advanced) to rate new teacher preparedness across a series of skills. 

The NExT Surveys group teacher skills into 4 domains: Instructional Practice (based on 21 skills), Diverse Learners (based on 9 skills), Learning Environment (based on 9 skills), and Professionalism (based on 6 skills). Across these domains, the majority of responding supervisors report satisfaction with new teacher performance, and with the performance of newly endorsed Special Education teachers. Below in Figure 1 are the spring 2025 NExT Supervisor Survey results regarding 2023/24 alumni (2024/25 first year teachers) from Elementary, Secondary, and Special Education programs.

Measure 3: Candidate competency at program completion

Candidates in their final semester of their program are actively involved in student teaching. To assess candidate skills and dispositions in the classroom, both initial and advanced candidates complete three culminating assessments which are shared across programs. Candidates must meet a proficient level in each shared assessment in order to be recommended for licensure. The three culminating assessments are described below. 

• ATCAT: Alaska Teacher Culminating Assessment Task, created by the UAF School of Education - The ATCAT assesses candidate planning, instruction, assessment, and reflection on practice. Candidates submit lesson plans, video of instruction, analysis of assessment data, and reflections on practice. University faculty complete the assessment. Candidates must score at the proficient with revisions level or higher to pass the assessment. Candidates are given the opportunity to revise at least once if expectations are rated underdeveloped in any area.

• STOT: Skills of Teaching Observation Tool, created by North Dakota Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (NDACTE) - District employed Mentor Teachers and University Supervisors use the STOT formatively at several stages of the candidate’s internship before completing a final observation during the candidate’s final semester to document field observations. The STOT consists of 34 InTASC aligned items assessing the candidate’s content knowledge, knowledge of learning differences, instructional practice, and professionalism. Candidates may not have more than 4 skills rated at an emergent level or below by the completion of their student teaching.  

• PCF: Professional Characteristics Form, created by the UAF School of Education - University faculty, University Supervisors, and district Mentor Teachers complete PCFs throughout candidates’ coursework and field work experiences. In the final semester, candidate dispositions in the fieldwork setting are assessed with a PCF by the University Supervisor and district Mentor Teacher. Candidates must consistently score at a proficient level or above across the 6 criteria of the PCF. 

The UAF School of Education looked at average scores in the final semester across the three shared culminating assessments for each graduating candidate across all teaching licensure programs (See Figure 2 below). Each assessment is scored on a scale of 1-Underdeveloped to 4-Distinguished. A score of 3 is considered proficient. The majority of all candidates across programs were assessed at a proficient level. 

Measure 4: Ability of completers to be hired in education positions for which they have been prepared