Lessons from State Education Agencies: Why Building Clinical Practice Data Systems is Worthwhile and Feasible

Clinical practice (which comprises both field experiences and full-scale student teaching) matters for teacher and student outcomes. The research—and candidates’ own experiences—strongly suggest that a well-designed clinical practice experience can improve teacher effectiveness and retention while also helping districts tackle teacher shortages. Designing clinical practice experiences is largely the purview of prep programs and school district partners, but state education leaders have an important role as well. States set minimum expectations, monitor outcomes, and can help guide placements. But states cannot adequately fulfill any of these roles without information about what is currently happening in schools and districts statewide.

Over the last year and a half, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) and the Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER) convened leaders from six states to identify steps states can take to better understand and track clinical practice. This brief explores their insights and provides brief case studies of their actions to strengthen clinical practice data systems in their states.