Aspiring teachers who graduated from Eastern during the 1999-

2000 academic year faired well on the required exams leading to

Illinois teaching certificates.

Ninety-seven percent of the students passed the exams, said

Keith Hillkirk, chair of the Illinois Association of Deans of

Public Colleges of Education, at a press conference in

Springfield.

Hillkirk, also dean of the College of Education at Southern

Illinois University, recently released the test scores for

students completing teacher preparation programs at Eastern and

other Illinois public universities.

Liz Hitch, dean of the College of Education and Professional

Studies at Eastern, joined Hillkirk and other education deans

from Illinois’ public universities to publicize the test

success rates of students.

The tests measured aspiring school teachers in the areas of

reading, writing, math, grammar and knowledge of individual

teaching concentrations.

Pass rates at the 12 institutions ranged from 93 percent to 100

percent, Hillkirk said. Statistics reflected the performances

of 6,398 total students who completed their preparation for

teaching professions at the state’s dozen public universities

in 1999-2000, he said.

Of the 662 Eastern teacher education graduates who completed

the exams, 643 passed the exams, Hitch said.

“The results show we got an `A’ on our exams,” Hillkirk said

during the conference. “Results show that our teachers-to-be

overwhelmingly passed tests that measure basic skills and

subject matter areas, and we’re quite proud of their

standings.”

Hitch expressed her confidence in Eastern’s education program

at the conference.

“Hundreds of communities across the state have hired Eastern’s

graduates to teach their children,” she said. “They know, from

the classroom results that they see, that Eastern has provided

the kind of program graduates needed in order to be exemplary

teachers.”

Eastern is now the second-largest producer of teachers in

Illinois, Hitch said.