Bryan College, located in Dayton, Tennessee, is one of just two educator preparation providers in the state that do not meet the state board of education’s expectations for the quality of the programs preparing future teachers and school leaders.
Of the 39 programs, made up mostly college and university education departments, Bryan College and South College in Knoxville were the only two cited as not meeting expectations under the state board’s new way of rating programs, according to the annual Educator Preparation Report Card released Friday.
The other programs in the Chattanooga region – Lee University, Tennessee Wesleyan and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga – were among the majority of providers that met expectations on this year’s report card. Southern Adventist University in Collegedale did not receive a rating because of a lack of data.
The report card, which was redesigned in 2016, previously rated programs on a scale of 1-4, with four being the highest potential score, but after receiving feedback from potential students and teacher candidates, the state board changed how it classified programs this year.
“We spoke with current teacher candidates at several institutions across the state about what information would have helped them in deciding on which program to attend, and we used their feedback to drive an enhancement of our Educator Preparation Report Card website,” said Amy Owen, director of policy and research at the state board, in a statement. “These enhancements make the report card easier to use for individuals who want to become a teacher, whether that’s a high school student making a college decision or an adult looking to change careers.”