edTPA: Implications for Urban Education Curriculum

• In Event: 18.071 - Roundtable Session 5
  In Roundtable Session: 18.071-7 - From Resistance to Submission: Teacher Education Programs Respond to edTPA

Abstract

Education initiatives like the edTPA were designed in part to help close the teacher quality gap, referring to a widespread inequity in the distribution of effective, highly-qualified teachers across low SES and minority-rich schools. This conceptual paper examines the edTPA assessment from a human capital theory perspective within current reform efforts, with a specific focus on its implications for urban teacher education curriculum. The paper provides a background of the edTPA, including opposing viewpoints about the assessment’s use. Relevant policy considerations are outlined, as well as the assessment’s implications for urban teacher education preparation and practice. The paper concludes with four potential refinements to the edTPA so it is better positioned to provide more equitable learning opportunities for all students.

Author

• Nathan Joynt, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee