M.Ed. graduates earn 100 percent pass rate on SLLA licensure assessment

Graduates of the Master of Education program in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies (ELPS) have earned a 100 percent pass rate on the School Leaders Licensure Assessment (SLLA), a requirement for Virginia licensure as a public school leader.

Nine graduates of the M.Ed. program have opted to take the assessment, and all nine have passed the exam. The ELPS program is specifically designed to prepare students for school leadership in Virginia. Graduates are not required to take the examination to earn the degree, but Dr. Tom Shields, program coordinator, notes that “as a program, we encourage every student to take the SLLA exam.”

Shields continues, “The SLLA exam is based on case analysis. We strive in our courses to offer as many case based examples as possible. We relate these to theory and to practice,” providing an excellent foundation for success on the exam.

M.Ed. in ELPS graduates who have earned passing scores on the examination are Jennifer Luck, Nora Wheeler, Randy Wright, Leslie Waller, Lisa Thompson, Jay Ruffa, Brian Phelps, Autumn Nabors and Bert Bowman. All are May or December 2011 graduates of the program.