Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia
Department 505 - PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS COMMISSION
Chapter 505-3 - EDUCATOR PREPARATION RULES
Rule 505-3-.02 - Educator Preparation Provider Annual Reporting and Evaluation

(a) Advanced Preparation/Degree-Only Program: An educator preparation program at the post-baccalaureate level for the continuing education of educators who have previously completed initial preparation and are certified in the program's subject area or field of certification. Advanced preparation/degree-only programs commonly award graduate credit and include masters, specialist, and doctoral degree programs.

(b) Approval: A process for assessing and enhancing academic and education quality through peer review, to assure the public that an educator preparation provider (EPP) and/or educator preparation program has met institutional, state, and national standards of educational quality; also, a Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC) decision rendered when an EPP or educator preparation program meets GaPSC standards and required annual reporting requirements.

(c) Approval Review: Examination of evidence and interviews of stakeholders conducted by GaPSC Site Visitors either on-site at an institution/agency, or electronically using web and telephone conferencing systems as part of a Developmental, First Continuing, Focused, or Probationary Review.

(d) Candidates/Teacher Candidates: Individuals enrolled in programs for the initial or advanced preparation of educators, programs for the continuing professional development of educators, or programs for the preparation of other professional school personnel. Candidates are distinguished from students in B/P-12 schools. Candidates in programs leading to Teaching (T) certification may also be referred to as Pre-service Teacher Candidates. (The term enrolled is used in the GaPSC approval process to mean the candidate is admitted and taking classes.)

(e) Certified/Classified Personnel Information (CPI): A tri-annual data collection performed by the Georgia Department of Education of active certified and classified employees at each school/district location. The data includes job assignment, subject matter, percentage of time assigned, local years of service, years of experience for payroll purposes, employment basis, and contract salary including all supplements for each certified employee.

(f) Clinical Practice: Culminating residency (formerly referred to as student teaching) or internship experiences with candidates placed in classrooms for at least one (1) full semester where they experience intensive and extensive practices in which they are fully immersed in the learning community and provided opportunities to develop and demonstrate competence in the professional roles for which they are preparing. In initial preparation programs in Leadership (L) or Service (S) fields, candidates will complete such culminating residency or internship experiences in placements that allow the knowledge, skills, and dispositions included in the programs to be practiced and applied. In non-traditional preparation programs, such as GaTAPP, clinical practice is job-embedded as candidates must be hired as a classroom teacher to be admitted to the program.

(g) Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP): The national accreditation organization formed as a result of the unification of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC). CAEP advances excellence in educator preparation through evidence-based accreditation that assures quality and supports continuous improvement to strengthen B/P-12 student learning.

(h) Educator Preparation Program: A planned sequence of courses and experiences for preparing B/P-12 teachers and other professional school personnel that leads to a state certification. See the definitions for the three (3) types of educator preparation programs: Initial, Endorsement, and Advanced/Degree-Only.

(i) Educator Preparation Provider (EPP): The institution of higher education (IHE), college, school, department, agency, or other administrative body responsible for managing or coordinating all programs offered for the initial and continuing preparation of teachers and other school personnel, regardless of where these programs are administratively housed.

(j) Endorsement Program: A planned sequence of courses and experiences, typically three (3) to four (4) courses in length, designed to provide educators with an additional, specific set of knowledge and skills, or to expand and enhance existing knowledge and skills. Successful completion of an endorsement program results in the addition of the endorsement field to the Georgia educator certificate designating expertise in the field. Endorsement programs may be offered as non-credit bearing programs, or they may lead to college credit; they must be approved by the GaPSC and administered by a GaPSC-approved EPP, and may be offered as either a stand-alone program or, unless otherwise specified in GaPSC Educator Preparation Rules 505-3-.82 through 505-3-.115, embedded in an initial preparation or advanced/degree-only program. Depending on the needs of the individual educator, endorsement programs may also be included as a part of an educator's professional learning plan/goals. See GaPSC Rule 505-2-.14 ENDORSEMENTS.

(k) Field Experiences: Activities that include organized and sequenced engagement of candidates in settings providing opportunities to observe, practice, and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions delineated in institutional, state, and national standards. The experiences must be systematically designed and sequenced to increase the complexity and levels of engagement with which candidates apply, reflect upon, and expand their knowledge and skills. Since observation is a less rigorous method of learning, emphasis should be on field experience sequences requiring active professional practice or demonstration, and that include substantive work with B/P-12 students and B/P-12 personnel as appropriate. In non-traditional preparation programs (e.g., GaTAPP), field experiences occur outside candidates' classrooms with students with different learning needs and varied backgrounds in at least two (2) settings during the clinical practice.

(l) Induction:

(m) Initial Preparation Program: A program designed to prepare candidates for their initial, or first, professional certificate in a Teaching (T), Leadership (L), or Service (S) field. Examples include degree programs at the baccalaureate, masters, or higher levels; or post-baccalaureate programs, non-degree certification-only programs, and non-traditional programs, such as the Georgia Teacher Academy for Preparation and Pedagogy (GaTAPP) or Alternative Preparation for Educational Leadership program. Programs leading to an educator's first certificate in a particular field are considered initial preparation even if the educator is certified in one or more other fields.

(n) Non-traditional Teacher Preparation Program (GaTAPP): A program designed to prepare individuals who at admission hold an appropriate degree with verified content knowledge through a major or its equivalent in the content field or a passing score on the state-approved content assessment in the content field. If the state-approved content knowledge was not required at admission, it must be passed for program completion. Non-traditional teacher preparation programs lead only to a certificate, not to a degree or college credit and:

(o) Preparation Program Effectiveness Measures (PPEMs): A collection of common measures applied to all teacher preparation programs leading to initial certification in a field. Teacher Preparation Program Effectiveness Measures (TPPEMs) are further defined in this rule.

(p) Out-of-State Institution: An institution of higher education that is administratively based in a state within the United States other than Georgia.

(q) Program Completer: A person who has met all the requirements of a GaPSC-approved or state- approved out-of-state educator preparation program, to include all GaPSC requirements such as attempting all assessments required for state certification.

(r) State-approved Content Assessment: A content-specific, standardized test aligned with preparation program standards (state and national) and Georgia's P-12 curriculum, and developed to ensure that educators have the content knowledge necessary for successful performance as an educator. A passing score on the appropriate assessment is required for state certification.

(s) Teacher Preparation Program Effectiveness Measures (TPPEMs): A collection of common measures applied to all GaPSC-approved teacher preparation programs leading to initial certification in a Teaching field.

(t) Traditional Preparation Program: A credit-bearing program designed for the preparation of educators offered by an institution of higher education.

(a) The requirements stated in this rule apply to all GaPSC-approved educator preparation providers (EPPs) and all educator preparation programs leading to initial certification in a Teaching (T).

(b) Data will be reported in the aggregate, so as not to identify individual program candidates. Personally identifiable information will not be reported by GaPSC.

(a) Completion Reporting Year. The PPEM reporting year starts September 1 and ends August 31.

(b) Teacher Preparation Program Effectiveness Measures (TPPEMs) are comprised of a set of three measures representing the performance of candidates while enrolled in the preparation program and their performance in the classroom after program completion when completers are employed in Georgia public schools or Georgia public charter schools and in their fields of preparation. TPPEMs are collected and reported annually. TPPEM measures include:

(c) Refer to the PPEM Technical Specifications document for additional information on each measure, and the schedule of data collection and reporting.

(a) State Reporting.

(b) Federal Reporting: Title II. All GaPSC-approved EPPs are required to submit annually the data required for federal Title II reporting. Failure to submit Title II data, accurately, completely, and by published deadlines may result in adverse changes in approval status, up to and including recommendation to the Commission of revocation of approval, and may result in fines.

(a) Reporting to EPPs. When sufficient data are available, PPEMs will be provided annually to each GaPSC-approved EPP. All data will be aggregated at the program level; no individual level data will be provided. EPPs are expected to use PPEMs and other data to improve programs.

(b) Reporting to the Georgia Professional Standards Commission. PPEMs will be provided annually to the 18-member standards commission via the public dashboard; data will be aggregated at the program and EPP levels and no individual level data will be provided.

(c) Reporting to Other State Agencies. The Georgia Professional Standards Commission is a participating agency in GAAWARDS, Georgia's Academic and Workforce Analysis and Research Data System, which is the state's Pre-K through workforce (P20W) longitudinal data system. Data of individual candidates is provided to GAAWARDS annually. All personally identifiable information is removed prior to being used for research purposes.

(d) Reporting to the Public. PPEMs will be provided to the public annually via the GaPSC website. Data will be aggregated at the program and EPP levels; no individual level data or aggregations of fewer than ten (10) individuals will be provided.