Key Assessments – What does this mean?
While Key Assessments is not an acronym, it is an important concept to understand the academic programming at MLC.
The elementary education program includes 19 credits of field experiences and 37 credits of professional education. Together, these courses provide a solid foundation in the pedagogy, content, and applied practice of teaching in an elementary classroom.
A key assessment is an assignment or activity that all learners in the program need to complete. The Minnesota Professional Education Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB) has established that a program must include three key assessments. These key assessments are “used to both monitor candidates’ attainment of standards and to evaluate and inform continuous improvement” (Minnesota Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board, 2022, p. 17). MLC has elected to place the key assessments across several courses that are typically completed in the final year of study.
It is important that our APPLE learners complete the same key assessments as their on-campus peers. While the modalities of instruction may differ, the expectations do not. A learner who completes their studies through APPLE graduates from MLC with the same degree in elementary education as the traditional on-campus student. By using the same key assessments for both our on-campus and our online programming, MLC can ensure that all of our teacher candidates are equally prepared to serve in our elementary schools. We can also use the results from the key assessments to reflect on how best to refine our course offerings to address any gaps in our curriculum.
Minnesota Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board. (2022). Obtaining and maintaining program approval (Chapter 4). In Teacher preparation manual. https://mn.gov/pelsb/providers/teacherpreparationmanual/index.jsp
