This research was encouraged by the tremendous demand for teachers. Two million new teachers will be needed in the United States over the next decade. The teacher shortage has school administration, school boards, education agencies, and institutions of higher education investigating how to train and retain more teachers. Alternative certification programs have been developed to address the teacher shortage. This study examined the effectiveness of traditionally and alternatively certified teachers in two separate programs with regard to their self-efficacy, perception of their training, and their ExCET scores. Traditional candidates (10) and alternative candidates (74) were examined using survey research. According to this data on self-efficacy, perception of training, and ExCET passing rates, there is no significant difference between those teachers who receive traditional training and those who are trained in alternative certification programs.

This study seeks to determine the effectiveness of the Challenging Athletes Minds for Personal Success (CHAMPS)/Life Skills program at the University of North Texas, as perceived by the student athletes who participate or participated in this program. The study attempts to measure the extent to which the student athletes feel that the program had value; if they received helpful information to support them through their college career to career transition; if the student athletes felt that the program provided them with skills to encourage better self-esteem; and if they believed that the CHAMPS/Life Skills program provided them with leadership and character education. The study, conducted in the Fall of 2003, had 163 respondents. An instrument was developed to determine student athletes' perceptions of the effectiveness of the CHAMPS/Life Skills program at UNT. The instrument consisted of 30 questions using a Likert-type scale. A Mann-Whitney U, a non-parametric t-Test, was utilized to analyze the data. This type of t-Test was used because it is specifically designed to compare the means of the same variable with two different groups and account for non-homogeneous groups. The lack of homogeneity was very likely influenced by the unequal group sizes. Generally, all aspects of the …

The purpose of this study was to (1) gather information regarding knowledge of TAAS and perceptions (attitudes) about TAAS (excluding the current battery of End of Course Tests) from teachers and administrators; (2) relate teacher and administrator knowledge and perceptions of the test to student test performance as reported in the Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) Reports. Answers to the following questions were sought: 1. To what extent do teachers and administrators possess different levels of knowledge regarding TAAS, and different attitudes toward TAAS about its purpose and usefulness? 2. Are differences in teacher and administrator knowledge of TAAS related to student performance? 3. Are differences in teacher and administrator attitude toward TAAS related to student performance? Information was collected, by means of a twenty-six-item survey measuring teacher and administrator knowledge and attitude toward TAAS. The selected schools were chosen from schools rated as either exemplary or low performing by the state accountability system. The data were examined using Descriptive Statistics (Mean, Median, Mode, Standard Deviation) and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). ANOVA was performed to determine if a significant variance existed between the responses of teachers and administrators and also between exemplary and lowperforming schools. Exemplary and low performing schools …