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MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (March 14, 2019) — The Tennessee State Board of Education recently released its annual report card for the state’s teacher education programs. In the report, graduates of Milligan’s teacher education programs received the top result for provider impact among Tennessee schools ranked on a 75-point scale, scoring above 28 other teacher education programs including Vanderbilt University, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Belmont University and East Tennessee State University.
Provider impact is the most weighted category on the overall report card, and it measures the impact educators have on students’ performances in K-12 classrooms. Provider impact scores are derived from teacher observations scored by the local school district and student scores on tests for the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS). TVAAS testing evaluates how schools and teachers impact students’ academic progress.
“As former teachers ourselves, our faculty are pleased to know our graduates are effectively impacting students in the classroom and aiding their academic progress,” said Dr. Angela Hilton-Prillhart, Milligan’s area chair of education. “Milligan’s top score in provider impact reinforces our program’s emphasis on high-quality clinical experiences, in addition to the support we provide to our candidates as they enter the field.”
Milligan’s teacher education programs emphasize first-hand experience in the classroom, exposing candidates to local schools in their first semester.
“The amount of hours that our candidates spend in the field separates us from other institutions,” noted Mark Dula, assistant professor of education. “Milligan has developed great relationships with our local school systems, and these partnerships allow our candidates to receive high-quality exposure to classrooms long before they begin student teaching or an internship.”
Milligan’s faculty serve as supervisors for candidates as they transition into internships and student teaching, and they continue to mentor candidates once they enter the field.
“As a student teacher, I was visited only twice by my supervisor,” recounted Hilton-Prillhart. “At Milligan, our supervisors reach out weekly or bi-weekly, translating into consistent opportunities for feedback, adjustments and encouragement.”
In addition, Milligan’s teacher education programs continued to score well in teacher employment on the state report card. Most notably, Milligan’s teacher education programs scored 100 percent in two-year retention, indicating that any Milligan graduate who accepted a job in Tennessee’s public schools remained in that position for a second year. Milligan’s second year and third year retention rates for employment were above the state average.
For more information on Milligan’s teacher education programs, visit www.milligan.edu/education.