Celebrating 100 Percent
SOE Grads Ace Certification Exams Again
Centennial Faculty Guest Blog
By Dr. Krys Goree
While Baylor School of Education is celebrating 100 years, we have another important “100” to celebrate — a 100% pass rate on certification exams by Baylor School of Education graduates!
The Baylor School of Education is celebrating its Centennial year of preparing teachers to go into the field of education equipped to make a positive difference in the lives of children, communities, the nation, and our world. As we reflect on the rich history of the Baylor School of Education, we celebrate many accomplishments, and there are certainly many to celebrate. One is the amazing success of the Baylor School of Education graduates on the examinations required to become educators.
The Texas State Board of Educator Certification report for the 2017 – 2018 has recently been released. And, once again, teacher education graduates of the Baylor School of Education boast a 100% pass rate on the examinations that are required for preservice teachers to be recommended for certification – 100% for both the content and pedagogy Texas Examinations of Educator Standards (TExES) tests! This is the fifth year in a row that Baylor School of Education graduates can claim a 100% pass rate.
To say that the School of Education is proud of the performance of its graduates on the certification testing is a huge understatement. We have some of the most amazing teacher education candidates! – with hearts for helping children to reach their full potential in the area of academics as well as in social and emotional needs and growth.
Since 1986, the State of Texas has required preservice teachers to take and pass exams that focus on both content and pedagogy to ensure that they are well-prepared to meet the challenging demands of providing positive and productive learning environments in classrooms for all students.
If you are a teacher, what test did you to take? It is fun to look back at how the exams have changed. Did you take the TCAT? Did you take the ExCET? If so, you (like me) did not take a test that required the knowledge, expertise, and experiences that today’s promising educators as are required to take and pass. Did you know that preservice teachers who are seeking certification in elementary education are currently required to take a test that includes 5 sub-tests? And they must pass each sub-test with an excellent score! Times and tests for educator certification have changed, but the Baylor School of Education takes pride in keeping up with those changes and working hard to ensure that our outstanding teacher education candidates are prepared to make a positive difference every day in today’s classrooms.
So, who is responsible for ensuring that our teacher education candidates perform well on the TExES examinations? The success of the Baylor teacher education candidates on the required testing is not by accident! They are well prepared to be outstanding educators due to the work of teams that are made up of talented and knowledgeable individuals – both Baylor faculty and practicing educators in the field with whom they work every day, especially during their junior and senior years. These outstanding Baylor faculty members and public school educators work side-by-side to ensure that the teacher education candidates have the opportunity to implement the research-based best practices necessary to effectively address the needs of each and every student with whom they have the opportunity to interact.
Krys Goree, Ph.D., serves as the director of the Office of Professional Practice in the School of Education at Baylor University and has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in teacher education and educational psychology. Dr. Goree’s past professional experiences include service as a classroom teacher, gifted and talented district program coordinator, education specialist at Education Service Center Region 12, and principal at two campuses in China Spring Independent School District.