Basic Skill Proficiency

Successful educators competently employ a family of basic academic skills as they plan courses, instruct their students, and communicate with parents and colleagues. Teachers cannot help their students to acquire, practice, and refine these essential skills if they are not proficient in such skills themselves. For this reason the CSB/SJU Education Department requires those seeking acceptance into a Teacher Education Program to meet or exceed fundamental proficiency in basic reading, mathematics, and writing skills (including mechanics, grammar, and composition).

READING

Students accepted as teacher candidates are able to:

• gather information from different sections of a written passage and recombine it to form a new argument;
• recognize inferred relationships among ideas that are not explicitly described;
• recognize correct summaries and other ways of stating information;
• interpret figurative language;
• recognize the point or purpose of a passage as a whole; and,
• comprehend and use a rich vocabulary that will support critical thinking.

Students may demonstrate skill proficiency in reading with either an ACT score of 24 or better in Reading, OR a PPST equivalent score of 175 or better in Reading.  

MATHEMATICS

Students accepted as teacher candidates are able to:

• use mathematics in their emerging professional roles;
• understand number systems including order, magnitude, and relationships of integers, functions and decimals;
• solve moderately difficult equations and inequalities;
• evaluate complex formulas;
• compare and apply information from more complex charts and graphs; and
• apply reasoning, geometry, and measurement skills in solving moderately complex programs (including word problems that have numeric answers).

Students may demonstrate skill proficiency in mathematics with either an ACT score of 24 or better in Math, OR  a PPST equivalent score of 173 or better in Math.

WRITING (Mechanics and Grammar)

It is the Education Department's standard that all teacher candidates are able to:

• recognize agreement among basic elements (nouns, verbs, pronouns) in the same clause or phrase;
• avoid errors in sentence structures;
• logically select and order main ideas or divisions in a sustained paragraph using appropriate transition words;
• recognize and use the conventions of good writing; and
• share their ideas with others through their own writing by developing a persuasive argument that has a clear thesis supported by appropriate evidence.

Students may demonstrate proficiency in writing mechanics and grammar with either an ACT score of 24 or better in English, OR  a PPST equivalent score of 174 or above in Writing.

WRITING (Composition)

It is the Education Department's standard that all teacher candidates are able to compose an essay that:

• conveys a message with clarity and precision;
• has variety in sentence structure;
• has support (appropriate evidence or examples) for all main points;
• has few or no errors in mechanics;
• uses words, style, content, and format that are appropriate to the purpose of the essay;
• uses vocabulary appropriate for conveying clarity of thought

Students may demonstrate proficiency in essay composition  by achieving a score at level 2 or above on the Education Department Writing Assessment (EDWA).  (**NOTE: Beginning with first-year students in fall semester, 2008, a score of 7 or above on the Philosophy paper written in EDUC 111 will meet this requirement.)

PROCEDURES FOR STUDENTS WHO HAVE NOT DEMONSTRATED PROFICIENCY IN ONE OR MORE AREAS OF BASIC SKILLS

Students who desire to be accepted into the Teacher Education program and who have not demonstrated skill proficiency in one or more areas must see the Education Department Chair (S. Ann Marie Biermaier) or the Education Department Advisor (Jeanne Cofell). Please make an appointment to see either one of them by calling Connie at 5709, or by stopping in the Education Department, (HAB 125.) S. Ann Marie or Jeanne will help you determine which of the following options are most suitable for your situation.

Students who apply for acceptance with test scores that are less than the Education Department standard for proficiency on the Reading, Writing (mechanics and grammar) and/or Mathematics may be considered for conditional acceptance. Before students can be considered for full acceptance, however, they must demonstrate the Education Department's standard for basic skills proficiency through the following options:

Students who achieved ACT or PPST scores that do not meet the Education Department standard in Reading/Critical Thinking are required to take ACSC 104 Efficient Reading, or an equivalent course elsewhere, and achieve a grade of at least "BC."  (NOTE: Courses taken at other institutions must be pre-approved by the Education Department chair.)

Students who achieved an ACT or PPST score below the Education Department standard in Writing are required to see a tutor at one of the Writing Centers for a diagnostic evaluation and a tutorial program for skill development. Students must complete their tutorial program and achieve a score of 80% or higher on the Bedford B.  If 80% or higher is not achieved on the first attempt at the Bedford B, students will be required to take ACSC 115 Efficient Writing and pass with a grade of "BC" or above.

Students who achieved an ACT or PPST score below the Education Department standard in Mathematics are required to seek assistance from Marilyn Creed in the Math Skills Center for a diagnostic evaluation and a tutorial program for skill development.  Students must complete their tutorial program and achieve a score of 80% or higher on the post-test.  Written verification from Ms. Creed when this requirement is successfully completed is required.

The following is required for students who achieve a score less than the Education Department standard on the Education Department Writing Assessment (EDWA), or a score below 7 on the EDUC 111 Philosophy paper:

Take ACSC 115 Efficient Writing, or a pre-approved formal writing course, and attain a grade of at least "BC" to be eligible for acceptance.  Students are encouraged to notify Ms. Jane Opitz (at one of the Writing Centers) of their enrollment in the course.  Students should also work closely with Writing Center tutors to maximize the likelihood of success in the course.

Revised:  8/18/08