Identifying CCSSM Challenges to Inform Preparation of Pre-service Teachers (original) (raw)
Related papers
education policy analysis archives, 2020
Policy makers have begun requiring teacher performance assessments, such as edTPA®, with established validity and reliability in teacher education for certification, program approval, and/or accreditation (Darling-Hammond Hyler, 2013). Proponents of edTPA argue that the measure is an authentic yet standardized way to assess candidate readiness for teaching and may be beneficial for program renewal and professionalization of the teaching force (Darling-Hammond, 2010; Wei Pecheone, 2010). Others recognize unintended consequences of a single, standardized assessment which may narrow the curriculum (Kornfeld, Grady, Marker, Ruddell, 2007); create tensions for teacher candidates who are learning and developing; (Meuwissen Choppin, 2015); and overlook program values important for preparing candidates to teach in a global society (Sato, 2014). This case study uncovers teacher educators’ perceptions of edTPA and their subsequent actions in response to a state mandate resulting in educative ...
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.
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.
Experiences of Teacher Certification Testing: Bias, Resistance, and Practical Solutions
Association of Science Teacher Ed conference paper, 2020
Preparing teachers to understand and resist the pressures from high-stakes testing is a timely and critical undertaking for teacher education. An increasing trend in teacher education programs is the implementation of high-stakes assessments for teacher certification, such as content and performance assessments. These assessments have been advocated in the context of ensuring that high-quality teachers can enter and graduate from teacher preparation programs. This study examines the impact of a certification test through the eyes of preservice teachers, university administrators, and teacher educators. Interviews with 12 participants were conducted. Secondary data sources, including testing and curricular artifacts and classroom observations, further supported the analysis. The study identified three themes about the perceived impact of the test: 1) ethical considerations of the assessment; 2) failing the needs of preservice teachers, and 3) resistance and coping mechanisms. We will discuss practical considerations for supporting science teachers as they negotiate the pressures associated with standardized testing. Within the changing climate of education, we discuss the urgent implications for teacher education programs and propose research-based guidance for moving towards a more effective and ethical teaching society.
2010
Teacher education programs in the United States face a variety of new accountability policies at both the federal and the state level. Many of these policies carry high-stakes implications for students and programs and involve some of the same challenges for implementation as they have in the P-12 arena. Serious dilemmas for teacher educators arise in these contexts, as compliance with prescriptive state mandates is often interpreted by faculty to signify a demoralizing loss of program autonomy and integrity, whereas noncompliance may result in loss of program accreditation. The authors describe how one teacher education program negotiated these dilemmas in a fashion responsive to local values and concerns while also meeting state requirements. Results are discussed in terms of tensions between (a) policy goals seeking alignment and coherence across institutions of higher education and (b) motivational conditions likely to engage faculty in the difficult work of programmatic renewal...
2006
Preparing “highly qualified ” new teachers has become the mantra of our nation’s school reform. Taking up this charge, teacher educators continue to look for ways to help pre-service teachers put both theoreti-cal and empirical knowledge into practice. However, they often lament that what pre-service teachers demonstrate and believe while they are taking coursework is sometimes erased the moment they spend full days in the school. When pre-service teachers do their student teaching, they quickly become submerged in every day school culture, and they often resort to non-theory driven behaviors rather than implementing what they learned in methods classes, a phenomenon among teachers that Lortie (1975) long ago recognized. Layered onto our responsibility as teacher educators to help pre-service teachers be reflective in their practice are new high stakes assessments that teacher preparation programs are expected to implement. This is particularly salient in California with the advent ...
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.
The Right Trajectory: State Teachers of the Year Compare Former and New State Assessments
2015
In this report, we focus on the important issue of assessing our students' learning through standardized, summative assessments. Utilizing research-based methodologies and practices including Evidence Centered Design, Webb's Depth of Knowledge, and survey instruments designed for this study, we convened two panels to examine six assessment instruments. Each study panel was composed of State and National Teachers of the Year and Finalists for State Teacher of the Year. Each panel examined three assessments: two assessments given by states before switching to new state assessments developed by the PARCC and Smarter Balanced assessment consortia and one consortia assessment. Working with our study partners, EducationCounsel on the policy side and Clowder Consulting on the science end, we are eager to share our findings. In short, participating teachers viewed state movement to the new consortia assessments as a positive step forward, specifically: 1. The new consortia assessments better reflect the range of reading and math knowledge and skills that all students should master. 2. The new consortia assessments include items that better reflect the full range of cognitive complexity in a balanced way. 3. The new consortia assessments better align with the kinds of strong instructional practices these expert teachers believe should be used in the classroom, and thereby better support great teaching and learning throughout the school year. 4. The new consortia assessments provide information relevant to a wide range of performers, particularly moderate and high-performers. 5. While the new consortia assessments are more rigorous and demanding, they are grade-level appropriate, and even more so than prior state tests. Though they noted areas for continuous improvement, these same teachers also felt that educators and policymakers should focus together on the work ahead-to transform teaching and learning so that all students have the opportunity to master the knowledge and skills necessary for success in college, career, and life. At NNSTOY, we believe that educators should always be at the table when education policy is being crafted, debated, or modified. As professionals, we know the most about what is likely to directly impact students and the work in the classroom, both positively and negatively.