Keene State College

To ensure that every child - regardless of race or background - receives a quality education, their teachers need to be effective. To support that aim, programs should screen for academic caliber during admissions to ensure that teacher candidates come from the top half of the college-going population. For consideration under this standard, tests used as an academic screen must be normed to the college-going population.

Institution-level selectivity for Keene State College

• Median SAT score: 977
• Median ACT score: 21

Program admissions requirement(s):

• Program GPA admissions requirement: 2.75

Admissions characteristics of enrolled candidates:

• Recently admitted teacher candidates' average GPA: 3.5

While the GPA for recently admitted teacher candidates is commendably high, it does not represent a nationally normed measure that ensures all teacher candidates are among the top half of the college-going population.

Next Steps
To improve under this standard, set SAT/ACT thresholds for admission into the teacher prep program above the national median.

A diverse teacher workforce benefits all students, particularly students of color. While there has been real progress over the last twenty years in diversifying the teacher workforce,¹ these gains have not kept pace with a rapidly diversifying student population. To accelerate progress, strategic recruitment efforts by teacher preparation programs are essential.

• Teacher prep enrollment: 6 percent candidates of color²
• New Hampshire teacher workforce: 2 percent teachers of color³
• Local demographics: 6 percent persons of color⁴

Programs earning an A contribute to the diversification of the teacher workforce. Programs earn this grade when the percentage of enrolled candidates of color meets or exceeds (by up to 9 percentage points) the diversity of the state teacher workforce and also meets or exceeds the diversity of the local population.⁵

Keene State College is found to be 4.4 percentage points more diverse than the New Hampshire teacher workforce and 0.9 percentage points more diverse than the local population.

Detailed course-level findings

All elementary teacher candidates should learn scientifically based reading instruction, the research-based content and methods to effectively teach all children to read. This content should be clearly evident in a teacher preparation program’s course materials, including class session topics, assignments, practice opportunities, and background materials. The five core components of scientifically based reading instruction evaluated under this standard are: Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Vocabulary, and Comprehension.

A review of EDUC 322, EDUC 205, and EDUC 321 finds the program earns an A+ for providing adequate coverage and averaging 10 points across all five components while not teaching any practices that run contrary to scientifically based reading instruction.

To meet coverage requirements for a component, a program must earn at least 8 out of 12 points based on addressing the component through four instructional approaches: instructional hours, background materials (e.g., textbooks, readings, and other resources), objective measures of knowledge (e.g., tests or written assignments), and practice/application. A program can earn up to three points for each instructional approach.

Analysis found there was adequate coverage of the following component(s):

• Phonemic Awareness: 11 of 12 points
• Phonics: 11 of 12 points
• Fluency: 11 of 12 points
• Vocabulary: 11 of 12 points
• Comprehension: 11 of 12 points

Evidence of Content Contrary to Research-Based Practices

Analysis found no evidence of course content focused on practices that run contrary to research.


Evidence of Exemplary Practices

Courses analyzed were inclusive of content that provides an understanding of how and why scientifically based reading instruction is effective. That content included:

• Science of Reading (SoR)

For additional information on how programs are scored, please review the technical report. The link below provides a more detailed program summary, including course-level analysis based on the material provided.

Download the detailed course-level findings




Support for Range of Learners
(Ungraded: Findings did not contribute your grade)

All elementary teacher candidates should be prepared to teach culturally and linguistically diverse students. To elevate the importance of instruction on how to support a range of learners, including struggling readers, English language learners, and students who speak language varieties other than mainstream English (e.g. speakers of African American English or Appalachian English), this analysis looks for evidence in the teacher preparation program’s course materials including class session topics, assignments, practice opportunities, and background materials.

To provide feedback on how institutions address instruction, a program can earn up to a total of eight points for each population over four instructional approaches: instructional hours, background materials (e.g. textbooks, readings, and other resources), objective measures of knowledge (e.g. tests and written assignments), and practice/application. A program can earn up to two points for each instructional approach.

Analysis found the following coverage for supporting a range of learners:

• Struggling Readers: 4 of 8 points, placing this program at the 59th percentile among evaluated programs.
• English Language Learners: 6 of 8 points, placing this program at the 88th percentile among evaluated programs.
• Students who speak language varieties other than mainstream English: 3.50 of 8 points, placing this program at the 94th percentile among evaluated programs. Note that programs' attention to this group of students is nascent, and few programs had evidence of any attention in this area.

Download the detailed course-level findings

Students cannot excel in mathematics without skillful instruction in the earliest years of school. Teacher candidates generally require three semesters of coursework, complemented by adequate field practice, to progress from a procedural to a conceptual understanding of the essential mathematics topics taught in the elementary grades.

Courses reviewed: MATH 171, MATH 172, and EDUC 322

Through a review of the coursework noted above, the program was found to provide teacher candidates with fair coverage of numbers & operations, algebra, geometry, and data analysis & probability. The program was also found to require at least three SCHs of coursework focused on the methods of mathematics instruction.

Because they teach all subjects, elementary teacher candidates need to have a solid grasp of literature and composition, American and world history, geography and science. Teacher candidates should also develop some expertise outside of their professional studies, not only to enrich their own academic experience, but also to serve as a fallback major in the event that the student teaching experience is unsuccessful.

Requirements established by the program and/or the institution in which it is located ensure that all elementary certification candidates must take relevant classes in the checked topics below.

Literature & Composition
	✗ World literature
	✗ American literature Because of the range of course options permitted, all elementary teacher candidates are not required to take the equivalent of a three semester credit hour general education course that covers major authors and themes in American literature from roughly the colonial period to the modern era.
	✗ Writing, grammar and composition Consider revising required coursework in Writing, grammar and composition so that it addresses composition, in particular the writing of expository, argumentative, descriptive, and narrative essays.
	✗ Children's literature
History & Geography
	✗ Early American history Because of the range of course options permitted, all elementary teacher candidates are not required to take the equivalent of a three semester credit hour general education course that focuses on U.S. history from the age of discovery or colonial period or founding of the republic to the Civil War or Reconstruction.
	✗ Modern American history or Government Because of the range of course options permitted, all elementary teacher candidates are not required to take the equivalent of a three semester credit hour general education course that focuses on US history from the Civil War or Reconstruction to the modern period (beginning anywhere from 1865 to 1900 and concluding near the present) or on the constitutional underpinnings, the specific branches, and state and national features of our democracy.
	✗ World history—ancient
	✗ World history—modern
	✗ Geography Because of the range of course options permitted, all elementary teacher candidates are not required to take the equivalent of a three semester credit hour general education course that addresses both physical and cultural geography -- analyzing the world from a geographic perspective and emphasizing the unique qualities of world regions; the spatial interactions of people, elements, and regions; and, major regional and global problems and prospects.
Science
	✗ Biology Because of the range of course options permitted, all elementary teacher candidates are not required to take the equivalent of a three semester credit hour general education course that covers biology and matter related to biological processes, including topics such as cellular structures and dynamics, genetics, taxonomy, evolution, plant and animal physiology, developmental biology, and, ecology. Cellular and molecular biology should be more prominently featured than ecology and/or evolution.
	✗ Chemistry Because of the range of course options permitted, all elementary teacher candidates are not required to take the equivalent of a three semester credit hour general education course that covers topics such as measurement, matter and energy, atomic theory and structure, the periodic table, chemical reactions, stoichiometry, chemical bonding, states of matter, reaction rates and equilibria, acids and bases, nuclear chemistry, and biochemistry.
	✗ Physics Because of the range of course options permitted, all elementary teacher candidates are not required to take the equivalent of a three semester credit hour general education course that falls into one of these broad categories. Physics: an introductory course covering motion, energy, conservation laws, gravity, phase changes, thermodynamics, electricity, magnetism, sound, light, and wave dynamics. Physical Science: an introduction to physical science which features physics prominently. Earth Science: an introductory course that covers one or more of geology, climatology, astronomy, and oceanography.
	✗ Earth science

Student teaching serves a critical role in preparing teacher candidates to take the reins of their own classroom. This apprenticeship allows candidates to build on coursework by learning directly from an established teacher, and practice and refine essential instructional and management skills.

Student teaching should be at least 10 weeks long in order to offer opportunities for repeated cycles of practice and growth. It should be full- or nearly-full-time, and include several weeks during which the candidate has primary responsibility for teaching the whole class for full days, so that the candidate can experience the full demands of being a teacher.

• Our review finds that the program includes at least 10 weeks of full- or nearly-full-time student teaching, and exposes candidates to the full responsibilities of a teacher.

In addition, there are two essential steps that programs should take to safeguard the value of the experience:

1. Supply student teachers with sufficient feedback by requiring supervisors to provide student teachers with at least four instances of written feedback based on observations.

• A review of program policy finds that supervisors are required to provide a minimum of 4 instances of written feedback based on observations.

2. Establish a structured process for selecting strong cooperating teachers that includes the collection of sufficient information to confirm that cooperating teachers have relevant skills, including ability as a mentor and instructional effectiveness as measured by student learning.

• Analysis finds that this program does not collect substantive information on cooperating teachers' skills.

Based on the findings above, the program partly meets this standard.

Next Steps

• Require program supervisors to observe student teachers at least four times during the final semester of clinical experiences and provide written feedback after each observation. Research finds that when student teachers are observed at least five times by university supervisors over the course of the student teaching placement, they are more effective when they have classrooms of their own. While feedback from cooperating teachers is also valuable, no research of comparable strength defines the ideal quantity of feedback from cooperating teachers.
• To ensure candidates are placed with the best, establish an explicit process with partner districts to gather information on potential cooperating teachers' skills including both their effectiveness (as measured by student achievement) and capacity to mentor. Collecting additional information, such as a teacher's classroom management style or communication skills, can also be valuable, as long as the focus remains on quality and the potential fit as a mentor and not on just collecting basic data, like years of experience. This information should be used to screen cooperating teachers' suitability before placing student teachers with them.

New teachers and their principals consistently report that classroom management is one of their greatest challenges. Teachers will be better prepared to establish a positive classroom environment if, during their preparation programs, they practice and receive feedback on the five classroom management strategies shown by conclusive research to be useful for all students. These strategies are:

1. Rules and Routines – Establishing classroom rules and routines that set expectations for behavior;
2. Learning Time – Maximizing the time that students are engaged in learning by pacing lessons appropriately, managing class materials and the physical setup of the classroom, and teaching interesting lessons;
3. Praise – Using meaningful praise and other forms of positive reinforcement to encourage appropriate behavior;
4. Low-profile Redirection – Using unobtrusive means that do not interrupt instruction to prevent and manage minimally disruptive behavior; and
5. Consequences – Addressing more serious misbehavior with consistent, appropriate consequences.

Student teaching and residency are crucial times for the development and refinement of classroom management skills. The first few months of school are just as critical for candidates in alternative programs who have full responsibility for a classroom of children. Evaluation and observation forms used during these experiences can shape the feedback that participants receive on key classroom management strategies.

A review of program evaluation and/or observation instruments finds that they provide feedback on student teachers' use of the following classroom management strategies:

• Rules and Routines
• Learning Time (manage time; manage materials; manage student engagement)

The program meets only a small part of the standard because the feedback provided to student teachers addresses only a few of the critical classroom management strategies.

Next Steps
Consider modifying evaluation and observation instruments to provide participants with feedback on their use of the following strategies:

• Learning Time (manage the physical classroom)
• Praise
• Low-profile Redirection
• Consequences