Educators Use TEAS© Facts

“We can have facts without thinking but we cannot have thinking without facts.”
John Dewey (1859 - 1952)

Educators use facts to influence others so they will take action in support of education. The public, the provost, and accrediting bodies are more likely to take action if they understand how their action can make a difference. This makes reliable information an essential tool for effective educators. Here are some ways educators have used facts from TEAS© to support education.

A large institution held a public forum where each college presented their case for a contribution to the state. The Dean of the College of Education took this opportunity to involve the audience. Attendees were asked to show their hands if a teacher had made a positive impact in their life. A large percentage of people raised their hand. Facts taken from TEAS© showed the number of teachers that had been licensed over a given period of years. TEAS© data also contained information about the number of students within the state taught by those teachers. The Dean took the percentage of those who raised hands and multiplied it by the students taught. The audience was impressed when they realized that the number of people directly benefiting from the College of Education was equivalent to the population of Tampa.

At a legislative hearing the Dean was confronted with the assertion that educators were stuck in their classrooms and out of touch with the public. Data from TEAS© was shared in response to this challenge. The legislator was surprised to learn about the number of hours teachers were spending on community outreach services.

On another occasion the Provost used acceptable performance by the College of Education as a reason to withhold additional funds for program improvement. The Dean countered with data from TEAS© that showed one department was holding back the performance of the entire college. As a result the Provost granted the Dean’s request for money to assist that department.

In a similar exchange the Provost suggested that funding for the College of Education may be cut. The Dean of Education was asked about his level of concern over such a possibility. The Dean was able to use facts from TEAS© to show that teacher candidates accounted for a substantial number of credit hours within other colleges. The facts showed that a financial blow to the College of Education would be a substantial setback for these other colleges. As a result of this exchange the Provost decided to make budget cuts elsewhere.

The budget process called upon the College of Education to compete for available funds. Data from TEAS© was used to show that the College of Education had been graduating more students using fewer dollars than most other colleges. In addition, the continuing education of teacher graduates offered more residual revenue than most other colleges. These facts provided leverage for budget allocations.

The competition for funds within the institution resulted in a Dean outside the College of Education suggesting that the performance of students within the COE detracted from the academic standing of the university. Facts from TEAS© were used to show that academic achievement was higher among teacher candidates than the average student attending the institution.

The Dean of Education was also able to support a case for superior administrative effectiveness. The Provost wanted to see evidence that education programs were operating at a high level of efficiency and improving. Thanks to TEAS© there was a set of reports based upon reliable data that reflected superior resource management within the College of Education.

Accreditation is important because prospective students are more likely to attend an accredited institution than one that is not accredited. The most common reason that institutions fail accreditation is that they do not have the facts to support claims of education program performance. TEAS© excels at providing colleges of education with evidence of performance.

Educators, use facts from TEAS© to influence thinking!