The Consequences of Compliance: Exploring the edTPA and Outcomes for Teacher Candidates

• In Event: Reforming Teacher Preparation and Accreditation: The Importance of Research-Based Evaluation of Teacher Education

Abstract

Purpose
This paper illuminates research from a mixed-methods study conducted at a mid-sized University in the northeast. It focuses on the implementation needs of teacher education programs in order to successfully actualize the edTPA, the outcomes for teacher candidates, and the broader implications of adopting such an assessment.

Overview
The need to improve teacher quality in the United States, especially for underserved student populations, is a rare area of consensus for policymakers (Darling-Hammond, 2010a). Many states are exploring new teacher evaluation systems, via the federal Race To The Top program, as a means for evaluating teacher quality. One aspect of this work focuses on assessments that can determine the quality of teachers produced by traditional university-based teacher education programs. Although locally developed performance assessments have become increasingly common over the past decade, Linda Darling-Hammond (2010b) cites the United States’ lack of a systematic approach to preservice teacher evaluation as one of the factors that separates this country from other high-achieving nations. With these trends and concerns in mind, our home state decided to explore the utility and feasibility of implementing the edTPA.

Methods & Data Sources
The overall objectives were to 1) determine the universities’ implementation needs, 2) identify the learning outcomes for candidates who completed the edTPA and 3) compare identified learning outcomes to larger principles and goals for the field of teacher education and preparation. A mixed methods approach was chosen in order to more completely address our complex and interlocking research objectives. We analyzed four data sources: two surveys of teacher candidates who completed the edTPA (N=84), candidates’ work in the form of completed edTPA portfolios, in-depth candidate interviews, a focus group with edTPA instructors (N=3), and an analysis of archival data connected to the implementation. There was great potential for triangulation among the various data sources and we applied a rigorous process of mixed methods analysis (Onwuegbuzie & Teddlie, 2003) to consolidate and integrate the quantitative and qualitative data. While the assessment is meant to ensure quality education for all students, our results highlight unintended consequences of the assessment that might negatively affect candidates’ willingness and preparation to teach the neediest populations.

Results & Significance
The results of this study has both institutional and national significance. Performance-based teacher assessments such as the edTPA and PACT were designed to increase the accountability and standardization of outcomes of teacher education and preparation programs (Cochran-Smith, Piazza, & Power, 2012). To this end, the ultimate goal of these teacher performance assessments is to ensure a highly qualified teacher in every classroom and to provide an equitable and just education for all students regardless of their demographic background or socioeconomic status. Yet, the results highlight the complex relationship between the structural elements of the edTPA and local contexts which needs to be accounted for during the implementation process, including institutional dynamics, state policies and regulations, and financial and personnel resources. This complex dynamic challenges some of the equitable and just teaching outcomes the edTPA hopes to encourage within the teaching profession.

Authors

• Amy Ryan, Boston College

• Sarah Enterline, K12 Insight

• Keridan Doyle, Boston College

• Andrew Frederic Miller, Boston College