A Localized Policy Framework: A Statewide Collaboration Toward a Teacher Candidate Performance Assessment

• In Event: The Possibilities and Limits of Policy Frameworks for Teacher Candidate Performance Assessments

Abstract

Objectives and Framework

National policies demand a growing list of accountability measures of educator preparation programs (e.g., Dwyer, Millett & Payne, 2006), and many scholars advocate for locally developed measures that reflect individual program goals and local expertise (Shavelson, 2007; Viesca, Reagan, Enterline & Gleeson, 2013). Across these initiatives, teacher candidate performance assessments have the potential to yield high quality accountability data and inform ongoing program improvement (Newton, 2010; Pecheone & Chung, 2006).
In New Hampshire the decision to adopt a teacher candidate performance assessment came from the voluntary initiative of every institution of higher education, rather than from a policy mandate. The result, the New Hampshire Teacher Candidate Assessment of Performance (NHTCAP), aims to assess teacher quality while supporting preservice and novice teacher learning.
In this paper, we present the policy context that facilitated the emergence of the NHTCAP. Within this context, we examine whether and how the NHTCAP contributed to teacher candidate learning and address the following questions: How did the policy context enable the emergence of the NHTCAP? Within this policy context, what are candidates’ experiences with and perceptions of learning from the NHTCAP?
Guided by the twofold premise of (1) valuing local and contextualized knowledge and (2) learning in and from one’s practice, we draw on Cochran-Smith’s (2009) framework for a culture of evidence and inquiry and Peck, Gallucci and Sloan’s (2010) framework of individual and collective learning within broader policy contexts.

Methods and Data Sources

To describe the local policy context, we examined policy documents from meetings of collaborators across institutions. To analyze teacher candidates’ experiences and perceptions within this context, we surveyed 102 teacher candidates from five institutions of higher education that range from major public research universities to small private liberal arts colleges. These institutions vary in program type (e.g., undergraduate versus graduate) and characteristics (e.g., length of student teaching). From the entire sample, we selected twenty candidates for semi-structured interviews to gain further insight into their experiences with and perceptions of the NHTCAP.
Survey data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and correlational analyses of relevant variables (e.g., perceptions of the NHTCAP and length of student teaching). Interview data were coded and informed by the areas of focus from the NHTCAP (e.g., planning, reflection) (Saldaña, 2012).

Findings and Significance

Preliminary findings suggest that the policy context in New Hampshire facilitated consensus and open decision-making. This structure includes well-established channels of communication and shared governance. Together, this context has produced evidence of a culture of inquiry within and across institutions (Peck, et al., 2010).
However, within this context, teacher candidates’ perceptions of the NH TCAP are somewhat mixed. For example, while approximately 75% of teacher candidates found the NHTCAP a valuable experience, only 50% viewed the NHTCAP as positively contributing to their student teaching experience. This raises questions about the extent to which local programmatic and faculty buy-in may have supported teacher candidates’ experiences with and learning from the NHTCAP.

Authors

• Emilie N. Reagan, University of New Hampshire

• Dianna L. Gahlsdorf-Terrell, Saint Anselm College

• Audrey P. Rogers, Southern New Hampshire University

• Thomas H. Schram, University of New Hampshire

• Page Tompkins, Upper Valley Educators Institute

• Chris Ward, Upper Valley Educators Institute

• Megan L. Birch, Plymouth State University

• Kathryn McCurdy, University of New Hampshire

• Gregory McHale, Southern New Hampshire University