Evidence in Teacher Education (original) (raw)
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education policy analysis archives, 2013
This study focuses on pre-service teachers' perspectives regarding how the process of completing the Performance Assessment for California Teachers (PACT) affected them academically, professionally, and personally. Pre-service teachers' perspectives were acquired using a survey instrument comprised of open-ended questions. In addition, pre-service teachers' selfconfidence levels pertaining to assessment task components of PACT (i.e., planning, instruction, Education Policy Analysis Archives Vol. 21 No. 56 SPECIAL ISSUE 2 assessment, reflection, and academic language) were measured prior to the execution of PACT portfolio assessment and these levels were compared to the actual scores on PACT. This study concludes with implications for teacher educators and teacher education programs implementing pre-service teacher assessments; these implications include policy level suggestions as well as a discussion of intended and unintended consequences of the PACT assessment on the pre-service teachers.
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.
Beginning Teachers' Perceptions of the California Teaching Performance Assessment (TPA)
2016
Research has consistently shown that an effective teacher has the single greatest impact on student learning (Darling-Hammond, 2000; Rivkin, Hanushek, & Dain, 2005; Sanders & Rivers, 1996). Therefore it is essential that state policy makers and university decision makers develop and implement assessments that reliably identify effective teachers. Because traditional paper-and-pencil tests of content knowledge do not assess teaching performance, policy makers in California mandated the teaching performance assessment (TPA) system. The TPA was introduced in California in 2004 with programs piloting it and then became mandatory for candidates enrolling in preliminary programs in 2008. This study is the first to explore the experiences of candidates who were required to pass a TPA to earn a teaching license. The TPA seeks to measure the knowledge, skills, and competencies of teachers during the credential phase of their training. This assessment allows credentialing agencies to gain som...
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.
Developing and assessing beginning teacher effectiveness: the potential of performance assessments
Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability, 2013
The Performance Assessment for California Teachers (PACT) is an authentic tool for evaluating prospective teachers by examining their abilities to plan, teach, assess, and reflect on instruction in actual classroom practice. The PACT seeks both to measure and develop teacher effectiveness, and this study of its predictive and consequential validity provides information on how well it achieves these goals. The research finds that teacher candidates' PACT scores are significant predictors of their later teaching effectiveness as measured by their students' achievement gains in both English language arts and mathematics. Several subscales of the PACT are also influential in predicting later effectiveness: These include planning, assessment, and academic language development in ELA, and assessment and reflection in mathematics. In addition, large majorities of PACT candidates report that they acquired additional knowledge and skills for teaching by virtue of completing the assessment. Candidates' feelings that they learned from the assessment were strongest when they also felt well-supported by their program in learning to teach and in completing the assessment process.