When it comes to ensuring every child has access to a high-quality education, the role of teachers cannot be overstated. But what happens when those tasked with educating our children don’t feel fully prepared to meet the challenges of today’s classrooms? Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) decided it was time to address this head-on with the Teacher Preparation Provider Review Program, a transformative initiative designed to raise the bar for teacher preparation across the state.
Like many states, Louisiana faced challenges in ensuring that teacher preparation programs equipped candidates with the real-world skills needed for today’s classrooms. Many new teachers were entering classrooms unprepared to handle diverse student needs or ensure measurable academic growth.
To tackle this issue, the LDOE developed the Teacher Preparation Provider Review Program, a comprehensive system to evaluate and hold teacher preparation programs accountable. The program ensures alignment with state education priorities and fosters continuous improvement in teacher readiness to ensure every aspiring teacher is ready for the realities of today’s schools. The goals of the program are threefold:
The teacher preparation quality rating consists of three aspects:
The Teacher Preparation Provider Review evaluates teacher preparation providers across four critical domains:
The review program is not a one-time evaluation. Instead, it fosters a culture of continuous improvement through a cycle of feedback and growth: Providers that do not meet standards receive specific feedback and action plans for improvement, along with professional development support. Programs that consistently exceed expectations are celebrated and serve as models for others. This ongoing cycle ensures all teacher preparation programs are held to the highest standards while fostering innovation and excellence.
Since the launch of the Teacher Preparation Provider Review Program, Louisiana has seen notable improvements:
Regional Representation: The program emphasizes recruiting and placing completers who are more representative of the K-12 student body they serve.
The LDOE remains committed to evolving the program by integrating new measures such as:
By prioritizing teacher quality, the Louisiana Department of Education is not only transforming teacher preparation but also shaping the future of education across the state.
Louisiana’s journey highlights the power of accountability, innovation, and collaboration in fostering an education system where every teacher, and every student, can thrive.
The success of Louisiana’s Teacher Preparation Provider Review Program offers several insights for educational leaders and policymakers:
“We had some very experienced reviewers. They gave us rigorous feedback that was really meaningful and impactful. Through this process, the university was able to create a robust strategic plan and a more rigorous quality assurance system.”
- Dr Leah Peterson, Assistant Professor of Teacher Education and Assessment Coordinator, Nicholls State University [Read about Nicholls State University's full experience]
“Our program is so much stronger based off of that feedback… we understood the evidence and accepted the feedback – it wasn’t something we wished to debate – it simply became the foundation for further improvement.”
- Mary Daze, Instructional Supervisor of TAP and Teacher Development, Teach Ascension Academy, Ascension Parish School Board’s (APSB) [Read about APSB's full experience]
“It has proven to be very useful - it's helpful to know that somebody is going to be looking at what we do. The people in our organization are always thinking about improvement, and considering the impacts of a design choice, a curricular choice or a facilitation choice on the students. But I think there's something about an external third party like Etio authentically looking at our operations that sharpens our focus and helps put time-bound action plans in place both in advance of the review, as well as setting us up for the post-review process.”
- Kyle Finke, CEO at the Louisiana Resource Center for Education (LRCE) [Read about LRCE's full experience]
“The year-long residency gave me confidence and a clear understanding of how to manage a classroom. The feedback I received from my mentor and supervisors was a game-changer.”
— Recent Program Graduate
“We’ve seen a marked improvement in the readiness of new teachers. They come in equipped with the skills and mindset needed to help students succeed, especially in high-need areas.”
— Principal, High-Need School
Etio is leveraging the work with LDOE program as a springboard to inspire systemic change in teacher preparation across the nation. To further amplify the program’s reach and impact, the following initiatives are underway:
“Etio (formerly Class Measures) expertly developed the relationships to ensure the process was meaningful for all of those involved. They led the work of developing an evaluation tool, a process that was highly complex and involved many stakeholders, all of whom came to the table with their own goals, constituents, and context for engaging in this work. Through these working sessions, Etio leaders served as critical listeners, facilitators, and were able to synthesize the discussions to create a responsive draft of the evaluation tool that incorporated stakeholder feedback, aligned to state policy, and served the three overall goals of the process: quality assurance, workforce diversification, and accountability.”
“Etio led a process that provided high-quality formative feedback and accountability for all universities and organizations that are approved by Louisiana State Board of Elementary Secondary Education (BESE) to offer teacher training programs that result in initial licensure. The Etio leaders facilitated the process with expertise, excellent staffing, and quality assurance to ensure that the on-site reviews were conducted in accordance with state policy. They also designed an on-site review process that provided quality-based feedback to teacher preparation providers that was aligned, evidence-based and reflected an authentic understanding of the work of teacher preparation within the context of Louisiana schools, students, and teachers.”
- Sara DeLano, former Director of Education Workforce, Louisiana Department of Education
We’re really proud of our partnership with LDOE and have always felt that the focus on instructional quality, rigorous curriculum, and teacher readiness for the classroom would pay dividends. The recent NAEP scores indicate that Louisiana was the only state in which fourth-grade reading scores were higher than in 2019, and the state’s scores in fourth-grade math were also higher than in 2019, and local losses in eighth-grade math and reading were among the smallest of any state. Whilst it might be a stretch to attribute these successful outcomes directly to the impact of the Teacher Preparation Provider reviews, it would be difficult to argue that the state’s commitment to high-quality teacher preparation using a rubric focussing on literacy and core skills has not had a bearing on Louisiana’s bucking of NAEP trends.
At Etio, we believe that the Louisiana’s Teacher Preparation Provider Review Program is more than just a state initiative - it’s a movement to transform education by ensuring every teacher is ready to make a difference from day one. Whether you’re an educator, policymaker, or Preparation Provider, there’s a role for you in this journey. Together, we can shape a future where every student has access to an excellent teacher, and every classroom is a place of possibility.