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U-PASS combines the functionality and benefits of our Accountability Solutions and Portfolio Solutions into one easy-to-use package. U-PASS utilizes software containing WEB Based Modules that allow (1) teacher candidates to track their progress in meeting state mandated performance goals and help students learn, (2) faculty to evaluate the effectiveness of their teacher preparation methods and monitor the performance of their teacher candidates, and (3) administrators to evaluate the effectiveness of individual faculty in training teacher candidates.
Because U-PASS is based on monitoring the progress of individual students, all of these answers and decisions can be tied directly to student performance.
While it is acknowledged that the performance of K-12 students is based upon a host of factors, U-PASS permits the assessment of the relative contribution of teachers and their preparation to that performance. Since U-PASS allows for the collection, analysis, and reporting on all of the data mentioned above, plus an electronic portfolio and teacher work samples, questions about the performance of K-12 students, teacher candidates, and teacher education programs can be answered. By way of illustration, the U-PASS system has been used to address the following questions:
- What variables are responsible for differences in students' ability to meet a specific Teacher Standard?
- Do successful candidates consistently have different teachers or faculty than those who are unsuccessful?
- Are unsuccessful students from particular counties, cities or high schools?
- Were some student teaching locations more successful than others in terms of refining student teacher skills?
- What variables – in particular, student teacher behaviors – distinguished successful student teaching from unsuccessful student teaching? While this type of question is often asked it is rarely answered. However, such questions should be addressed if educators are to demonstrate their program's effectiveness and make improvements.
Answers to these questions are being used to improve teacher education programs.
U-PASS contains modules covering Initial Preparations, Advanced Preparations, Dispositions, Field Work, Student Teaching, Teacher Work Sample, Certifications, Praxis, Student follow-up, Electronic Portfolio System, and Reporting and Evaluation. The diagram on this page shows the relationships between these modules contained in U-PASS.