When the Illinois State Board of Education made the decision to allow students enrolled in a collegiate education program to give proof of a 22 or better composite score on the ACT plus Writing in place of the former Test of Academic Proficiency, student Hannah Wankel was surprised.

Wankel, a senior special and elementary education major, said she was predominantly surprised by the allowance because of the recent conversion to TAP for the 2011-12 academic school year.

“I don’t agree with it—they keep changing it so much since I’ve been at Eastern they have changed (test) three times and it’s ridiculous,” Wankel said. “They should just keep it the same for everyone.”

Wankel had just taken the TAP/Basic Skills when the state board announced the alternative, and said she may just use her ACT composite score if she does not pass her first TAP test.

“I’m just waiting for my results and now they just (changed it), so I’m like ‘That’s a waste of money,’” Wankel said.

The ACT plus Writing exam costs approximately $49.50 and can be taken at local high schools at specified times while the TAP costs $125 with the closest testing center in Terre Haute, Ind. with testing offered every Monday through Saturday.

“I think they should just lower the standards (of TAP) back down,” Wankel said.

Doug Bower, the associate dean for the College of Education and Professional Studies, said because the Illinois State Board of Education has not picked specified starting time, upperclassmen may not be able to use the ACT as an alternative to the Test of Academic Proficiency/Basic Skills.

“It was really creating high anxiety because it had a relatively low pass rates,” Bower said.

Bower said he hopes it encourages the right people to take another look at majoring in education.

Teacher education numbers will increase, he said.

“Will they grow back as high as they were a couple of years ago—not only at Eastern, but across the state—probably not,” Bower said.

Bower attributed the lower state enrollment to the job market.

“If the state had not done this, we were looking at a teacher shortage,” he said.

A high amount of retirements coupled with a low number of teacher education graduates would have crippled schools with empty spots, Bower said.

“The numbers across the state had dropped so dramatically that with all of the retirements that are going to be happening now and for the next three years—we were going to be looking at not enough teachers coming out to fill those positions,” Bower said.

In addition to staying informed about the recent changes to teacher education admittance standards, Bower said potential educators should also be aware of the changes occurring within their future profession.

“The most dramatic change has been in where students should be when they graduate…as opposed to saying what they should be able to do in kindergarten,” Bower said. “We are kind of flipping that on its head.”

Bower said teachers are now looking at what students should be able to do when they finish high school, then working backwards instead of working forward.

“One of the big changes that the new Common Core Standards is hitting is that the whole process of reading is just as important as the content people are reading,” Bower said.

The new standards say teachers should not be lowering reading levels to help them understand the content, but should be helping students understand the content of higher reading, Bower said.

“The expectation of students when they graduate high school are higher than they have ever been,” he said. “Things that people are doing in third and fourth grade are things that were being done (in older grades).”

Because of higher student expectations, teachers are also expected to be well versed in other areas, Bower said.

“For years, I heard elementary school teachers say ‘Well, I am not so good at mathematics’—well they can’t say that anymore because an elementary teacher has to be incredibly strong in mathematics,” he said.

However, the biggest change is teacher accountability pertaining to their students, Bower said.

In the past, there used to be a concept of students being more accountable for their understanding of the teachers’ material—that has changed, Bower said.

Now teachers are supposed to be able to re-teach material in a way that can help all students reach a level of understanding, Bower said.

“Teaching and learning is truly a partnership between the student, parent and the teacher,” Bower said.

Jordan Martin, a senior elementary education major, agreed.

“If students were just taught one way, then maybe half of them—at most—would get it, but then the rest of the students that don’t learn from just hearing or reading would score lower on whatever test they are given,” Martin said. “It does help to diversify your instruction as well as your assessment.”

Martin has a general studies option, which would allow him to teach grades kindergarten through ninth. Martin also has endorsements in math and English.

Martin said he feels like Eastern’s education program has adequately prepared him to student teach in the upcoming fall semester.

“All of my training has been aimed towards multiple intelligences,” Martin said. “We are taught to address visual learners and (students) that learn by doing, so we are definitely taught to be versatile and not just lecture.”

Teaching education students to understand different learning preferences or types early in their education is a great method, Bower said.

“I don’t think the teacher should be totally accountable for learning because there are things outside of the teachers control, but it should be a partnership,” he said.

And the teacher is responsible for creating that environment, Bower said.

“I think it is a stressful time for teaching, but it is also an exciting time because a lot of the changes going on are solid changes,” Bower said.

Nike Ogunbodede can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].