Academic Programs

Profiles of Success

CAEP Accreditation

Annual measures reported here reflect data collected between 9/1/2020 – 8/31/2021. Data is reported for both initial certification programs (BA and MAT) and advanced programs (MSA). Data is not disaggregated by licensure area or program in order to protect the confidentiality of our candidates and completers.

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OSSE Data: Percent of Effective Teachers by Ward

The table below was provided by OSSE on Trinity’s Educator Preparation Provider impact on the District of Columbia School System (DCPS). The table shows the percentage of program completers employed as first-year teachers in DC LEAs during school year 2019-20, who earned ratings of effective or higher for 2020-2021. The evidence shows our completers are 100% effective in Wards 6, 7, and 8 as compared to all EPP completers who scored 70-78.9% effectiveness in those same wards. 

Alumni and Employer Surveys

On both the alumni and employer surveys, respondents are asked to assess impact on student learning (Question 11 on the Alumni Survey; Question 15 on the Employer Survey) and to include evidence to support their rating. 

For the alumni survey, the overall mean response was 4.71, which is between “very satisfied” (71% of responses) and “satisfied” (29% of responses).  The means by licensure area were: ECE = 4.60; ELEM = 5.00; Secondary = 5.00; Special Ed = 5.00.

For the employer survey, the overall mean response was 4.67, which is between “very satisfied” (67% of responses) and “satisfied” (33% of responses). 

The alumni survey also asks respondents to rate the degree to which the program prepared them with a variety of knowledge/skills tagged to the InTASC standards and related to their ability to impact P-12 learners. Ratings for each area were between 4.3 and 4.8 on a five point scale suggesting alumni feel prepared with the knowledge and skills needed to be effective classroom teachers. 

Teacher Formal Evaluations

Trinity invites completers to share their year-end teaching evaluations. Five of our 16 completers submitted their formal evaluations to us (response rate = 31%). Because these five completers work for three different school systems (using different rating scales), we cannot aggregate their ratings. Instead, we include their individual ratings (along with the scales) here.

Classroom Observations 

Each spring, Trinity faculty conduct observations of its completers where completers are assessed in line with the InTASC teaching standards. Five observations of alumni teachers were conducted (22% of completers across programs). Results of these observations indicate 100% of completers observed met or exceeded all teaching standards. Click here for data on particular indicators.

Principal Interviews

Three principal interviews were conducted alongside Classroom Observations. Ratings and excerpts are included below.

• Student 4: Highly Effective: “xxxxx’s students have grown immensely (3 points in growth) using in-house assessments to measure student learning.”
• Student 5: Effective: “xxxxx has been absolutely amazing this year. Every time I go into her virtual room I leave thinking to myself “I can’t believe she is a first year teacher”! Her students love her, her colleagues love her, and I have heard from many parents how much they adore and appreciate xxxxx.”
• Student 2: Highly Effective: “xxxx is a team player and collaborates well with her teammates. She is an advocate for students and holds them to high standards. She is organized and well planned.”

Initial Programs (BA, MAT) 

Ratings of graduates by their employers suggest that they are demonstrating the knowledge, skills, and behaviors expected of effective teachers and are rated as effective by their Principals. A number of questions ask Principals about their level of satisfaction and for all the average response is well above 4.0 on a scale of 1-5. For a look at the compiled data, click here.

Advanced Program (MSA)

Ratings of graduates by their employers suggest that they are demonstrating the knowledge, skills, and behaviors expected of effective administrators and are rated as effective. A number of questions ask employers about their level of satisfaction and for all the average response is well above 4.0 on a scale of 1-5. For a look at the compiled data, click here.

Stakeholder Involvement

Trinity Washington University Education Programs have established MOUs with the District of Columbia and with Prince George’s County Public Schools. Students in our initial certification programs and advanced programs are placed in these districts.

The Council met once in 2020-2021, in the spring semester, on March 16, 2021. Agenda items included:

• • • Discussion of Ongoing and Potential Recruiting Efforts
    • Validity Discussion of 4 Key Assessment Instruments in Initial Programs – Clarity of Language and Rating Scales
      • Action Research Assignment & Rubric
      • InTASC Portfolio Assignment & Rubric
      • Lesson/Unit Plan Assignment & Rubric
      • Webpage Assignment & Rubric
    • Suggestions for Continuous Improvement: 
  • 1. 1. Reviewing language with respect for bias
       2. Aligning language across documents with strong preference towards language used in Unit Plan. In particular, the phrase “concepts, processes, knowledge, and/or academic language”
       3. Noting toward beginning of teacher preparation courses that assignments have purpose when completing the inTasc portfolio.
       4. Suggesting to students to record their lessons (with permission from appropriate parties) to use as artifacts
       5. Support students in using rubrics to self-assess their work on assignments over time
       6. The Council decided to meet twice a year going forward (rather than once a year) in order to have more sustained conversation about programming and partnerships.

In 2020-2021, Trinity’s Education Council consisted of 24 members, who represented the interests of Trinity’s school and district partners, faculty, staff, and alumni. We are proud to have had so many committed partners serve on our Council of Education in 2020-2021. Click here for a complete list of Council members in 2020-2021.

Initial Programs (BA, MAT) 

Candidate competency at completion of our Initial Certification Programs (BA and MAT) is evaluated by triangulating data collected on four EPP-created content and skills assessments, one EPP-created dispositions assessment, and the EPP’s Praxis II pass rates.

EPP-Created Content and Skills Assessments: In 2020-2021, we were still working on validating our instruments with stakeholders and establishing inter-rater reliability among faculty. Thus, our data was preliminary – meaning that we need to keep an eye on potential areas for growth across data collected in future semesters. 

In 2020-2021, we had 16 students exiting our initial certification programs (12 in the fall, 4 in the spring). All students met or exceeded expectations on the Clinical Student Teaching Evaluation, the InTASC Portfolio, and the Action Research Project. The Content Portfolio assessment revealed some areas of development. Across all four instruments, the lowest scores (developing and meets expectations) were in the following three areas: technology, assessment, and accommodating for learning differences. The following suggestions for continuous improvement grew out of our faculty conversations:

• The Integration of Technology – Faculty created a technology-specific key assessment that is now incorporated into our Technology course to more intentionally develop and assess skills related to technology integration.
• Assessment – Faculty agreed that we need to more intentionally address assessment throughout our initial certification program courses. We decided that in 2021-2022 we would take time during our faculty meetings to plan and reflect on this effort.
• Learning Differences – Faculty agreed that despite our emphasis on differentiation and accommodating for learning differences across our coursework, student teachers often struggle to implement differentiated instruction in their clinical placements. We decided to bring this concern to our Council of Education at our next meeting and to discuss this concern with our cooperating teachers in the next academic year. 

Click here to review data collected on EPP-created content and skills assessments.

Completer Professional Dispositions Assessment Scores:

100% of Fall 2020 graduates met all expectations across the eight dispositions (3 on a scale of 0-3) as evaluated by their university supervisors and cooperating teachers. In the Spring of 2021, all graduates met expectations on seven of the eight dispositions. One student was developing in “Responsibility.” See the chart below.

Completer Praxis II Pass Rates (2020-2021):

*Pass rates for our Elementary completers (N=2) and our Secondary completers (N=1) are not reported in order to protect student confidentiality.

Advanced Programs (MSA)

Candidate competency at completion of the MSA program is assessed through two key assessments: The Vision Project in EDAD 608 and the Case Study in EDAD 634. In both Fall 2020 and Spring 2021, all candidates scored “3” on a scale of 1-3 (3 = Exceeds Standard). For compiled data, please click here.

In addition, the competency of our MSA candidates is demonstrated by their pass rate on the Educational Administration Praxis Exam (#6990). In 2020-2021, 24 MSA students attempted the exam. 22 passed. Thus, our institution pass rate was 91.67%.

Initial Programs (BA, MAT)

100% of Trinity’s completers in 2019-2020 were hired in the areas for which they were prepared in AY 2020-2021. Data provided by OSSE shows that 65% of Trinity’s completers were employed as teachers in the District of Columbia. This is significantly higher than the average number of completers employed in the District of Columbia by other EPPs in DC. 

Of that 65% (15 out of 23 completers), 26.7% were employed in the District’s Public Charter Schools. 73.3% were employed by the Districts Public Schools (see chart below, provided by OSSE).

A complete record of where Trinity’s graduates were hired in 2020-2021 (having graduated the year before) is below. 

Advanced Program (MSA)

100% of Trinity’s MSA completers in 2019-2020 were hired in the areas for which they were prepared in AY 2020-2021. All four are working in the District of Columbia.

All of Trinity’s initial-license and advanced-level Education programs underwent review by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) and were given the following accreditation status during the last review:

• Initial-licensing level programs: Accredited
  • BA in Early Childhood Education
  • BA in Elementary Education
  • MAT in Early Childhood Education
  • MAT in Elementary Education
  • MAT in Secondary Education
  • MAT in Special Education
• Advanced-level programs: Accredited
  • Educational Administration

Two of Trinity’s Education programs hold recognition from Specialized Professional Associations until February 1, 2026:

• Educational Administration:  National Educational Leadership Preparation (NELP)
• Special Education: Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)

All other teacher preparation programs underwent review by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education at the time of CAEP review, and are approved.