Employer Feedback Summary 1
Employer Satisfaction with Teacher Education Program Completer Performance
Introduction
In order to understand how graduates of the Teacher Education Program (TEP) perform in their subsequent teaching positions, their principals are surveyed every year and asked to provide feedback about how well these individuals are performing in key areas of their job. This data provides the four teacher education programs, Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, Secondary Education, and Special Education, with helpful information about how to gauge impact, improve their programs, and identify what elements of these programs to retain that are preparing NMSU TEP completers effectively.
Methods
In October 2016 and 2015, principals of all elementary, middle, and high schools were emailed a survey that asked them to provide feedback about their teachers who had graduated from New Mexico State University the prior academic year in order to gauge early performance of recent graduates. A total of 16 principals responded to the survey in 2016 and 27 responded in 2015.
Results
Overall, principals were satisfied with their recently prepared NMSU teachers in all areas of focus across both years, particularly in how teachers planned classroom experiences to facilitate student learning, interacted effectively with peers, were effective problem solvers, which all had very few unsatisfied responses. In terms of where employers were the least satisfied, there were a few notable questions that had increases in dissatisfaction from 2015 to 2016. These included classroom management and organization, knowledge of subject matter, and communicating effectively with parents and the community. Responses for each question across the years can be found in Figures One, Two, and Three below, and it is important to note that not only are the sample sizes different for each year (16 and 27 responses for 2016 and 2015, respectively), the relatively small sample sizes also mean that one or two responses can have large impact on corresponding percentages in the Figures below.
Figure One: Employer Responses to First Set of Survey Questions
Figure Two: Employer Responses to Second Set of Survey Questions
Figure Three: Employer Responses to Third Set of Survey Questions
Implications
Results of the survey suggest general satisfaction with recent TEP completer performance, though there were a few areas that had notable trends of increased portions of dissatisfaction among principals. In response to feedback about classroom management and organization, knowledge of subject matter, and how well graduates communicate with parents and the community, program coordinators are assessing how to better prepare students in these areas during their preparation in the TEP program, with additional content already added to teacher preparation in the classroom management area. Additionally, we are revising how we send the survey in order to obtain a better response rate and what other data sources may be available that would yield more complete data, such as NMTeach rubric scores for our recent graduates.