Measure 3

Candidate Competency at Completion (R3.3, RA3.4) - SIUC Initial Programs Content Area Test for Academic Year 2024-2025

This CAEP Accreditation Measure is also available online as a Microsoft Word document

BACKGROUND

The purpose of the Content Area Test is to assess a preservice teacher’s knowledge and understanding of educational practices foundational to beginning a career as a professional teacher. Successful completion means meeting the cut score (240) to become eligible for a Professional Educator License in the state of Illinois. The data is collected from the Illinois Licensure Testing System (ILTS) report through the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). The content area tests are aligned to the Illinois Professional Educator Standards.

QUALITY ASSURANCE

The constructs measured in the Content Area tests are aligned to the Illinois Professional Educator Standards and national standards for individual specialty program areas.

SUPPORT FOR IMPROVEMENT

At the Program Improvement and Assessment Committee (PIAC) meetings, trends over time and comparisons of data from candidates across programs are analyzed. Areas of strength and areas for improvement are identified. Recommendations are then brought to the appropriate stakeholders to be discussed and implemented. This assessment tool and its data are used by programs as a key assessment when reviewing their programs and their candidates’ progress. The candidates take their Content Area Test as a requirement to begin student teaching.

RESULTS

The unit data shows that 150 initial program candidates took the contest area test in AY 2022 with 125 passing (83%) in their respective content areas. Initial candidates exceeded state averages in ten program content areas. It is noteworthy that the following programs exceeded state averages by 20% or more: Mathematics, Social Studies, and English Language Arts. As a unit, we are exploring how to better support candidates taking the content test in Agriculture and Art Education.

The unit data for AY 2023 shows that 123 candidates took the content area test with 93 passing (75.6%) in their respective content areas. Candidates taking the Mathematics Content Test and the General Special Education Content Test exceeded state averages on these exams by 38% and 19%. The following program candidates will need additional support next year based on the 2023 results: Elementary Education and Agriculture Education. The Elementary Content Tests underwent a major revision in the last few years.

The unit data for AY 2024 shows that 145 initial program candidates took the content area test with 120 passing (82.8%) in their respective content areas. Initial candidates taking the Early Childhood and English Language Arts content area tests exceeded the state averages. It is noteworthy that the Early Childhood candidates exceeded state averages by 18% and had a 100% pass rate for the program. The following program candidates will need additional support next year based on the 2024 results: Elementary Education, English Language Arts and LBS1 Special Education.

The unit data for AY 2025 shows that 132 initial program candidates took the content area test with 111 passing (84%) in their respective content areas. Initial candidates taking the Early Childhood, English Language Arts, Mathematics, Visual Arts, Science: Chemistry, Social Science: History, World Language: Spanish, and Learning Behavior Specialist I content area tests exceeded the state averages. The following program candidates will need additional support next year based on the 2025 results: Elementary Education and English Language Arts.

2022 PASS RATES FOR INITIAL PROGRAMS (TEST TAKERS: N=150)

2022 pass rates for initial educator licensure programs showing the number of candidates taking each content area test, the number passing, the institutional pass rate percentage, and the Illinois state average pass rate percentage (total test takers = 150). This table presents 2022 pass rate data for initial educator preparation programs across 15 content area tests. Columns include the content area test name, number of candidates taking the test, number passing the test, institutional unit pass rate percentage, and Illinois state average pass rate percentage. Overall, several programs achieved pass rates at or above the state average. Programs with 100 percent institutional pass rates included Elementary Fine Arts, Physical Health 200; English Language Arts 207; Mathematics 208; and TLP: Spanish 56. Learning Behavior Specialist I 155 reported 93 percent, Special Education General Curriculum 163 reported 90 percent, and Elementary Science Social Studies 199 reported 92 percent. Programs with lower institutional pass rates than the state average included Early Childhood Education 206 at 60 percent compared to the 64 percent state average, Agricultural Education 215 at 57 percent compared to the 90 percent state average, and Visual Arts 214 at 67 percent compared to the 97 percent state average. Science Biology 105 reported no test takers in 2022.
CONTENT AREA TEST	# TAKING TEST	# PASSING TEST	UNIT PASS RATE %	STATE AVG %
Elementary Language Literacy 197	17	11	65	54
Elementary Mathematics 198	14	10	71	51
Elementary Science Social Studies 199	12	11	92	72
Elementary Fine Arts, Physical Health 200	12	12	100	84
Early Childhood Education 206	10	6	60	64
English Language Arts 207	3	3	100	80
Learning Behavior Specialist I 155	29	27	93	91
Science Biology 105	0	0	0	71
Social Science History 246	6	5	83	81
Special Education General Curriculum 163	21	19	90	80
Visual Arts 214	3	2	67	97
Agricultural Education 215	7	4	57	90
Mathematics 208	6	6	100	63
Music 212	9	8	89	90
TLP: Spanish 56	1	1	100	93

2023 PASS RATES FOR INITIAL PROGRAMS (TEST TAKERS: N=123)

Pass rates for initial educator licensure content area tests showing the number of candidates taking each test, the number passing, the institutional unit pass rate percentage, and the state average pass rate percentage. This table presents pass rate data for 10 initial educator licensure content area tests. Columns include the content area test name, number of candidates taking the test, number of candidates passing the test, institutional unit pass rate percentage, and state average pass rate percentage. Three programs achieved a 100 percent institutional pass rate: Visual Arts 214, Mathematics 208, and Music 212. Visual Arts 214 exceeded the state average with a 100 percent pass rate compared to the 91 percent state average. Mathematics 208 reported a 100 percent institutional pass rate compared to the 62 percent state average, and Music 212 reported a 100 percent institutional pass rate compared to the 90 percent state average. Programs with institutional pass rates above the state average included Early Childhood Education 206 at 85 percent compared to the 79 percent state average, Social Science History 246 at 80 percent compared to the 72 percent state average, and Special Education General Curriculum 163 at 75 percent compared to the 56 percent state average. Programs with institutional pass rates below the state average included Elementary Education (Grade 1–6) 305 at 66 percent compared to the 85 percent state average, English Language Arts 207 at 75 percent compared to the 87 percent state average, Learning Behavior Specialist I 155 at 50 percent compared to the 90 percent state average, and Agricultural Education 215 at 67 percent compared to the 85 percent state average.
CONTENT AREA TEST	# TAKING TEST	# PASSING TEST	UNIT PASS RATE %	STATE AVG %
Elementary Education (Grade 1-6) 305	47	31	66	85
Early Childhood Education 206	26	22	85	79
English Language Arts 207	8	6	75	87
Learning Behavior Specialist I 155	2	1	50	90
Social Science History 246	10	8	80	72
Special Education General Curriculum 163	4	3	75	56
Visual Arts 214	7	7	100	91
Agricultural Education 215	12	8	67	85
Mathematics 208	4	4	100	62
Music 212	3	3	100	90

2024 PASS RATES FOR INITIAL PROGRAMS (TEST TAKERS: N=145)

Table showing educator licensure content area test results by program area, including the number of candidates taking each test, the number passing, the unit pass rate percentage, and the state average pass rate percentage. This table compares pass rates for educator licensure content area tests across multiple academic program areas. Columns include the content area test name, number of candidates taking the test, number passing the test, unit pass rate percentage, and state average pass rate percentage. Early Childhood Education, Mathematics, Music, Science: Chemistry, and World Language: Spanish each reported a 100 percent unit pass rate. Mathematics, Science: Chemistry, and World Language: Spanish exceeded state average pass rates. Social Science History matched the state average with an 89 percent pass rate. Science: Biology reported a 71 percent unit pass rate compared to a 73 percent state average. Elementary Education had the largest number of test takers with 36 candidates and a 69 percent pass rate compared to the 87 percent state average. Learning Behavior Specialist I reported an 83 percent pass rate, while English Language Arts and Visual Arts each reported a 75 percent pass rate. Agricultural Education reported a 78 percent pass rate.
CONTENT AREA TEST	# TAKING TEST	# PASSING TEST	UNIT PASS RATE %	STATE AVG %
Elementary Education (Grade 1-6) 305	36	25	69	87
Early Childhood Education 206	33	33	100	82
English Language Arts 207	12	9	75	89
Learning Behavior Specialist I 290	23	19	83	90
Social Science History 246	9	8	89	89
Visual Arts 214	8	6	75	95
Agricultural Education 215	9	7	78	91
Mathematics 208	3	3	100	78
Music 212	3	3	100	96
Science: Biology 239	7	5	71	73
Science: Chemistry 240	1	1	100	82
World Language: Spanish 260	1	1	100	94

2025 PASS RATES FOR INITIAL PROGRAMS (TEST TAKERS: N=132)

Pass rates for educator licensure content area tests showing the number of candidates taking each test, the number passing, the unit pass rate percentage, and the statewide average pass rate percentage by content area. This table presents educator licensure examination results across 10 content area tests. The data include the number of candidates who took each test, the number who passed, the institution’s unit pass rate percentage, and the statewide average pass rate percentage for comparison. The Elementary Education (Grades 1–6) test had the largest number of test takers with 45 candidates, of whom 33 passed, resulting in a 73 percent pass rate compared to the statewide average of 92 percent. Early Childhood Education had 33 candidates and an 88 percent pass rate, exceeding the statewide average of 75 percent. Several programs achieved a 100 percent unit pass rate, including Social Science History, Visual Arts, Mathematics, Science: Chemistry, and World Language: Spanish. Learning Behavior Specialist I reported a 96 percent pass rate, higher than the statewide average of 81 percent. Music reported the lowest unit pass rate at 50 percent, compared to the statewide average of 91 percent.
CONTENT AREA TEST	# TAKING TEST	# PASSING TEST	UNIT PASS RATE %	STATE AVG %
Elementary Education (Grade 1-6) 305	45	33	73	92
Early Childhood Education 206	33	29	88	75
English Language Arts 207	11	8	73	71
Learning Behavior Specialist I 290	24	23	96	81
Social Science History 246	11	11	100	80
Visual Arts 214	3	3	100	96
Mathematics 208	1	1	100	75
Music 212	2	1	50	91
Science: Chemistry 240	1	1	100	82
World Language: Spanish 260	1	1	100	98