611.32—What are the program's general selection criteria?

In evaluating the quality of full applications, the Secretary uses the following selection criteria.

(a) Quality of the project design. (1) The Secretary considers the quality of the project design for ensuring that activities to recruit and prepare new teachers are a central mission of the project.

(2) In considering the quality of the project design for ensuring that activities to recruit and prepare new teachers are a central mission of the project, the Secretary considers the extent to which the project design—

(i) Shows evidence of institutional or (in the case of a State applicant) State-level commitment both to recruitment of additional new teachers, and to high-quality teacher preparation that includes significant policy and practice changes supported by key leaders and that result in permanent changes to current institutional practices;

(ii) Creates and sustains collaborative mechanisms to integrate professional teaching skills, including skills in the use of technology in the classroom, with academic content provided by the school of arts and sciences;

(iii) Includes well-designed academic and student support services as well as carefully planned and extensive preservice clinical experiences for students, including mentoring and other forms of support, that are implemented through collaboration between the K-12 and higher education partners;

(iv) Includes establishment of a well-planned, systematic induction program for new teachers that increases their chances of being successful in high-need schools;

(v) Includes strong linkages among the partner institutions of higher education and high-need schools and school districts (or, in the case of a State applicant, between the State and these entities in its project), so that all those who would implement the project have important roles in project design, implementation, governance, and evaluation;

(vi) Responds to the shortages of well-qualified and well-trained teachers in high-need school districts, especially from disadvantaged and other underrepresented backgrounds; and

(vii) Is based on up-to-date knowledge from research and effective practice.

(b) Significance. (1) The Secretary considers the significance of the project.

(2) In determining the significance of the project, the Secretary considers the extent to which—

(i) The project involves promising new strategies or exceptional approaches in the way new teachers are recruited, prepared, and inducted into the teaching profession;

(ii) Project outcomes include measurable improvements in teacher quality and in the number of well-prepared new teachers, that are likely to result in improved K-12 student achievement;

(iii) The project will be institutionalized after federal funding ends, including recruitment, scholarship assistance, preparation, and support of additional cohorts of new teachers;

(iv) The project will disseminate effective practices to others, and provide technical assistance about ways to improve teacher recruitment and preparation; and

(v) The project will integrate its activities with other education reform activities underway in the State or communities in which the project is based, and will coordinate its work with local, State, and federal teacher recruitment, training, and professional development programs.

(2) In determining the quality of the project's resources, the Secretary considers the extent to which—

(i) The amount of support available to the project, including personnel, equipment, supplies, student scholarship assistance, and other resources is sufficient to ensure a successful project.

(ii) Budgeted costs are reasonable and justified in relation to the design, outcomes, and potential significance of the project.

(iii) The applicant's matching share of budgeted costs demonstrates a significant commitment to successful completion of the project, and to project continuation after federal funding ends.

(d) Quality of management plan. (1) The Secretary considers the quality of the project's management plan.

(2) In determining the quality of the management plan, the Secretary considers the following factors:

(i) The extent to which the management plan, including the workplan, is designed to achieve goals and objectives of the project, and includes clearly defined activities, responsibilities, timelines, milestones, and measurable outcomes for accomplishing project tasks.

(ii) The extent to which the project has an effective, inclusive, and responsive governance and decisionmaking structure that will permit all partners to participate in and benefit from project activities, and to use evaluation results to continuously improve project operations.

(iii) The qualifications, including training and experience, of key personnel charged with implementing the project successfully.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 1840-0007)

Code of Federal Regulations

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1021 et seq.)

CFR

611.32—What are the program's general selection criteria?

Code of Federal Regulations