Central panelists speak for the trees
Central’s Educator Preparation Programs are accredited by The Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) through 12/31/29. This accreditation recognizes that our education programs have met national professional standards for the preparation of teachers and other educators. In CAEP’s performance-based accreditation system, institutions must provide evidence of competent teacher candidate performance. Teacher candidates must know the subject matter they plan to teach and how to teach effectively so that all students learn.
Connecticut State Department of Education
Educator Preparation Programs within Central’s School of Education are approved by the Connecticut State Department of Education.
Data and Information
Measure 1 (Initial): Completer effectiveness. (R4.1)
Measure 2 (Initial and/or Advanced): Satisfaction of employers and stakeholder involvement. (R4.2, R5.3, RA4.1)
Measure 3 (Initial and/or Advanced): Candidate competency at completion. (R3.3)
Measure 4 (Initial and/or Advanced): Ability of completers to be hired (in positions for which they have prepared).
CAEP has annual reporting measures which are used to provide information to the public on program impact and program outcomes. The following measures are those specified by CAEP for annual reporting. Impact measures include (1) completer effectiveness, (2) employer satisfaction and stakeholder involvement, (3) candidate competency at completion, and (4) ability of completers to be hired in positions for which they were prepared. The EPP is responsible for clearly identifying and prominently displaying data pertaining to each of the Accountability Measures on its website so that the information is easily understandable and accessible by the public.
Below are the reporting measures for our undergraduate and graduate initial licensure programs and for our advanced licensure programs including data tables and/or information that provide supporting evidence for each measure.
Measure 1 (Initial): Completer effectiveness. (R4.1)
The EPP’s main goal is to effectively use a combination of qualitative and quantitative data to measure completers’ effectiveness. However, we have been unsuccessful in obtaining helpful feedback from completers through surveys because of very low response rates and focused group interviews due to scheduling conflicts among participants. Consequently, we decided to switch to one-on-one interviews with representative groups of completers. In fall 2025, we accomplished the following: Defined our interview goals (i.e., specific insights we are seeking from interviews) and target completers (i.e., key characteristics); created a semi-structured interview guide, which includes open-ended and follow-up questions; and developed outreach strategies (i.e., identifying, recruiting, and inviting participants). To facilitate the completion of the interview process, we designated specific faculty in each initial and advanced programs to play a role in identifying, scheduling, and interviewing completers. The EPP CTEN Assessment Sub-committee takes the lead in the implementation of data collection, analysis, interpretation, and reporting of results. All initial and advanced programs are part of a larger process where multiple programs assess their completers’ impact on PK-12 student-learning growth and their effectiveness in applying professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions. The criteria for representative groups of completers in each of the initial and advanced programs include the following: (a) Completed their degree program between 2020 and 2024; (b) For representative groups in the initial certification programs, there are two completers each from the BS and post-baccalaureate programs in secondary mathematics, science, English, history/social studies, and world languages; TESOL, elementary education, music education, art education, dance education, special education, technology education, and physical education (a total of 10 completers in each program) (c) For the advanced programs, there are two completers each from the Master’s/Sixth Year Certificate programs in Educational Leadership and Literacy Education (a total of 10 completers for each program). Through the interview process, the School of Education hopes to gain meaningful insight into how well the program prepared them for real-world classroom challenges by providing them with an opportunity to share valuable feedback with the EPP related to how they directly contribute to student-learning growth (R4.1 Completer Effectiveness) as well as how their program preparation has impacted their knowledge, skills and dispositions in the classroom (R4.3 Completer Satisfaction). We are still in the process of calibrating the interview instrument, including training interviewers on how to use the instrument consistently to reduce bias and ensure reliable data. A pilot of the interview process will be conducted at the close of the spring 2026 semester with full implementation of interviews with completers beginning in Fall 2026. Data will be available for the 2026-2027 annual report.
Measure 1: Completer Impact and Effectiveness
Measure 2 (Initial and/or Advanced): Satisfaction of employers and stakeholder involvement. (R4.2, R5.3, RA4.1)
As reported in Measure One, due to the very low response rate of employer surveys, we decided to implement one-on-one interviews with representative groups of PK-12 employers. (i.e., PK-5, 6-8, 9-12). In fall 2025, we accomplished the following: Defined our interview goals (i.e., specific insights we are seeking from interviews) and target completers (i.e., key characteristics); created a semi- structured interview guide, which includes open-ended and follow-up questions; and developed outreach strategies (i.e., identifying, recruiting, and inviting P-12 employers). Preparation for one-on-one interviews occurred in Fall 2024 and spring 2025. The EPP CTEN Assessment Sub-committee has taken the lead in the planning and implementation of the one-on-one interviews. The criteria for representative groups of P-12 employers include the following: (a) Hired certified teachers that completed our programs between 2019 and 2023; (b) Principals in PK-12 schools in diverse districts who have hired completers from one or more of our initial certification programs (a total of 8-10 principals); (c) Superintendents in P-12 in diverse school districts who have hired completers from our advanced certificate programs (i.e., Educational Leadership and Reading Specialist and Literacy Coaches). Through the interview process, the School of Education hopes to gain actionable insights for program improvement and have a better understanding of specific areas where employers feel our graduates are well-prepared and/or where they might need additional support. We are still in the process of calibrating the interview instrument, including training interviewers on how to use the instrument consistently to reduce bias and ensure reliable data. A pilot of the interview process will be conducted at the close of the spring 2026 semester with full implementation of interviews with employers beginning in Fall 2026. Data will be available for the 2026-2027 annual report.
Measure 2: Satisfaction of Employers and Stakeholder Involvement
Measure 3 (Initial and Advanced): Candidate competency at completion. (R3.3)
Measure 4 (Initial and/or Advanced): Ability of completers to be hired (in positions for which they have prepared).
The EPP recognizes the importance of tracking its program completers for the purposes of accountability and continuous improvement. The EPP has employed informal/formal ways of tracking its completers’ employment through alumni surveys, alumni self-reporting, interviews, focus groups, employers’ satisfaction surveys, interviews, focus groups, alumni social events, and/or word-of-mouth from P-12 partner schools/districts or other completers.
A promising data source for tracking completers’ job placements in Connecticut is the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) data dashboard that EPPs can now access to view data relevant to their educator preparation programs at initial and advanced levels. The CSDE data dashboard contains information about the district hiring distribution of completers, disaggregated by gender, years of employment, and program enrollment numbers.
The data below was collected from the public records of the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) Data Dashboard. The current data available is through 2022-2023.
Links to Data: