Organizing the Exhibit Room

The exhibit room has traditionally referred to the centralized location in which the unit organizes and displays documents and other evidence that demonstrate the unit meets standards. Today many units are displaying some or all of their exhibits on the institution’s website, which is accessible to team members before they arrive on campus.

Whether electronic or paper, evidence should include unit and program assessments of candidate proficiencies and the effectiveness of the unit. Evidence includes, but is not limited to, end-of-course assessments, internship assessments, candidate portfolios, candidate projects, results of state licensing exams, follow-up studies, and program evaluations. The unit should also include as exhibits details about its assessment system and assessment instruments being developed and implemented as part of that system.

The unit should clearly label and key to the standards all evidence on-line and in the exhibit room. BOE teams find it very helpful to have evidence labeled or color-coded by standard. The unit should compile a list of all evidence in the exhibit room to distribute to the team. If evidence is located somewhere other than the exhibit room, the list should indicate where to find it. The unit should clearly mark evidence that demonstrates the correction of previously cited weaknesses or areas for improvement to facilitate the work of the BOE team. Electronic exhibits should be designed to facilitate team members’ moving easily through exhibits without scrolling through large documents. For additional information on setting up an electronic exhibit room, read Guidelines for Electronic Exhibit Rooms and view the electronic exhibit rooms of selected institutions in the “Resources” section of NCATE’s website.

The unit should compile, aggregate, and summarize candidate performance data for review by team members. Much of the candidate data will be compiled for national and state reviews of programs. Assessments, scoring rubrics/criteria, and samples of candidate work should be available to the team during the on-site visit. The unit should select samples of candidate work (e.g., portfolios) that demonstrate proficiencies at different levels (e.g., unacceptable, acceptable, and accomplished). Generally, such samples will be sufficient to augment the summarized data, but the BOE chair may request additional materials prior to and during the on-site review. The papers  Aggregating Data and  Aligning Data with Assessments, which are available in the “Resources” section of NCATE’s website, provide additional suggestions and examples of presenting performance data for the NCATE review.

The types of evidence related to NCATE’s performance-based standards that the unit might make available in its exhibit room include the following. Please note that this list is not meant to be exhaustive, nor is the unit required to include each of these items in its exhibit room. The list provides examples of the types of evidence that the unit can present to demonstrate that it meets NCATE standards. Ultimately, the unit must decide what evidence the team should evaluate to determine whether the standards are met.

List of Suggested Exhibits for NCATE Visits

NCATE has revised the following list of suggested exhibits. The exhibits on this list will be very helpful to teams as they evaluate institutions. Please note that the quality of these exhibits will determine their degree of utility for teams. While this list covers most of the exhibits needed by teams, it is not exhaustive. Institutions should provide additional materials based on institutional context.

Examples of many of the items listed below are in Institutional Reports posted in the resources section of the NCATE website. NCATE is currently working on several projects to provide examples of the types of evidence that are most helpful for demonstrating compliance with Standards 1 and 2.

The NCATE Unit Standards, the Handbook for Accreditation Visits, and the  BOE Report Template, all posted on the NCATE website, should continue to be the primary documents used as institutions prepare for visits. The Handbook includes a detailed section on preparing for the visit that provides a thorough description of the entire process.

The list of exhibits includes:

General

1. Institutional report, BOE report, and institutional rejoinder from the previous NCATE review (for continuing visits).
2. All AACTE/NCATE annual reports submitted since the last NCATE review (for continuing visits) or since establishment of precandidacy (for first-time visits).
3. Report from NCATE indicating that all preconditions were met (for first-time visits).
4. Unit catalogs and other printed documents describing general education, specialty/content studies, and professional studies.
5. Demographic characteristics of the institution and its service area.
6. A copy of the notice that was placed soliciting third-party testimony.

Conceptual Framework

1. Conceptual framework(s) documents.
2. Table showing alignment of state, professional, and institutional standards.

Standard 1

1. Samples of key assessments and scoring rubrics/criteria used by faculty to assess candidate learning (Should be cross-referenced with Standard 2).
2. State licensure test scores aggregated by program area and reported over several years (Title II data reported to the state for the last year must be available to the team).
3. Program reports prepared for national program review, rejoinders, and results.
4. Program reports and findings of other national accreditation associations related to the preparation of education professionals (e.g., ASHA, NASM, APA, CACREP).
5. Most recent report prepared for a state program review and the state’s findings. If the visit is being conducted jointly with the state, the teams will share findings during the visit.
6. Summaries of assessment results of candidates, including those key assessments used at transition points. These points include at a minimum (a) at entry to program, (b) prior to the student teaching/internship, (c) at completion of the student teaching/internship, and (d) at program completion.
7. Samples of candidate work (e.g., portfolios at different proficiency levels).
8. Data from follow-up studies of graduates.
9. Data from employer satisfaction studies.
10. Assessments used to determine dispositions, and summary of candidate performance on these assessments.

Standard 2

1. Document describing the unit’s assessment system in detail.
2. Samples of key assessments used to ensure that candidates are ready to progress through the program and enter the profession, for each program.
3. Minutes of meetings on the development and refinement of the assessment system.
4. Unit or institutional policies for handling student complaints.
5. File of student complaints and the unit’s response.
6. Description of information technology used to manage performance data.
7. Examples of changes made to courses, programs, and the unit in response to data gathered from the assessment system.
8. Policies and procedures that ensure that data are regularly used to make improvements.

Standard 3

1. Memos of understanding, minutes from meetings, etc. to document partnership.
2. Descriptions of the field experiences (see table in BOE Report Template).
3. Demographics of the school sites in which field placements that demonstrate diversity of setting take place.
4. Student teaching handbook.
5. Assessments and scoring rubrics/criteria used in field experiences.
6. Internship/student teaching assessment instruments.
7. Summary results of candidate assessments upon entering and exiting field experiences. (Cross-referenced with Standard 1)
8. Completion rates for candidates in student teaching and internships by semester.
9. List of criteria for the selection of school-based clinical faculty (i.e. supervising teachers, supervisors).
10. Agendas from meeting with cooperating teachers.

Standard 4

1. Curriculum components that address diversity issues.
2. List of proficiencies related to diversity expected of candidates.
3. Assessment instruments and scoring guides related to diversity.
4. Summary of candidate performance results. (Cross-referenced with Standard 1)
5. Demographics on diversity of faculty, candidates, and clinical sites (See table in BOE Report template.)
6. Unit policies, practices, and procedures that facilitate experience with diverse candidates.
7. Unit policies, practices, and procedures that facilitate experiences with diverse faculty, including faculty in other units and P-12 school faculty.
8. Unit policies, practices, and procedures that facilitate diverse field experiences.

Standard 5

1. Summary of faculty qualifications and assignments (see table in appendix of program review templates for examples).
2. Proof of licensing of school-based clinical faculty (e.g., cooperating teachers, internship supervisors)
3. Summaries of instructional strategies, including the use of technology, used by faculty.
4. Samples and summaries of faculty scholarly activities.
5. Samples of faculty evaluation forms.
6. Faculty evaluations (usually kept in dean’s office)
7. Summaries of faculty evaluations.
8. Minutes from meetings that show collaboration with the professional community.
9. Summary of projects completed by faculty in service and/or collaboration with professional community (i.e., grants, evaluations, task-forces, provision of professional development, offering courses, etc.)
10. Summary of professional development activities in which faculty have participated.
11. Summary of professional development activities offered by the unit.
12. Unit policies related to professional development.

Standard 6

1. Unit organizational chart
2. Unit policies on recruitment and admissions.
3. Unit policies on student services such as counseling and advising
4. Policies on governance and operations of the unit.
5. Descriptions of the unit governance structure, including organization charts.
6. Minutes of meetings of unit governance committee.
7. Unit catalogs and other printed documents describing admission practices, academic calendars, and grading policies.
8. Unit budget, with provisions for technology.
9. Budgets of comparable units on campus.
10. Lists of facilities, including computer labs and curriculum resource centers.
11. Workload policies.
12. Summary of faculty status and workload (see table in appendix of program review templates for example).
13. List of support personnel in unit.
14. Faculty development expenditures.
15. Recruiting and admission policies.
16. Samples of institution or program advertising.