One hundred percent of Wittenberg education majors passed the Ohio licensing exams for both their academic content areas and for their professional knowledge this year.

In 1998 Congress required that the nation’s teacher education programs report on their success in preparing graduates to pass standard tests of professional competence and course content.

Ohio’s 50 colleges and universities with teacher education programs were required to report data on their programs this spring, including scores on the national Praxis II teacher examination selected by the Ohio Department of Education for new teacher licensing.

Starting with the 2000 graduating class, federal law requires that all of Ohio’s teacher education programs report the passage rate of students taking state-required examinations that qualify them to be licensed to teach in Ohio schools.

All Wittenberg students minoring in education also passed the professional knowledge test for certification.

Overall 95 percent of all education majors passed all the tests in the academic content areas (English, early childhood education, math, science, etc.), and 95 percent of all students passed all of the tests required for licensure.

For more than a century, Wittenberg has prepared teachers as an integral part of a rigorous liberal arts curriculum, according to Robert Welker, professor of education and department chair.

“Our long traditions of teacher education flow from Wittenberg’s mission to produce citizens who are creative and thoughtful problem solvers.”

According to its mission: “Wittenberg teaches moral responsibility, social consciousness, vocational commitment and constructive social change as the foundations of citizenship in the world’s human community, and in each person’s particular society, the university encourages learning that prepares its students for the many occupations and professions necessary for society’s well being.”

“Among the reasons for our success is our close professional relationship with the Springfield City Schools and other area districts,” Welker said.

The Springfield- Wittenberg Teacher Institute and the Center for Professional Development are two examples of collaborative efforts to improve teaching outcomes in real classrooms.

“ Teacher educators can learn a lot about achievement in schools by listening to K-12 teachers. We think we do that pretty well and our students are benefiting from it,” Welker said.

— Jim Dexter