Assessment and Accreditation

EMPOWER. INVEST. IMPACT.

McNeese State University offers nationally accredited initial-certiﬁcation baccalaureate and post-baccalaureate programs. As a member of the US PREP Coalition III, the Burton College of Education designed a collective system of expert support for teacher candidates around the vision of building effective teacher candidate competencies to meet the needs of all P-12 students. At the advanced level, the Burton College of Education offers a Master of Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction providing each candidate with mentor teacher training, a concentration area add-on, and clock hours applying to the Educational Leader Level 1 (EDL 1) Certiﬁcate: Alternate Pathway 2.

The McNeese State University Burton College of Education’s mission aligns with the University’s desire to change lives by creating exemplary educational experiences that empower our candidates, invest in our communities, and impact the world. We are committed to developing graduates fully prepared for their careers and who positively inﬂuence the communities in which they serve by supporting the success, health, and well-being for all.

The Burton College of Education positively promotes the education profession to P-12 students, current P-12 teachers, and adults looking for a second-career opportunity. Intentional efforts have been initiated to recruit candidates from all backgrounds and interests through Educators Rising partnerships with regional high schools, annual Unlock Education Regional Conferences, annual MPACT on Education Conferences, annual Explore Tours, and social media campaigns.

The Burton College of Education also strives to continue to strengthen its partnership with local districts by hosting shared governance meetings, collaborating to ﬁll workforce needs, supporting residency candidates with certiﬁed mentor teachers and site supervisors, and continuously working together to make data-driven improvements to our programs.

Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP)

McNeese State University’s initial-licensure teacher education preparation programs are accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). In the spring 2025 semester, the McNeese State University (MSU) Burton College of Education’s initial-licensure and advanced level programs were approved for full accreditation through fall 2031. At the Fall 2026 CAEP Conference, McNeese State University was awarded the Frank Murray Leadership Recognition for Continuous Improvement Award. This award is given to Teacher Preparation Providers who “advance equity and excellence in educator preparation through purposeful use of self-study procedures and evidence-based reporting that assure quality and support continuous improvement to strengthen P-12 learning.” (https://caepnet.org/)

The following programs offered in the 2026-2027 Academic Catalog lead to recommendations for P-12 professional state licensure, certiﬁcation, and/or endorsement and fall within the scope of CAEP accreditation. Additional information about individual teacher preparation programs pertaining to program types, candidates, and completers can be found on the USDE Title 2 website.

Initial Certiﬁcation Baccalaureate Programs

Agricultural Sciences, Agricultural Education Grades 6-12 Concentration
Art, Ceramics/Art Education Grades K-12 Concentration
Art, Drawing/Art Education Grades K-12 Concentration
Art, Graphic Design/Art Education Grades K-12 Concentration
Art, Painting/Art Education Grades K-12 Concentration
Art, Photography/Art Education Grades K-12 Concentration
Art, Printmaking/Art Education Grades K-12 Concentration
Biological Science, Biology Education Grades 6-12 Concentration
Business Administration, Business Education Grades 6-12 Concentration
Chemistry, Chemistry Education Grades 6-12 Concentration
Early Childhood Education Grades PK-3
Elementary Education Grades 1-5
English, English Education Grades 6-12 Concentration
History, Social Studies Education Grades 6-12 Concentration
Mathematical Sciences, Mathematics Education Grades 6-12 Concentration
Mathematical Sciences, Physics Education Grades 6-12 Concentration
Music, Music Education-Instrumental Grades K-12 Concentration
Music, Music Education- Vocal Grades K-12 Concentration
Natural Resource Conservation Management, Environmental Science Education Grades 6-12 Concentration

Initial Certiﬁcation Post-Baccalaureate Certiﬁcate Programs

Early Childhood Education Grades PK-3
Elementary Education Grades 1-5
Secondary Education Grades 6-12 [Agriculture]
Secondary Education Grades 6-12 [Biology]
Secondary Education Grades 6-12 [Business]
Secondary Education Grades 6-12 [Chemistry]
Secondary Education Grades 6-12 [English]
Secondary Education Grades 6-12 [Environmental Science]
Secondary Education Grades 6-12 [General Science]
Secondary Education Grades 6-12 [Mathematics]
Secondary Education Grades 6-12 [Social Studies]

Master of Arts in Teaching Programs

As of the 2025-2026 Academic Catalog, the Burton College of Education no longer accepts new enrollment in the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program. The following MAT programs are being taught out for currently enrolled candidates.

Elementary Education Grades 1-5
Secondary Education Grades 6-12 [English]
Secondary Education Grades 6-12 [Mathematics]
Secondary Education Grades 6-12 [Social Studies]
Secondary Education Grades 6-12 [Spanish]

Master of Education in Teaching Programs

Curriculum and Instruction, Academically Gifted Education Concentration
Curriculum and Instruction, Content Literacy in K-12 Education Concentration
Curriculum and Instruction, Transformational Teaching and Learning Concentration

CAEP Annual Accreditation Reporting Measures

CAEP implements four accountability measures to provide information to stakeholders and the public about program impacts and outcomes.

The CAEP Accountability Measures include:

Measure 1: Completer effectiveness.
Measure 2: Satisfaction of employers and stakeholder involvement
Measure 3: Candidate competency at completion
Measure 4: Ability of completers to be hired

Measure 1: Completer effectiveness.

(CAEP Component R4.1)

Louisiana has transitioned from the COMPASS teacher evaluation system to the new Louisiana Educator Advancement and Development System (LEADS), with full implementation occurring during the 2025–2026 academic year. Completer effectiveness and impact on P-12 student learning and development are measured through LEADS and the Teacher Quality domain of the Teacher Preparation Quality Rating System.

The most recent Teacher Preparation Reports prepared by the Louisiana Board of Regents are linked below. These reports provide outcomes data for undergraduate and alternative certification teacher preparation programs, including enrollment, completion, retention, licensure passage, and performance.

The 2022–2024 Louisiana Board of Regents Teacher Preparation Reports also include COMPASS evaluation scores for first- and second-year teachers employed in Louisiana public schools. The data represent all new undergraduate and alternative certification teachers in grades K-12 across certification areas.

The evaluation system in the 2024 report provides educators with regular, meaningful feedback on their performance through a four-tiered rating system: Highly Effective (4), Effective Proficient (3), Effective Emerging (2) and Ineffective (1). Data are reported for Student Growth (achievement of student learning targets), Professional Practice (observations by teachers’ supervisors), and Final Evaluation (combination of the Student Growth and Professional Practice scores).

Individual teacher scores are attributed to the teacher preparation program in which they were prepared, and a three-year average is calculated and reported for each program (scores range from 1.00-4.00). Due to the nature of reporting, the most current published report (2024) contains data from 2019-2020, 2021-2022, and 2022-2023, The Board of Regents issued the following statement concerning data from the 2020-2021 academic year: Due to COVID, the Louisiana Department of Education did not use COMPASS as a teacher evaluation tool and did not administer achievement tests to K-12 students during the 2019-20 academic year. Thus, COMPASS and value-added data are not available for the 2021 Teacher Preparation Data Dashboards.

Louisiana Board of Regents Teacher Preparation Reports

Highlights from the 2024 Louisiana Board of Regents Teacher Preparation Report

McNeese completers from undergraduate education programs have shown an increase in Student Growth mean scores from 2022 through 2024 (3.3, 3.4, 3.5). McNeese’s undergraduate mean score was also the highest mean for all reported teacher preparation providers in each of the last three years.
Within the most recent three years of data reported, over 90% of McNeese State University undergraduate program completers scored at the Effective Proficient or Highly Effective levels each year (2022: 92%, 2023: 91%, and 2024: 96%).
Within the most recent three years of data reported, over 95% of McNeese State University post-baccalaureate program completers scored at the Effective Proficient or Highly Effective levels each year (2022: 95%, 2023: 97%,), with 100% of completers scoring at the two highest levels within the 2024 report.

Teacher Preparation Performance Profiles

Louisiana Teacher Preparation Programs participate in the Teacher Preparation Quality Rating System and evaluation scores are published as the Teacher Preparation Performance Profile. The profile contains information on the quality of the preparation experience, the extent to which Louisiana’s workforce needs are being met, and the impact of program completers on learning. In the 2024 Teacher Preparation Performance Profile , McNeese State University received Level 3: Effective (3.0 out of 4.0) for undergraduate programs and Level 4: Highly Effective (3.5 out of 4.0) for post-baccalaureate programs as the Overall Quality Rating and Score.

Measure 2: Satisfaction of employers and stakeholder involvement

(Component R4.2 | Component R5.3 | Component RA4.1)

Satisfaction of Employers

The McNeese State University Burton College of Education gauges employer satisfaction formally through an annual employee satisfaction survey. At the close of each academic year, a survey is administered to school principals and district administrators for input on teachers in their schools who are recent MSU graduates. Respondents rank effectiveness on a 4-point Likert scale from 1: Strongly Disagree to 4: Strongly Agree. Principal and District Administrator results from 2024-2025 indicate overall satisfaction with the effectiveness of the completers with all components receiving mean scores meeting or exceeding the benchmark of 3.00 and ranging from 3.00 to 3.83.

Six responses were received for undergraduate completers: n=3 (BACH- Grades PK-3; n=2 (BACH- Grades 1-5); and n=1 (BACH- Grades 6-12). Below are the mean scores and the items assessed.

3.83	Practice the profession in an ethical manner.
3.67	Use a variety of instructional strategies to encourage all learners to develop a deep understanding of the content.
3.67	Engage in continuous professional learning to more effectively meet the needs of each learner.
3.50	Use formative and summative assessment data to create rigorous learning experiences within a curriculum of cross-disciplinary skills.
3.50	Use evidence to reflect and adapt regularly on professional practices to better meet learners’ needs.
3.50	Manage the learning environment to engage learners actively.
3.33	Plan instruction by collaborating with colleagues, specialists, community resources, families and learners to meet individual learning needs.
3.33	Design inclusive learning experiences aligned to Louisiana standards to accommodate for individual differences.
3.33	Collaborate with stakeholders including families to ensure learner growth.
3.17	Implement multiple methods of assessment to document, monitor, and support learner progress.
3.17	Implement assessments in an ethical manner to engage learners in their own growth.
3.17	Create learning experiences relevant to the concepts of the disciplines to ensure mastery of the content.
3.17	Apply principles of learner development to implement developmentally appropriate learning experiences.
3.00	Engage learners in critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration to address interdisciplinary themes and real-world, local, and global issues.
3.00	Collaborate with others to build a positive learning climate marked by respect, rigor, and responsibility.

Advanced level program Spring 2025 survey data is based on the employers’ survey responses (n=2) for the spring 2023 completers (n=3) who are working in their program content area. Employers overall rating of graduates resulted in a mean score of 3.75-4.00 for the CAEP RA1.1 Candidates Knowledge, Skills, and Professional Development and 3.50-4.00 for CAEP RA.1.2 Specialized Content Standards.

Stakeholder Involvement

Stakeholder involvement, as deﬁned by CAEP, involves both internal and external stakeholders in program design, evaluation, and continuous improvement processes. The relationship with public and charter school personnel at every level is valuable to program improvement and teacher retention. MSU and district representatives meet in shared spaces for Louisiana Department of Education webinars, regional personnel meetings, shared governance meetings, and content-speciﬁc meetings. Agendas and information are shared with faculty and used for continuous program improvement. The Burton College of Education values its partnerships with local school districts by listening, acknowledging, and implementing stakeholder feedback to drive program improvement.

Shared Governance meetings and Learning Walks provide a space for data discussions concerning current residents and ﬁrst time teachers in the ﬁeld provoking conversations about the development of knowledge and skills of candidates. Data share-outs with mentor teachers, site coordinators, district personnel and other stakeholders have invoked critical conversations with stakeholders about programming, assessments, evaluation tools, and candidate dispositions. We believe that our partnerships with local districts are fruitful and collaborative and strive to continue that path.

The Ofﬁce of Clinical Practice and School Partnerships (CPSP) works closely with district personnel to inform programs and practices. Representatives regularly attend/host meetings with district/charter/school personnel to foster relationships with partners for collaboration around curriculum, clinical practices, and policies.

The EPP values transparency within residency to make purposeful programmatic changes. During the Learning Walks, the EPP faculty and district personnel observe classroom walk-throughs, implementation of coaching and support through co-teaching of a high-quality mentor teacher, and residency impact on P-12 student learning. Ultimately, these Learning Walks help the EPP and district partners reﬁne collective practices within the year-long residency.

The EPP also partners with the Calcasieu Parish School Board to provide residents with technology integration training intending to lessen the gap between theory and application by providing the opportunity for teacher residents to implement technology within the classroom to impact P-12 learning

At the end of each semester, resident focus groups are held to capture feedback on programmatic and residency experiences to enhance the educational experiences of future candidates. Information gained is reviewed by both the EPP and district personnel and is used in placement conversations with district HR to support residency placement requests. The EPP incorporates the use of candidate responses on the Mentor Teacher survey in these conversations as an added support for assigning the most effective mentors.

Input for advanced level programs is also gathered from stakeholders annually. During annual summer curriculum work, a review of M.Ed. program data, course content, clinical experiences, and assessments occurs. This annual curriculum review meeting is where critical conversations take place to develop strategies for improving programming, candidates’ performance, and recruitment with data analyses and information gathering from graduates, employers, candidates, Site Mentors, and outside stakeholders. Summer is also an opportunity to reach out to district personnel concerning speciﬁc clinical practice opportunities that would more strongly support candidates’ mastery of the CAEP RA.1.1 elements and RA.1.2 standards.

Critical input for program improvement is gathered through Stakeholder Focus Groups during the MPACT on Education Conference held annually since 2022. These conversations among program graduates, school administrators, and district-level personnel give an in-depth context to program alignment. MPact on Education Conference participants provide ideas from all stakeholder perspectives related to concepts such as content learning, clinical practices, opportunities for current practice, and general ideas for program improvement. These partnerships have led to a collective vision to ensure the progression of content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and professional dispositions are strategically and purposefully scaffolded throughout the program.

Course reviews and redesigns are often completed by district employees and the EPP hires several district administrators to redesign, update, and teach coursework within the education preparation programs related to their area of expertise. This is another collaborative opportunity that keeps coursework within the program current.

Measure 3: Candidate competency at completion

(Component R3.3)

Multiple major assessments are collected throughout programs to assess candidate competency to positively impact P-12 student learning and development through the application of content knowledge, foundational pedagogical skills, and technology integration in the ﬁeld where certiﬁcation is sought. Major assessments include Praxis exams, lesson plans, performance portfolios, and ﬁeld experience evaluations.

Praxis Content Exam First-Time Pass Rates

First-time pass rates on the content exams provide insight into the curriculum content for each program. During the redesign of the undergraduate baccalaureate programs, content coursework was chosen based on Praxis content and relevant P-12 standards. This process involved both Burton College of Education faculty and faculty from content colleges across campus.

The table below shows the first-time pass rates for 2024-2025 academic year undergraduate completers.

ECHD 5002 n=17	ECHD 5003 n=17	ECHD 5004 n=17	ECHD 5005 n=17	ELEM 5002 n=9	ELEM 5003 n=9	ELEM 5004 n=9	ELEM 5005 n=9	SEC n=7	K-12 n=6
71%	65%	35%	47%	89%	100%	67%	56%	100%	83%

The 5001 series for undergraduate Early Childhood (ECHD) and Elementary Education (ELEM) majors is displayed by sub-test. Due to traditionally lower ﬁrst time pass rates on Praxis exams #5004: Social Studies and #5005: Science, current Early Childhood and Elementary Education baccalaureate programs implemented programmatic changes to better prepare candidates for required Praxis examinations.

The alignment of Praxis content topics to secondary content coursework resulted in 2024-2025 secondary pass rates at 100%. K-12 completers remained consistent with an overwhelming majority passing on the first attempt. Supplemental resources are also offered to candidates to assist in exam preparation.

Due to the small number of completers (Elementary = 2; SEC = 1; Middle School Math – 1) in post-baccalaureate initial certification programs, the combined first-time pass rates for combined content areas had 25% of candidates passing on the first attempt.

InTASC Standards within Residency I and II Semesters within Major Assessments

The data reported below are from major assessments within a candidates Residency I, Residency II, and Portfolio Management courses.

% met benchmark on InTASC Standards within Residency I and Residency II Major Assessments (Residency I, Residency II, Portfolio)

	SEMYEAR	n	InTASC Standard 1	InTASC Standard 2	InTASC Standard 3	InTASC Standard 4	InTASC Standard 5	InTASC Standard 6	InTASC Standard 7	InTASC Standard 8	InTASC Standard 9	InTASC Standard 10
			% met benchmark	% met benchmark	% met benchmark	% met benchmark	% met benchmark	% met benchmark	% met benchmark	% met benchmark	% met benchmark	% met benchmark
All Baccalaureate	S25	26	89%	85%	88%	82%	80%	74%	91%	75%	93%	88%
	F24	17	82%	84%	84%	96%	87%	78%	82%	67%	88%	84%
ECHD	S25	11	81%	83%	86%	71%	73%	64%	81%	67%	90%	85%
	F24	6	100%	100%	91%	100%	92%	90%	100%	83%	90%	83%
ELEM	S25	5	100%	85%	89%	85%	80%	87%	100%	77%	100%	100%
	F24	4	100%	100%	98%	100%	90%	85%	100%	79%	97%	100%
SEC	S25	3	67%	83%	94%	100%	95%	95%	100%	94%	100%	67%
	F24	4	63%	56%	65%	94%	76%	53%	63%	30%	66%	69%
K-12	S25	7	100%	90%	88%	95%	87%	69%	100%	77%	88%	94%
	F24	3	50%	67%	78%	83%	86%	80%	50%	63%	100%	83%
PBC	S25	4	75%	94%	95%	100%	85%	75%	88%	77%	100%	100%
	F24	0

Highlights from Major Assessment Data from Residency I, Residency II, and Portfolio Management

Data for all baccalaureate initial certification programs indicated at least 74% of candidates met benchmark for each of the InTASC Standards assessed within the last two semesters of the program.
Over 90% of baccalaureate candidates met benchmark on items related to InTASC Standards 7 and 9.
At least 75% of post-baccalaureate certificate candidates met benchmark on each of the InTASC Standards assessed within the last two semesters of the program.
100% of post-baccalaureate certificate candidates met benchmark on InTASC Standards 4, 9, and 10.

Advanced Level Program Competencies

The EPP’s most compelling story around program strength and candidate competency is demonstrated through the triangulation of major assessment data, stakeholder feedback, and continuing development of our Master of Education program. Major assessment data consistently shows candidates scoring at or above benchmark (3.00) on Candidate Knowledge, Skills, and Professional Development and Specialized Content Standards.

Highlights include the following

EDUC 608: Policy, Law, and Ethics in P-12 Education: Spring 2025 completer data indicates that 100% of completers scored at or above benchmark on generic skills #2 and #6.
EDUC 670: Research II- Applied Educational Research: Spring 2025 completer data indicates that 100% of completers met benchmark for CAEP RA 1.1 #1 and #2.

Continuing Development of MEd Program

Using the annual collection of stakeholder input, every two years a program deep dive occurs to ensure a collective and in-depth examination of the direct alignment of program content and learning to real-world application (2019, 2021, 2023, 2025).

While we acknowledge meeting benchmark (3.00) is vital to candidates’ matriculation, we also understand that to graduate effective completers, our programs must remain current with application research and state and national laws and policies, require coaching and mentoring to impact change, and build curriculum experts through content learning and real-world application. Therefore, after annual stakeholder discussions, data-dialogues, and re-examination of our programs in 2023, the following program improvements have been implemented: redesigned course sequences with content learning in year 1 and research and Mentor Teacher coursework in year 2, realigned the three-course research sequence, identiﬁed clinical practices directly aligned to major assessments, revised major assessments, and created additional opportunities for purposeful stakeholder feedback.

Measure 4: Ability of Completers to be Hired

Completers Meeting Licensing Requirements and Hired to Teach

MSU teacher education program completers have a consistently high rate of receiving their state teaching licensures. Candidates are required to successfully pass all Praxis licensure exams before starting their ﬁrst semester of teacher residency. Additionally, candidates must maintain the required grade point average for certification once admitted into a teacher education program. The Ofﬁce of Clinical Practices and School Partnerships ensures that all candidates in residency are placed in schools with credentialed mentor teachers and/or ensure waivers are completed for the mentors chosen. Therefore, all completers are qualiﬁed to acquire their Louisiana teacher licensure upon completion of the program.

Job placement within one year of completion is reported within the Louisiana Teacher Preparation Fact Book [JR5] for completers who taught in public schools in Louisiana in the year following program completion of an MSU undergraduate or alternate certiﬁcation initial teacher preparation program. Completers who taught in private schools in Louisiana or began teaching in other states in their ﬁrst year are not included in the follow-up year teaching data reported by the Louisiana Board of Regents.

The table below displays licensure rates for undergraduate and alternate certiﬁcation completers. Additionally, the following job placement data was determined through research completed by MSU BCOE and includes candidates who began teaching the following year after program completion in a public, private, or charter school within or outside of Louisiana.

Undergraduate

Year	Number of Graduates	Percentage teaching the following year	Percentage granted state license
2017-2018	62	81% (n=50)	94% (n=58)
2018-2019	95	75% (n=71)	100%
2019-2020	74	58% (n=43)	92% (n=68)
2020-2021	66	95% (n=63)	95% (n=63)
2021-2022	57	89% (n=51)	93% (n=53)
2022-2023	39	72% (n=28)	95% (n=37)
2023-2024	41	98% (n=40)	78% (n=32)
2024-2025	44	72.7% (n=32)	100%

Alternative Certification

Year	Number of Graduates	Percentage teaching the following year	Percentage granted state license
2017-2018	20	90% (n=18)	100%
2018-2019	29	76% (n=22)	100%
2019-2020	19	63% (n=12)	100%
2020-2021	15	100%	100%
2021-2022	9	89% (n=8)	89% (n=8)
2022-2023	5	100% (n=5)	80% (n=4)
2023-2024	4	100%	100%
2024-2025	4	100%	100%

Advanced Level Curriculum and Instruction program completers can add the following to their teaching license: add-on within concentration area, mentor teacher credentials, and/or Educational Leadership.

Of the six 2024-2025 completers within the Advanced Level, five added the Mentor Teacher Training Credential to their teaching license.