Purdue Northwest Educator Prep Program Recognized for National Excellence
Purdue University Northwest’s School of Education and Counseling is one of 60 providers from 26 states to receive accreditation from the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), the Council announced recently.
The CAEP accreditation standards are rigorous, nationally recognized standards that were developed to ensure excellence in education preparation programs. A total of 423 providers from 45 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are approved for accreditation by the Council.
“These institutions meet high standards so that their students receive an education that prepares them to succeed in a diverse range of classrooms after they graduate,” said CAEP President Christopher A. Koch. “Seeking CAEP accreditation is a significant commitment on the part of an educator preparation provider.”
The Purdue University Northwest education preparation program notably produces high-quality educators. Of teachers who graduated from PNW, 96% were marked effective/highly effective in their annual reviews. Additionally, 80% of candidates passed their pedagogy license exams on the first attempt.
“Our students and instructors should be very proud of the work they are doing. We’ve set a very high bar for our teacher preparation program, and our CAEP accreditation validates the hard work we are doing,” said PNW School of Education and Counseling Director Anne Gregory. “Our students and their families are investing in an education program that is designated as nationally accredited for teacher preparation.”
CAEP is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Accreditation is a nongovernmental activity based on peer review that serves the dual functions of assuring quality and promoting improvement. CAEP was created by the consolidation of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and the Teacher Education Accreditation Council. It is a unified accreditation system intent on raising the performance of all institutions focused on educator preparation. Approximately 700 educator preparation providers participate in the CAEP Accreditation system, including some previously accredited through former standards.
Educator preparation providers seeking accreditation must pass peer review of the CAEP standards, which are based on two principles:
- Solid evidence that the provider’s graduates are competent and caring educators, and
- Solid evidence that the provider’s educator staff have the capacity to create a culture of evidence and use it to maintain and enhance the quality of the professional programs they
The CAEP Board of Directors updated the educator preparation standards in 2020 as part of its commitment to reviewing the standards at least every seven years. The changes to the CAEP standards reflect the Board’s commitment to equity and diversity and also place an emphasis on the importance of technology in preparing future educators.
Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation
The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (www.CAEPnet.org) advances excellence in educator preparation through evidence-based accreditation that assures quality and supports continuous improvement to strengthen P-12 student learning.