A year of planning and reorganization for Southern University at Baton Rouge’s teacher education program has paid off tremendously, earning the school high marks on the Louisiana Board of Regents’ 2002-2003 accountability report.
The annual report documents the success of public and private colleges of education in attaining teacher education reform goals.
The university’s teacher preparation program scored an “A” for its passage rate of the national teacher certification exam, known as PRAXIS.
Chancellor Edward Jackson said the report proves the College of Education’s level of dedication and commitment to excellence, noting that 97 percent of the 65 education students who took the exam passed– a dramatic improvement from last year’s 46-percent.
“Our numbers will be at 100 percent next year because of the University’s new policy which now requires that students pass the PRAXIS exam before they can receive a bachelor’s degree in education,” Jackson said.
“We are very proud of our three campuses who exited corrective action one year early,” said Dr. Jeanne Burns, Board of Regents’ Associate Commissioner for Teacher Education Initiatives. “All three campuses have raised their expectations for teacher candidates, added more rigor to their curriculum, and provided programs. These efforts will help their graduates improve the learning of K-12 students in our state.”
Ivory Toldson, dean of the School of Education also attributes this success to the students.
“After we required that all students pass the PRAXIS exam in order to graduate, the students became motivated to bring the numbers up,” Toldson said.
The report notes that Southern University, one of the three campuses who excited corrective action one year early, demonstrated significant improvement in its PRAXIS passage rates.
All institutions that enter into corrective action due to labels of “at-risk” or “low performing are under the rules of the program, they cannot be rated for two years after being placed in corrective action.
Louisiana Board of Regents’
2002-2003 Institutional Report for the Preparation of Teachers
PRAXIS Passage Rate
Institution Program Completers PRAXIS Passage Rate
Southern University at Baton Rouge 65 97% Grade A
Southern University at New Orleans 44 98% Grade A+
Louisiana State University 371 93% Grade A
LSU-Shreveport 107 98% Grade A+
University of New Orleans 174 91% Grade B
Grambling State University 21 100% Grade A+
Louisiana Tech University 125 100% Grade A+
McNeese State University 161 94% Grade A
Nicholls State University 207 96% Grade A
Northwestern State University 111 99% Grade A+
Southeastern Louisiana University 268 94% Grade A
University of Louisiana at Lafayette 244 96% Grade A
University of Louisiana at Monroe 213 100%Grade A+
Centenary College 13 100% Grade A+
Dillard University 13 100% Grade A+
