The Consortium for Research-Based and Equitable Assessments (CREA) at the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education has released its first report, The History, Current Use, and Impact of Entrance and Licensure Examinations Cut Scores on the Teacher of Color Pipeline: A Structural Racism Analysis. The CREA project, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, engages 14 states in examining their cut score setting process for entrance examinations into teacher preparation programs. The recent report chronicles the history of teacher preparation entrance and exit assessments and their impact on the diversity of candidates pursuing teaching as a profession.

On behalf of the AACTE, President and CEO Lynn M. Gangone issued the following statement today on the House Appropriations Committee passage of the fiscal year 2022 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill:

"AACTE is deeply gratified to see such an historic investment in education, and particularly in educator preparation. While our members have advocated for years, indeed decades, for such investments, this is the first time Congress has responded with such a robust bill. These unprecedented increases will make a significant difference in addressing the long-term deficits in our nation’s education system. They will enable our nation to address the critical shortage of educators and the lack of diversity in our profession in transformative ways. AACTE urges Congress to pass this legislation and send it to President Biden for his signature as soon as possible.

AACTE will close its offices tomorrow in recognition of Juneteenth, which honors the day when Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, to enforce the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation. Until that day, June 19, 1865, Black men, women, and children in Texas remained enslaved, despite the provisions of the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth, as named by the newly freed citizens, is celebrated annually on June 19. Congress voted this week to make Juneteenth a federal holiday.

AACTE staff pauses its work to reflect on the violence, including murder, that our Black, Latinx, Native American, Asian-American Pacific-Islander, and Transgendered populations are particularly experiencing, in addition to the long history of violence against these groups of people. AACTE condemns, in the strongest terms, this violence and invites all its colleagues to work together to create a society in which no one should fear for their lives based on the color of their skin or gender identity. 

AACTE believes that all also must work together to eliminate institutional racism, which plagues our nation and our educational system. As the Association that represents educator preparation programs that prepare the next generation of teachers, AACTE is leading the way. Through conferences, webinars, public statements, and other tools, AACTE works to affect change by advocating for diversity, equity, and inclusion, engaging in critical conversations about race, and countering the abhorrent impact racism and discrimination continue to have upon our society.