Major Projects

Toward a Performance Analysis System for Colleges of Education (PACE)

Purpose and Objectives of PACE
As a consortium of universities devoted to on-going analysis and continuous quality improvement of university-based teacher preparation, the Center for Research, Evaluation and Advancement of Teacher Education (CREATE) seeks to develop planning and information systems that can assist universities in professional analysis of their teacher preparation initiatives, particularly as these practices relate to long-term teacher influence and effect.


The preparation of effective teachers for Texas public schools is of paramount importance in assuring sound economic footing and an enhanced quality of life for all Texans. To this end, university-based teacher preparation is of great public significance in the state, worthy of careful attention, and an important subject of continuous quality improvement.

This PACE report offers a useful prototype of a reporting system for universities and their Colleges of Education centered on public schools. PACE is offered in support of the teacher preparation programs associated with the CREATE consortium. This analysis is intended to be used as a planning and resource tool that can assist teacher education leaders in assessing needs, targeting refinements in their preparation programs and evaluating their organizational effects over time.

PACE reports are intended to address the following objectives:

  1. Present a system which describes and charts a Proximal Zone of Professional Impact (PZPI) for each CREATE institution, within which to consider long-term program interventions and measure effectiveness of university teacher preparation programs.
  2. Provide a school-centered tool that can assist in the continuous quality improvement of university-based teacher preparation programs.
  3. Provide information that will enable university and school leaders to track long-term trends related to public school teaching and learning in their immediate area.
  4. Provide information that will enable university and school leaders to track long term teacher production trends in relation to regional demand.
  5. Supply a structured format which will enable university and public school leaders to engage in systematic analysis of achievement and staffing patterns in their immediate vicinity.

As a newly designed information product, the PACE prototype is a work in progress. As a prototype, these PACE reports are also subject to continuous quality improvement and will be significantly enhanced and refined as they are applied and utilized for intended purposes. While these reports offer a “core” data set that can assist all consortium members in establishing a school-centered planning focus, these PACE data must be augmented with local program information in order to thoroughly answer critical evaluation questions about each institution’s teacher preparation programs. In this regard, PACE is offered as a common data platform that will hopefully encourage expanded “mining” efforts related to local university information systems in order to inform improved teacher preparation practices at the campus and regional level.

It is also important to note that these initial PACE reports are derived from Texas state data sources. Large files of this size and scope are always subject to variability and standard degree of error. To this end, it is imperative that PACE users verify and authenticate these reported institutional data prior to final analysis and interpretation. In efforts to refine these data CREATE staff stand ready to assist in clarifying questions or issues regarding data quality. Further details on the procedures to follow to contact CREATE regarding data errors, questions, and further data requests can be found on page 65 of this report.

CREATE Assumptions About the Professional Influence and Impact of Colleges of Education

This PACE system is based upon key assumptions that are central to CREATE’s mission and program of work. CREATE assumes the following with regard to the professional influence and impact of Colleges of Education.

  1. Colleges of Education are an integral component of a system of public education and, as such, have a professional obligation to contribute to the continuous quality improvement of public school teaching and student learning.
  2. Colleges of Education can and do influence continuous quality improvement of public school teaching and student learning through their core functions of:
    1. teacher preparation,
    2. research and development, and
    3. service to the profession.
  3. To optimize professional influence, Colleges of Education leaders must regularly assess the status of public school teaching and student learning, and based upon identified needs, work with their public school partners to develop and implement program interventions that support measured improvement over time.
  4. The College of Education’s long-term effect on public school teaching and student learning can best be assessed through:
    1. on-going analysis of the College’s teacher production/placement record,
    2. faculty and graduate student research and development activities; and
    3. faculty and staff service to the local profession as implemented in a Proximal Zone of Professional Impact (PZPI).
  5. Faculty involvement in planning, implementing and/or assessing educational interventions in the PZPI should be actively encouraged within every College of Education, and faculty participation should be awarded paramount weight in the university’s tenure and promotion criteria.

The Proximal Zone of Professional Impact (PZPI): A Contextual Framework for Assessing Long-Term Influence and Impact of Colleges of Education

To facilitate consistent long-term assessment of institutional impact, and afford comparative analysis, CREATE has established a Proximal Zone of Professional Impact (PZPI) for CREATE institutions. The Proximal Zone of Professional Impact is comprised of all school districts and campuses within a seventy-five mile radius of each university. This proximal zone describes a “P-16” professional community in the immediate vicinity of each university, and provides each College of Education a professional laboratory setting in which to collaboratively design and implement program improvements over time and to gauge their long-term success.

While this Proximal Zone of Professional Impact does not convey the complete impact scenario of the university’s teacher preparation programs, it does provide a common and consistent setting in which the university may measure program effect over time.

From CREATE’s perspective, the PZPI offers the following advantages:

  1. It presents a useful frame of reference for Colleges of Education to utilize in assessing teaching and learning trends over time in the particular geographic area nearest their institution.
  2. It provides Colleges of Education a field laboratory for research and development activities related to planned instructional interventions.
  3. It establishes parameters of a professional community that are consistently defined across the CREATE consortium, enabling long-term program benchmarking and institutional comparisons.
  4. It provides geographic boundaries that correlate to the university’s primary admission centers.
  5. It affords a structure for long-term regional networking and professional partnerships among public and higher education institutions in the zone.

Data Sets Used in the PACE Report

These analyses are based on four data sets, three of which are available to the public through the Texas Education Agency.

Teacher Certification Data Set. This data set includes each Texas teaching certificate obtained by a qualified applicant as well as the date the individual received the teaching certificate. The data matches individuals to the program recommending certification and is available from 1994 through the current year. These data do not distinguish between middle and high school certificates, but do differentiate elementary and secondary certificates. The data include the race/ethnicity, gender, and age of each individual. Finally, the Teacher Certification Data Set is a dynamic data set in that changes are made on a daily basis. The TEA staff is constantly updating and refining errors in the data set. Thus, any analysis based on a Teacher Certification Data Set purchased in May of 2006 will likely differ somewhat from an analysis based on a data set purchased in July of 2006.

Teacher Assignment Data Set. This data set includes the specific course and subject area assignments by percentage of full-time equivalent (FTE) for every teacher of record in every Texas public school. The data matches each teacher to the district and school or schools in which he or she teaches. The data set is available from the mid-1980s to the current year. The Teacher Assignment Data Set for each academic year is made available in March of that academic year.

Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS). This data is available from the TEA website and includes data on students, staff, finances, accountability ratings, test scores, and non-test score information related to student achievement and drop outs. The data is available for every public school in Texas since 1993. Newly created schools are not included in the system until at least one year after they have opened.

Proximal Zone of Professional Impact (PZPI). This data set contains a list of the schools and districts within a 75 mile radius from each teacher preparation program associated with CREATE. The data set was produced by CREATE and simply indicates whether a district and school is in a preparation program’s Proximal Zone of Professional Impact.

How to Use and Apply The PACE Report

PACE is intended as a tool to assist universities, their Colleges of Education, and their leadership team in analyzing teaching and learning trends within their institutions and within the public schools of the surrounding area. PACE offers a structure to monitor and gauge long-term professional improvement. The data included in this report are important, therefore, only to the degree that each university will choose to address them in a systematic and continuous manner, and organize mechanisms within their own institutions to apply these analyses for the on-going refinement of their own teacher preparation program, as well as other educational programs. Based on this intended use, we recommend the following actions associated with the PACE reports:

  1. Organize and empower a teacher preparation leadership team which includes both university and public school partners (a standing work committee) to analyze and interpret these data as well as recommend organizational improvements based on the needs identified. (Where possible, we suggest you might provide the leadership team access to graduate student support to facilitate the work).
  2. Verify and validate the state data sets to be certain that they are relatively consistent with comparable data reported by your university. (Where there appear to be significant discrepancies, please report these to CREATE staff. See page 65 for instructions on the process CREATE will follow to receive validation information or requests).
  3. Extend and augment these data with university data bases and programmatic information available only at your institution.
  4. Develop an institutional report which identifies regional teaching and learning needs. Disseminate this report extensively within and outside the institution.
  5. Plan, implement and evaluate program improvements intended to address regional teaching and learning needs. Encourage experimental research and development projects based on these planned interventions.
  6. Build regional collaboratives based on the needs identified and the organizational interventions pursued.

How CREATE Can Assist

CREATE will continue to refine the PACE reports and data sets for annual distribution. However, for member institutions that seriously pursue the recommended steps above, CREATE will make every effort to deliver additional support and technical assistance to university/school leadership teams by:

  1. Developing customized reports for active university teams.
  2. Consulting with leadership teams regarding analysis and interpretation of data.
  3. Facilitating meetings and other local events that employ these data in a systematic manner for program improvement.
  4. Evaluating university-based initiatives to design and implement program improvements.

Custom Report Request Instructions and Forms

Request for Professional Services

Data Correction Instruction and Forms