Assessing Teacher Candidates: Program Tensions

• In Event: Examining the Impact of edTPA on Teacher Candidates’ Preparation

Abstract

Numerous teacher educators are revising their programs by focusing on high-leverage practices (HLPs). At the same time, edTPA has been adopted by a number of states as a way to assess teacher candidates’ readiness to teach. There is considerable conceptual congruence in these reform strategies. Both are practice-based, focusing on the authentic work of teaching. Nonetheless, the origins of these strategies, language, and materials are not seamless. HLPs, and ways of teaching them, are generated by local teacher educators themselves; edTPA was developed by a national team with one purpose being to increase standardization of teacher readiness. In this paper, we analyze our collective efforts to understand and productively handle the challenges that emerge in this dual reform climate.

Authors

• Linda R. Valli, University of Maryland

• Lisa A. Bote, University of Maryland - College Park

• Jessica DeMink-Carthew, University of Maryland - College Park

• Ann R. Edwards, Carnegie Foundation

• Maria E. Hyler, University of Maryland - College Park