Trailblazers and Detractors: The Flashpoint of edTPA Policy Design and Local Implementation

• In Event: Roundtables
  In Roundtable Discussion: Division K Research in Progress Roundtable Session #3

Abstract

Examining two states and eight teacher preparation programs (TPPs), the author demonstrates how the edTPA—a new teacher certification tool—is bifurcating teacher education. 43 interviews conducted with TPP faculty and staff over two years show vast differences in edTPA implementation and subsequent fidelity. The author argues these differences are related to how TPPs make sense of edTPA, their structural resources available, and the state policy design in which they operate. Recommendations include eliminating the high-stakes design many states have adopted, while better attending to the diverse micropolitical and organizational factors exhibited by TPPs.

Author

• Craig De Voto, University of Illinois at Chicago