Extension of the safety net for the multi-subject content specialty teacher certification examination.
Text or summary was published
in the February 3, 2016 issue of the Register, I.D. No. EDU-05-16-00003-EP.
Final rule as compared with last published rule:
No changes.
Revised rule making(s) were previously published in the State Register on
May 4, 2016.
Text of rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:
Kirti Goswami, State Education Department, Office of Counsel, State Education Building, Room 148, 89 Washington Ave., Albany, NY 12234, (518) 474-6400, email: legal@nysed.gov
Initial Review of Rule
As a rule that requires a RFA, RAFA or JIS, this rule will be initially reviewed in the calendar year 2019, which is no later than the 3rd year after the year in which this rule is being adopted.
Assessment of Public Comment
Since publication of a Notice of Emergency Adoption and Proposed Rule Making in the State Register on February 3, 2016, the State Education Department (SED) received the following comments:
COMMENT:
The safety net requires completion of an online tutorial and an attestation from an academic official at a higher education institution. One commenter expressed concern that the attestation portion of the safety net is proving to be more difficult than the process discussed at the January 2016 Regents meeting.
Currently, the attestation form requires higher education officials to attest to the fact that “The teacher has a deep understanding of the Learning Standards for Mathematics and effectively connects the standards for mathematical practice with the standards for mathematical content to demonstrate a high level of mathematical proficiency and to provide highly effective mathematics instruction.” This language is being interpreted by some college officials as requiring the candidate for the Students with Disabilities 7-12 Generalist certificate to possess a level of mathematical knowledge equal to a teacher who holds a math 7-12 certificate. The commenter has indicated that these certificate holders are employed as consultant teachers, resource room service providers, or integrated co-teachers. They do not deliver math content on their own. While we agree that they should have a foundation in math, the commenter indicates that the attestation requires a skill set that exceeds the knowledge the exam requires and therefore the intent of the safety net is negated. Instead, the commenter requests that the attestation be modified to require an academic official to attest to a candidate’s ability to provide meaningful instructional assistance in math to students with disabilities in grades 7-12 that would be better aligned with the certificate title of students with disabilities 7-12 generalist.
DEPARTMENT RESPONSE:
The language used in the safety net attestation for Part Two: Mathematics of the Multi-Subject: Secondary Teachers (Grades 7-12) Content Specialty Test directly reflects the language in the framework of the Multi-Subject Test (see: http://www.nystce.nesinc.com/PDFs/NY_fld241_242_245_objs.pdf), which states that a teacher of students with disabilities shall have “a deep understanding of the New York State P-12 Common Core Learning Standards for Mathematics (NYCCLS) and effectively connects the standards for mathematical practice with the standards for mathematical content to demonstrate a high level of mathematical proficiency and to provide highly effective mathematics instruction.” The mathematics competencies and performance expectations in the framework reflect the mathematics content knowledge and skills that are expected of a teacher who is seeking to support the teacher of record in an integrated classroom or teach students with disabilities in a self-contained classroom as either a co-teacher or a consultant teacher in Grades 7-12. Thus, the attestation is not requiring mathematical content knowledge beyond what is tested on Part Two: Mathematics of the Multi-Subject Test.
The framework for the Multi-Subject test was developed through the collaboration of NYSED representatives and content specialists, based on NYSED-designated and educator-developed standards. The framework was then reviewed by New York State educators and teacher educators from across New York State on the NYSTCE Bias Review Committee and Multi-Subject 7-12 Content Advisory Committee at a Framework Review Conference. In addition, a sample of over 200 educators and teacher educators from across New York State reviewed the test framework in a Content Validation Survey. Approximately 104 New York State educators also participated in a job analysis study that identified the critical teacher tasks to which the Content Advisory Committee linked the Multi-Subject 7-12 test framework.
