Tarleton State University has received three significant grants awarded to broaden the university’s contributions towards teacher preparation and educational research at the institutional, state and national level. The university was awarded these grants in Summer 2025.
Dr. Crystal Rose was awarded $7,000 as a start-up grant by The Texas Education Agency (TEA) and State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) and continuation funding of $50,000 annually for two years. Tarleton State was selected to serve on the Texas Test of Educator Proficiency (T-TEP) Development Team. The current Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities (PPR) exam will be replaced with a more practice-based and fair certification assessment designed by the T-TEP.
The Content Development Lead has been appointed to Dr. Rose. She will guide the creation of assessment frameworks, assessment specifications and item prototypes, placing Tarleton State at the forefront of statewide policy and practice in educator assessment. The team will be responsible for developing a certification assessment based on performance tasks that align with classroom practice, ensuring the assessment is valid, fair and accessible for candidates from all backgrounds, piloting and scaling the assessment by collaborating with TEA and psychometric partners.
Every future Texas teacher will be impacted by the change in teacher certification. With these grants, Tarleton State is put into a leadership position to contribute to a policy shift.
Dr. Rose, a Tarleton State curriculum and instruction faculty member, led research on the Pipeline to Leadership Strategic Staffing Framework led by US PREP through a $10,000 research grant. The framework of this research is structured to reimagine staffing models to make stable teacher career paths that offer leadership roles, allow highly effective teachers to expand their reach, and support early-career educators through mentorship and growth opportunities.
Representatives of four institutions across Texas will gather and analyze data through the use of surveys, focus groups, and case studies with rural and urban principles and superintendents. The results will inform decision-making at the district level, guide statewide initiatives, and support nationwide planning and implementation efforts.
Tarleton State is reinforcing its role as a bridge between practice and research by providing districts with a deeper understanding of how redesigning staffing can improve teacher and student outcomes through this work. This project highlights Tarleton State’s capacity to conduct applied research that influences district operations and drives policy innovation.
Dr. Rose, Dr. Kate Jones, and Dr. Ida Smith were awarded a $5,000 grant from the Charles Butt Foundation to support the project Uncovering Impact on Data Collection and Use: Evaluating What We Do, How We Do It, and Our Effectiveness. [JR1] This initiative is a part of Tarleton State’s commitment to improving educator preparation.
Faculty stipends for time and labor, and initiatives like gift cards for faculty who participate in surveys for data collection, were both funded by the grant.
Over spring 2025 the research team created a project that directly aligns with TEA and accreditation requirements for evidence-based decision making. The researchers designed comprehensive survey tools, interactive data dashboards, and Plan Do Study Act (PDSA) improvement cycles to evaluate how data is collected, shared and utilized across the Educator Preparation Program (EPP).
The Tarleton Educator Portal, adapted from the Texas A&M University Aggie Educator Portal, was an outcome of the project. Implementation of the pilot is projected to launch fall 2025 and is designed to improve communication among staff, site coordinators[JR2] , mentor teachers and candidates. This system marks a significant step forward in fostering a data-informed culture in Tarleton State’s teacher preparation.
Through these three significant grants Tarleton State will continue to grow as a leader in Texas, a trailblazer for educator preparation and national research partner. The university is not only shaping its own educator preparation program but influencing the design of the new statewide certification exam, researching new creative staffing models and enhancing internal state systems. Through these initiatives, Tarleton State will continue to impact the future of teacher preparation across the state.