UHV education students get strong results in state test
Students in the UHV School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development achieved positive results on the state teaching certification tests, with 100 percent of students passing in more than three-quarters of the testing areas.
Students who plan to be teachers and other educators must take the Texas Education Agency’s Texas Educator Certification Examination in order to be certified to teach in state schools. From Sept. 1, 2018, to Aug. 31, 141 UHV students took the examination in 13 different subject areas. UHV students received a 100 percent passing rate in 10 of the 13 areas.
“UHV is fortunate to have excellent students who are driven to succeed and become outstanding educators,” said Fred Litton, dean of the school. “For the past several years, our students have achieved high passing rates on this test. I am proud to see this continue, and I applaud our faculty members for their hard work in helping students prepare for certification and their careers as educators.”
The testing rates are part of numerous accountability indicators that the education school must meet every year, Litton said. In addition to the testing results, the school is proud of meeting the standard for Principal Appraisal Ratings of teacher education graduates and for Student Satisfaction of the teacher education program. Both surveys are conducted by TEA.
The testing numbers recently were released by the Texas Education Agency and reflect any UHV student who took the test in 2018-2019. Future teachers, principals, school counselors, superintendents and educational diagnosticians are required to take a state exam to become certified educators.
A major component in the successful testing rates is the quality of UHV’s faculty, said Rachel Martinez, associate dean of the school and an associate professor of special education. Faculty members take the time every year to tweak their programs and courses to make sure students are learning what they need to become successful educators.
“All of our faculty members are invested in their program areas and helping our students succeed,” Martinez said. “We are proud of the level of dedication that they exhibit every day. That’s where our success begins. The faculty is the shining gem of UHV’s education programs.”
Because of the strong faculty and the students who are committed to becoming competent, confident educators, UHV has gained a reputation with Victoria and other area school districts as a source for strong graduates, Martinez said.
“Every year, UHV’s education graduates find positions in excellent school districts,” she said. “Through the years, we have become known through word of mouth as a provider of good teachers and educators, and we look forward to continuing that legacy.”
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 80 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.
