Stephen F. Austin State University

Stephen F. Austin State University continues to maintain the highest pass rate of any of the large Texas university teacher preparation programs, according to a recently released U.S. Department of Education report.  

The department’s 2007 Title II Report shows that 99 percent of SFA students seeking initial teacher certification during the 2005-2006 academic year passed all state-required assessments in basic skills, professional knowledge/pedagogy, academic content area and teaching special populations.

SFA ranks as the ninth largest university-based producer of teachers in the state, with 458 education students passing all tests required for initial teacher certification during this most recent reporting period, according to Dr. John E. Jacobson, dean of SFA’s James I. Perkins College of Education.

“Among the state’s top ten largest programs, Stephen F. Austin State University is the leader in successful candidate completion of these rigorous examinations,” the dean said.

“This success can be attributed to the dedicated teacher preparation faculty serving elementary and secondary education candidates in the Perkins College of Education and across the university campus. It is also the result of the hard work of education professionals in our 17 internship partnership schools in Nacogdoches and Angelina counties and more than 85 public school sites throughout Texas where SFA students are placed for student teaching.”

For more information about the Title II Report, call George Ann Leonard, director of assessment and accountability for the College of Education, at (936) 468-1607 or visit the college’s Web site at www.sfasu.edu/education.