

All candidates for licensure must pass a comprehensive exam near the end of their program. The examination may be taken in the final semester of study or in the prior semester, so long as most of the required and foundations courses have been completed or are in process. Students must enroll in ELHE8100 (no credit, no tuition cost) during the semester in which they take the comprehensive and no student may take the exam unless they have an approved program of study on file prior to the examination.
The dates for the submission of the comprehensive examination are:
The goal of the exam is to demonstrate your knowledge of educational leadership in a substantive manner that integrates the coursework and experiences associated with your degree program. The knowledge base for the examination is, in general, the "core" and "foundations" courses, but you are also expected to reflect the other work you undertook toward your degree. You are expected to draw upon scholarship from these courses and other elective courses in your graduate studies.
There are three versions of the examination. The sections below describe (a) the oral comprehensive examination for students completing the degree with licensure, (b) the written comprehensive examination for students completing the degree without licensure, and (c) the written comprehensive examination for students completing the dual degree in Law and Education.
A) Oral comprehensive examination for students completing the degree with licensure.
All candidates for licensure must pass an oral comprehensive exam at the end of their program. The M.Ed./CAES licensure comprehensive exam consists of an oral presentation and defense of the student’s practicum portfolio and leadership platform as required in ELHE7952 Practicum in Principalship during the spring semester of their final year.
Five days prior to the oral comprehensive deadline, the student must submit one copy of the ELHE7952 Portfolio to the Seminar faculty member and one copy to the student’s Supervisor in the Practicum. This may be done electronically (e.g., google drive).
The portfolio and comprehensive oral examination is conducted by two examiners: an educational leadership faculty member and the mentor practitioner who supervised the student's practicum experience. The examiners will choose four elements of the student's portfolio, one for each leadership standard. In an oral comprehensive examination, the student will be asked to respond to the following prompts:
To determine if the student is eligible for endorsement for principal licensure, each student's oral presentation is rated on a three-point scale (i.e. Exceptional Mastery, Mastery, Not Acceptable). Both examiners must rate the student at the mastery level or above in order for the student to pass. In the event of divergent ratings, consensus must be reached between the two examiners. If the candidate fails to achieve mastery, an additional faculty member will examine the candidate.
B) Written comprehensive examination for students completing the degree without licensure
Students seeking a degree without licensure are asked to respond to the following prompt:
In addition, students are asked to identify two artifacts (e.g., papers, projects, exams, blogs) that you generated in your coursework that illuminate your perspectives and understanding. Please attach each artifact in an appendix to your examination paper and discuss these in your response to Prompt A.
C) Written comprehensive examination for students completing the dual degree in Law and Education.
Students enrolled in the Dual Degree Program in Law and Education are asked to respond to the following prompt:
a) How has this program influenced your perspectives and understanding of the relationship between the legal and educational systems? What readings contribute to your perspective? How?
In addition, students are asked to identify two artifacts (e.g., papers, projects, exams, blogs) that you generated in your coursework that illuminate your perspectives and understanding. Please attach each artifact in an appendix to your examination paper and discuss these in your response to Prompt A.
Components and process for the written comprehensive examination (Sections B & C)
Scoring rubrics
The faculty will use the attached scoring rubric to evaluate your examination (see Attachment 1 for the Oral Comprehensive Examination and Attachment 2 for the Written Comprehensive Examination). Each student's examination is blind graded by 2 faculty members and is rated as Exceptional Mastery, Mastery, or Not Acceptable. Both examiners must rate the student at the mastery level or above in order for the student to pass. In the event of divergent ratings, consensus must be reached between the two examiners. If the candidate fails to achieve mastery, an additional faculty member will read the submitted exam.
|
COMMUNICATION |
SUPPORT FROM COURSE READINGS |
APPLICATION TO PRACTICE |
Exceptional Mastery |
Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills. Responds incisively to all the prompts. |
Integrates a variety of course readings in substantial, well- chosen ways |
Demonstrates insightful understanding and rationale for leadership behaviors and standards |
Mastery |
Strong communication and interpersonal skills. Responds well to all the prompts. |
Integrates several course readings. Some weak or poorly chosen connections may be present but are rare. |
Provides adequate understanding and rationale for leadership behaviors and standards |
Not Acceptable |
Weak communication and interpersonal skills. Fails to respond to the prompts. |
References to readings, if any, are weak, irrelevant, or wrong. Overall gaps in knowledge evident |
Unsophisticated understanding and rationale for leadership behaviors; rationales for practices are often inappropriate |
|
ANALYSIS AND COMMUNICATION |
SUPPORT |
APPLICATION TO PRACTICE |
Exceptional Mastery |
Responds incisively to all the prompts; Analysis relevant, sophisticated, and original. Logical sequence of paragraphs; Appropriate and clear transitions between sentences and paragraphs, excellent syntax. |
Provides substantial, well--- chosen evidence, including several course readings used strategically. |
Demonstrates insightful and well integrated understanding of leadership expertise and decision- making behaviors |
Mastery |
Responds well to all the prompts; Analysis goes beyond the obvious, Distinct units of thought in paragraphs, coherently arranged; good transitions between sentences and paragraphs |
Provides sufficient and appropriate evidence and makes effort to contextualize it through the course readings |
Provides adequate evidence of leadership best practices and decision-making behaviors. |
Not Acceptable |
Confuses or misunderstands some significant concepts, including some of those in the prompts. Leaves out several of them, Repetitive, wanders, frequent major and minor grammar problems. |
Evidence is anecdotal, awkwardly or incorrectly incorporated, or not cited at all |
Unsophisticated or no understanding of leadership best practices and decision- making behaviors. |