Has Reform in Teacher Education Influenced Teacher Performance? An Outcome Assessment of Graduates of an Eleven-University Consortium

Abstract This article describes the efforts of eleven universities and colleges to assess their teacher education programs based on broad, commonly held outcomes. Performance evaluations and self reports of nearly 1400 recent teacher education graduates allowed a comparison of traditional and extended programs and an assessment of recent graduates. The authors provide results of data collected around four outcome measures: entry of teachers into the profession, retention in the profession, classroom performance, and leadership behavior. School principals rated eighty-eight percent of consortium graduates in the top two quartiles of classroom performance. Extended program graduates entered teaching at significantly higher rates than did graduates of four-year programs and stayed in teaching significantly longer. Extended program graduates reported significantly higher rates of engagement in certain teacher-related leadership roles.