Examining Alternatives to Comprehensive Examinations in EdD Programs

• In Event: All the Moving Parts of the Doctoral Program

Abstract

The Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate Initiative (CPED) has re-envisioned EdD programs as practice-based, practitioner-focused, and social justice-oriented. However, traditional written and/or oral comprehensive examinations, which are common across many doctoral programs, may be misaligned with those goals. This document analysis of student experiences in one EdD program that uses alternative qualifying assessments investigates how these assessments can contribute to student growth in practitioner-focused and practice-based outcomes. The findings demonstrate that assessments that are field-based, foster collaborations, allow student choice, and encourage growth and productive risk-taking can foster student growth across program outcomes as well as the principles undergirding CPED’s framework. Given these findings, traditional comprehensive exams may not be relevant for EdD and other practitioner-oriented doctoral programs.

Author

• Sarah Capello, Radford University