High-stakes assessment in elementary education teacher preparation: Educators’ perceptions and actions resulting in curriculum change (original) (raw)
Related papers
Issues in Teacher Education , 2021
In response to increased accountability demands placed on teacher preparation programs across the United States, some programs are using standardized teacher performance assessments, such as edTPA. In our elementary teacher preparation program, a recent state mandate stipulated that teacher candidates had to successfully complete edTPA in order to receive teacher certification. This case study used mixed methods to examine teacher candidates’ (N=30) experiences and views while engaging in the assessment. Preparation for edTPA was integrated in specific courses in the program. Data were collected through a survey and individual interviews, with the analysis showing the teacher candidates felt largely ready for and supported during the edTPA completion but did not view the assessment as a fair measure of teaching effectiveness or tend to believe it improved them as neophyte teachers. The findings illuminate concerns about edTPA’s use and implications for the program that could be considerations for others using edTPA, including program and curricular refinements.
Evaluating Teacher Education Programs through Performance- Based Assessments
The edTPA (Teacher Performance Assessment) is an enormous undertaking that requires much time and effort. This can create a stressful situation that can have an impact on the teacher candidates and affect on their student teaching experience. With this in mind, schools of education have to look for ways to support teacher candidate and make the process less burdensome while not losing sight of the goals of student teaching or their school missions. This chapter will start with an explanation of the acceptable guidelines for support for the edTPA. It will then move into explaining the challenges teacher candidates face such as mastering unfamiliar language, test documents, and digital literacy skills followed by support strategies. The next section considers the populations of teacher candidates who might need specialized support due to the lack of local scoring and the inherent biases embedded in standardized assessments for a diverse population. The chapter concludes with the benefits and consequences of providing support for teacher candidates to pass the edTPA.
2016
The edTPA (Teacher Performance Assessment) is a nationally distributed and scored standards-based teacher performance assessment being promoted throughout the country (AACTE, n.d.-a). This mixed methods study investigated the experiences of New York City teacher candidates and teacher educators with the elementary education edTPA portfolio. It was found that teacher candidates experienced various supports and challenges based on their personal demographics, school of education, and student teaching placements. Additionally, the edTPA affected participants' personal, professional, academic and student teaching experiences. Furthermore, the study revealed ways that implementation of the edTPA affected teacher educators and the teacher education curriculum. Based on the findings, multiple semesters of student teaching, structures but not firm deadlines, technology support, and working with peers were helpful. There was an apparent need for more faculty training, more informed and consistent cooperating teachers and field supervisors, and emotional/psychological support for teacher candidates to mitigate the stress of the process. Furthermore, there is a concern that the factors associated with urban teaching make taking the edTPA more challenging and dissuade teacher candidates and schools of education from placing student teachers in this setting. The Consequences of the State Implementation of Nationally Standardized Teacher Performance Assessment as a Certification Requirement: A Mixed Methods Study v Policy recommendations include having a safety-net more consistent with the other State assessments, increasing funding for the ongoing demands to provide appropriate support, changes to the scoring process and portfolios, and allowing for teacher educators to contest a score that is inconsistent to field assessments.
2018
Teacher performance assessments have the potential to act as a powerful, authentic learning and assessment tool for teacher education programs and teacher candidates. However, in a climate of increased accountability and standardization, high-stakes performance assessments can take on a larger-than-intended role in teacher education. This study examined the experiences of a cohort of pre-service teachers of English for Speakers of Other Languages as they navigated the completion of the edTPA teaching portfolio, which had recently been adopted by their teacher education program to satisfy a teacher licensure requirement. The edTPA, developed by Pearson, Inc. and the Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity, consists of a candidate’s lesson plans, video-recordings of teaching, assessments, and reflections, which are then scored locally or by Pearson. Teacher candidates were interview to uncover their perceptions of the challenges and benefits of the edTPA as well as the wa...
Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 2019
Increased accountability demands are being placed on teacher preparation programs across the USA to demonstrate competencies of their teacher candidates. As a means of evaluating teacher candidates' instructional effectiveness and readiness for their own classrooms, some programs are using standardized teacher performance assessments, with faculty navigating how to respond to these requirements while maintaining a focus on desired learning outcomes of methods courses. This study's elementary teacher preparation program is located in one of the states recently requiring successful completion of the Elementary Education edTPA, which includes four tasks with one focused on mathematics (i.e., Math Task 4). A case study design was used to explore the preparation of teacher candidates (N = 51) for edTPA during a mathematics methods course emphasizing Cognitively Guided Instruction that included a simulated Math Task 4 assignment. The study specifically investigated changes in mathematical beliefs across the course and perspectives on engagement in the simulated Math Task 4. Data were collected via two belief surveys: an open-ended questionnaire and individual interviews of six participants. The quantitative findings show two important course intentions-that pedagogical beliefs would shift toward more cognitive alignment and teaching efficacy beliefs would increase-were not realized. The qualitative data provide insights into some of the struggles associated with edTPA, including pronounced anxiety and substantial misalignment with classroom placements, serving as a filter for learning and change during the course.
Cultural and Pedagogical Inquiry
The purpose of study was to explore the experiences of teacher candidates about being assessed by the Education Teacher Preparation Assessment (edTPA) requirements during their student teaching practicum. Fifty-six elementary and adolescent majors working for a Master of Science Degree in Education participated in the study by responding to open-ended survey questions. The study aimed at answering two research questions: (1) What are the challenges/concerns that the student teachers report about their experiences of edTPA during their student teaching placements? (2) Do teacher candidates suggest edTPA remains as part of the teacher education program requirement? The findings of the study indicate that the teacher candidates are adamant about their unfavorable experiences of edTPA implementation. They expressed that they found edTPA requirements to be an additional burden, not beneficial, a distraction, and they suggest that edTPA should be discarded from current teacher education p...
This paper reports the preliminary findings of a mixed-methods study which investigates the state implementation of a nationally distributed and scored pre-service teacher performance assessment (edTPA). This study is focused on two specific groups: a) elementary education teacher candidates and b) those who attend and student teach in New York City schools. At this point in the data collection, 59 teacher candidates were surveyed across nine schools of education. From those surveyed, 13 teacher candidates volunteered to be interviewed. Additionally, interviews were conducted with six teacher educators from the schools included in the study. The purpose of the study is to investigate: 1) The supports and challenges faced when taking a state-mandated pre-service teacher performance assessment for certification purposes. 2) How the implementation of the assessment affected participants' personal, professional, and academic experiences.
National Art Education Association, 2018
Creating the wealth of data required for edTPA portfolios can feel overwhelming to teacher candidates, including high-achieving ones. Teacher education programs in 40 states require teacher candidates working toward visual art certification to take edTPA, a high-stakes summative performance assessment developed by Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning and Equity (SCALE) and distributed by Pearson’s Evaluations Systems (Pearson Education, 2018). Since its implementation in 2013, edTPA has been aligned with accreditation and teacher candidates’ requirements for program completion, graduation, and/or teacher certification. edTPA’s implementation arose in response to the teacher accountability movement, with its standardized measures designed by SCALE as valid predictors of preservice teachers’ abilities to effectively instruct preK- 12 students on their first day of teaching (Pecheone, Whittaker, & Klesch, 2017). For its visual arts assessment, art education specialists have provided input in developing and updating its requirements, resources, and rubrics that address concepts of best practices within the field and content derived from the National Visual Arts Standards.
Adopting the edTPA as a High-Stakes Assessment: Resistance, Advocacy, and Reflection in Illinois
Mid-Western educational researcher, 2017
The edTPA, a national performance assessment for teacher candidates, has seen rapid adoption across the country since its development in 2009. Against the national backdrop of high stakes testing and accountability, the edTPA was developed to be an indicator of teachers’ readiness to teach. The varying perspectives and responses to edTPA in Illinois range from resistance and advocacy, to thoughtful reflection and programmatic changes to best prepare teacher candidates for success. In this paper we explore how Illinois institutions have responded to the adoption of edTPA as a high stakes assessment consequential for teacher licensure. Using a “politics of policy” (Cochran-Smith, Piazza, & Power, 2013) framework, this research aims to examine these divergent responses across the state.
2017
By presenting this dissertation as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the advanced degree from Georgia State University, I agree that the library of Georgia State University shall make it available for inspection and circulation in accordance with its regulations governing materials of this type. I agree that permission to quote, to copy from, or to publish this dissertation may be granted by the professor under whose direction it was written, by the College of Education and Human Development's Director of Graduate Studies, or by me. Such quoting, copying, or publishing must be solely for scholarly purposes and will not involve potential financial gain. It is understood that any copying from or publication of this dissertation which involves potential financial gain will not be allowed without my written permission.