Do Teacher Candidates Get a Fair Shake on High-Stakes Performance Assessments?

• In Event: 47.096 - MTCC Roundtable Session 20
  In Roundtable Session: 47.096-3 - The Stakes Are High: Critically (Re)Assessing Teacher Education Practice

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a fairness evaluation of the Teacher Work Sample (TWS), a performance assessment for preservice teachers as used at one university. As the TWS is high-stakes, issues of fairness are critical, particularly when trying to promote increased diversity in the teacher workforce. Dimensions of ethnicity, gender, and hearing status are reviewed as part of this study. A brief overview of the TWS will be provided, followed by a discussion of the study and a discussion of the implications for improved practice and further research. Results indicated that while the TWS is generally fair, the disparate impact assessment revealed that there is an overall impact for program completion based on candidates’ race.

Author

• Christina Yuknis, Gallaudet University