Teacher education admission criteria as measure of preparedness for teaching

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between commonly used admission criteria, found in a one-year, post Bachelor's degree, initial, teacher education program, and the preparedness of teacher candidates in mathematics for independent teaching. The admission criteria used in this study were grade point average (GPA) and a written profile. The profile was not significantly related with either the assessment of practice teaching or preparedness. However, entering GPAs predicted only between five and 12 per cent of variance in course instructors' judgements of teacher candidates' preparedness in three of five areas: Promote Student Learning, Critical Thinking, and Use of Technology. Ratings of preparedness by instructors, associate teachers, and the teacher candidates themselves suggested that teacher candidates were adequately to well-prepared in all areas. This finding is possibly due to the restriction of range of GPA and overall success for all teacher candidates. Further research is needed utilizing unique approaches to draw substantive conclusions that entering GPA or ratings of applicants responses to a written profile have predictive value for successful student teaching performance. Implications for initial teacher education program admissions are discussed.