Communicative learning outcomes and world language edTPA: Characteristics of high-scoring portfolios

Teacher accountability continues to be at the forefront of educational policy in the United States, with the current focus on the Outcomes of K-12 teaching and teacher education (Cochran-Smith 2000). edTPA, a high-stakes assessment used in many states to make licensure or certification decisions, purports to measure those content-specific outcomes. This study investigated pre-service Spanish teachers’ performance on the World Language edTPA as it relates to planning for instruction in a communicative context. Specifically, the ave highest scoring edTPA portfolios from two large world language teacher education programs were examined, with a focus on their alignment with communicative language teaching approaches and Gronlund’s (2004) criteria for articulating student learning outcomes. Results showed serious discrepancies among the candidates’ learning outcomes, communicative language teaching approaches, and the spirit of the World Language edTPA. This research has implications for teacher preparation and professional development of beginning language teachers

Re-examining teacher candidate performance on world language edTPA as a consequential assessment

Used by almost 800 educator preparation programs in more than 40 states and the District of Columbia, edTPA seeks to measure content-specific outcomes of beginning teachers as a high-stakes assessment. Many states also use edTPA to inform teacher licensure or certification decisions, making the assessment consequential for individual teacher candidates. The present study focuses on teacher candidates’ performance on the World Language edTPA, targeting two world language teacher education programs since the assessment became consequential for licensure in their respective states. It then compares findings to those of a previous study of the same programs’ World Language edTPA performance (Hildebrandt & Swanson, 2014) from before the assessment became consequential for teacher licensure decisions in 2015 in [State X] and [State Y]. Programmatic changes were implemented after initial inspection of the data and results from such curricular changes are discussed in terms of local impact. Additionally, national trends are identified and discussed. Findings demonstrate serious issues regarding this assessment of beginning teacher effectiveness as related to World Language teaching and learning. This research has implications for teacher preparation programs and other educational stakeholders alike

World Language Teacher Candidate Performance on edTPA: An Exploratory Study

Federal and state legislation continues to promote teacher accountability in the United States. The new edTPA, a subject-specific teacher performance assessment, is purported to measure beginning teacher readiness and is being pilot tested and implemented for licensure and certification decisions across the country. In this exploratory quantitative study, the researchers examined edTPA scores of 21 world language teacher candidates from two teacher preparation programs and compared those results to the cut scores for the states of Washington and New York. Results indicated that participants performed best in the planning section and were most challenged by the assessment section. This research has implications for teacher certification candidates, world language teacher preparation programs, policy makers, and other stakeholders

Comparing Nine World Language Teacher Preparation Programs Within and Across Three States

This descriptive study examines the diverse requirements and characteristics of world language (WL) teacher education programs across and within three states. Comparisons are made based on No Child Left Behind’s (2002) highly qualified teacher criteria, states’ licensure or certification requirements, and the ACTFL/NCATE (2002) program standards. This article provides a comparative overview of traditional WL teacher preparation programs at the federal, state, and university levels. The discussion explores common and diverging requirements among programs across three different states and within each state, with the goal of promoting further dialogue regarding WL teacher preparation practices

Risk of Chronic Health Conditions in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Survivors of Adolescent and Young Adult Cancers

BACKGROUND: In the general population, individuals with minoritized sexual orientation and gender identity have a higher burden of chronic health conditions than heterosexual individuals. However, the extent to which sexual orientation is associated with excess burden of chronic conditions in adolescent and young adult cancer survivors (AYACS) is unknown. METHODS: Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) AYACSs, LGB individuals without a history of cancer, and heterosexual AYACSs were identified by self-reported data from the cross-sectional National Health Interview Survey (2013-2020). Socioeconomic factors and the prevalence of chronic health conditions were compared between groups using χ RESULTS: One hundred seventy LGB cancer survivors, 1700 LGB individuals without a history of cancer, and 1700 heterosexual cancer survivors were included. Compared with heterosexual survivors, LGB survivors were less likely to be married (p = .001) and more likely to have never been married (p \u3c .001). LGB survivors were more likely to have incomes between 100% and 200% of the federal poverty level than LGB individuals without a history of cancer (p = .012) and heterosexual survivors (p = .021) and were less likely to report incomes \u3e200% the federal poverty level. LGB survivors had higher odds of chronic health conditions than LGB individuals without a history of cancer (odds ratio, 2.45; p \u3c .001) and heterosexual survivors (odds ratio, 2.16; p = .003). CONCLUSIONS: LGB AYACSs are at increased risk of having chronic health conditions compared with both LGB individuals without a history of cancer and heterosexual AYACSs