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New York, NY, April 1998 - Professional Examination Service (PES) and the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) are collaborating on the development of an interactive data management system for the state's Beginning Educator Support and Training (BEST) program. The program, which is a cornerstone of educational reform efforts in Connecticut, offers a comprehensive system of support and assessment for beginning teachers. Under the BEST program, trained assessors use an instrument called the Connecticut Competency Instrument (CCI) to observe beginning teachers via videotape or in the classroom during their first year of teaching. Beginning teachers receive support through a mentoring relationship with an experienced teacher as well as professional development opportunities, including training seminars and clinics. Work is currently under way to expand the BEST program to include portfolio assessments for specific subject areas during the beginning teacher's second year of teaching. Implementation of portfolio assessments in Mathematics and Science has already begun, and will be followed by English and Special Education in 1998, as well as other subject areas in the coming years. To accommodate this expansion of the program, PES and CSDE have begun work on the development of an enhanced data management system that will be flexible enough to meet changing program needs. The new data management system will have the capacity to store, track, analyze, and report assessment ratings on the CCI and the subject-specific portfolio assessments, as well as any other assessments that may be developed. Once the assessment ratings have been scanned into the system and checked for completeness, the data management system will analyze the ratings and generate an Assessment Report for mailing to the teacher. The Assessment Report will include feedback designed to help the beginning teacher identify professional development needs. In addition, the system will generate reports indicating the teacher's eligibility status for provisional certification. As well as maintaining records of ratings for all beginning teachers in Connecticut, the data management system will handle records for other BEST participants, including assessors, mentors, and trainers, and will facilitate the development of summary reports for individual school districts and the CSDE. A key feature of the new system is that it will allow beginning teachers to call an 800 number 24 hours a day to register for training seminars and clinics using a touch-tone phone. The data management system will issue registration confirmation to beginning teachers and will generate course rosters. PES is currently conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the existing data management system to identify its strengths and weaknesses and, in consultation with CSDE, is designing and developing a cost-effective, PC-based replacement system. In addition, PES will assist CSDE in making the transition to the new system by training staff, monitoring the implementation process, and providing technical support. © Copyright 1997-2006 Professional Examination Service.
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