WKU Scores 99% Pass Rate
On New Teacher Exam
October 08, 2003
Bowling Green, Ky. - With a 99 percent pass rate, Western Kentucky University had the highest score of Kentucky's public colleges and universities on a statewide exam for new teachers.
Western's pass rate and rank I rating on the Praxis II exam for 2001-02 helped earn the University an excellent rating on the Quality Performance Index. In the other two components, Western had a 99 percent pass rate on the 2000-03 Kentucky Teacher Internship Program and a high score on the 2002-03 New Teacher Survey. Western is the only public institution to achieve an excellent rating.
"We had the largest number of students taking the test (289) and the highest pass rate among all public institutions," WKU President Gary Ransdell said. "What a great compliment to our students and to our faculty who teach them. Most importantly, this is great assurance that the future teachers we produce are indeed highly qualified and capable."
Sam Evans, dean of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, said such success on exams like the Praxis II does not occur by accident.
"This is an indication that we have a quality program based on current acceptable standards," Dr. Evans said. "It is very significant that we have the largest program in the state and only two students who were not successful in passing the exam."
The Praxis II assesses teacher candidates' knowledge of content in the areas they will teach before they are licensed. The national test is administered by Educational Testing Service with pass-fail scores set at the state level.
The results of the Praxis II exams and Quality Performance Index Report were recently released by the Education Professional Standards Board. Additional information is available at: http://edtech.wku.edu/tq.
For more information, contact Sam Evans at (270) 745-4662. More WKU news is available on the World Wide Web at www.wku.edu. If you'd like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.
