The Complexity of Language and Learning: Deconstructing Teachers\u27 Conceptions of Academic Language

“Academic language” is a term that is thrown around frequently in educational circles, particularly in recent years. Whether in pre-service teacher education with candidates and cooperating teachers preparing for the widely required Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA; Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity, 2016), or in-service teachers grappling with the implementation of the Common Core Standards (National Governors Association, 2010), academic language has become de rigueur a jargon term required for a number of current classroom, school, and university initiatives. But what is academic language

Navigating the Contested Terrain of Teacher Education Policy and Practice: Authors Respond to SCALE

Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE) provided a commentary on the manuscripts in the first part of this special issue, which highlighted the benefits of edTPA and the necessity for such assessment programs to improve teacher education and strengthen teaching practices. In turn, the authors responded to the SCALE commentary. The authors’ responses raise concerns about equity, fairness, and unintended consequences of teacher performance assessments. These responses highlight the need for continued dialogue on ways to improve teacher education and strengthen the teaching profession

A return to local governance of world language teacher preparation is needed

Given the call by Krashen (2012) and others advocating for shorter, easier to digest research papers, we provide a shorter than usual summary of the World Language edTPA via empirical findings from the Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity and researchers in the field. We argue in favor of abandoning the World Language edTPA for manifold reasons in favor of placing world language teacher preparation and subsequent teacher candidate recommendation for certification and licensure where it belongs—in the competent hands of the teacher educators who prepare these individuals

Conflicting Perspectives: a Comparison of edTPA Intended Outcomes to Actual Experiences of Teacher Candidates and Educators in New York City Schools

The edTPA is a performance-based assessment of teacher candidates created by the Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning and Equity (SCALE) and nationally scored by Pearson Education. It is also promoted by American Association of Colleges of Teacher Educators (AACTE) as a “standards-based assessment.” As of the spring of 2018, the edTPA is used as a requirement for program accreditation or teacher candidate certification or program completion in 18 states. This article analyzes the stated goals, objectives, and benefits made by SCALE and AACTE and compares them to data collected from interviews and open-ended questions with teacher candidates and teacher educators in New York City who were sharing about their experience with the edTPA. Overall, evidence from these participants does not support that the goals, objectives, and benefits of the are being met. In fact, in several instances, they are contradicted. Although this data is not meant to be generalizable, it brings up concerns that warrant consideration and future study. Since in many states the edTPA is a high-stakes test for certification, it is important to investigate if the intended outcomes are being met

The 4 r’s of edTPA: Rationale, roadblocks, remediation, and recommendations

In use in 954 educator preparation programs in 41 states and the District of Columbia (American Association for Colleges of Teacher Education, 2021), edTPA seeks to measure beginning teacher effectiveness. While used by many states to inform teacher licensure or certification decisions, this high-stakes assessment is highly problematic. In this article, the authors provide an overview of the World Language edTPA and Communicative Language Teaching approaches, on which the World Language edTPA is based, before specifically noting its shortcomings as an effective instrument to measure novice teacher prowess. Citing longitudinal national data, the authors call attention to the Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity’s dilemma of producing a valid and reliable assessment and promoting the corporatization of education for profit while so many teacher candidates are found to be disadvantaged by having to submit edTPA portfolios. Additionally, the authors advance several empirically grounded solutions to help teacher candidates score better when submitting their portfolio for external review—another highly controversial aspect of edTPA. Teacher accountability measures are important, but factors often excluded from discussion such as cost and local expertise must become central to the process

The control, content, and consequences of edTPA: World language teacher educators’ perceptions

Implemented in more than 870 teacher education programs across 41 states and the District of Columbia, edTPA is marketed as a content-specific, standardized portfolio assessment of beginning teacher performance. However, concerns about edTPA and its content-specificity are pervasive. To that end, the researchers surveyed teacher educators with World Language edTPA experience (N = 88) to ascertain their perceptions of the assessment, including its impact on teacher candidates, teacher education programs, and clinical placements, as well as the resources required, support experienced, and consequences perceived as a result of its implementation. Using Cochran-Smith et al.’s (2018) framework of teacher education accountability, the researchers explore issues of control, content, and consequences related to power relationships and the World Language edTPA, centering on the assessment’s intended content-specificity, while recounting an ACTFL task force’s efforts in 2016 to influence the assessment’s content

Perspectives on Educative Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA) from Teacher Candidates and College Supervisors

As a response to the need of systematic teacher performance assessment, recently the Educative Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA) has been developed and implemented in over 600 teacher preparation programs across nearly 40 states in the US (Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity, 2015). However, little research has been conducted investigating ways teacher preparation programs improve the quality of their programs while helping their teacher candidates be well prepared for the edTPA. This study investigated perspectives of student teachers and their college supervisors regarding (1) the effectiveness of the teacher preparation program in a middle-sized public college in relation to edTPA completion and (2) the perceived value of the edTPA as preparation for becoming an effective teacher when New York State began to require successful completion of the edTPA for initial certification. Ninety-nine student teachers in both inclusive elementary and adolescence education programs and fourteen student teaching supervisors participated in the study. A teacher perception survey data including Likert Scale items and open-ended questions was collected as a main data source. Mixed methods were utilized to analyzed both quantitative and qualitative data during the academic year of 2014-2015. Based on the results, suggestions are discussed to better prepare teacher candidates for edTPA and the teaching profession. Lastly, implications about assessment systems of teaching practice in the context of South Korea are discussed

Navegando no terreno disputado da política e prática da formação de professores: Os autores respondem a SCALE

Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE) provided a commentary on the manuscripts in the first part of this special issue, which highlighted the benefits of edTPA and the necessity for such assessment programs to improve teacher education and strengthen teaching practices. In turn, the authors responded to the SCALE commentary. The authors’ responses raise concerns about equity, fairness, and unintended consequences of teacher performance assessments. These responses highlight the need for continued dialogue on ways to improve teacher education and strengthen the teaching profession.Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning and Equity (SCALE) ofreció un comentario sobre los manuscritos en la primera parte de esta edicion especial, que destacó los beneficios de edTPA y la necesidad de dichos programas de evaluación para mejorar la formación docente y para fortalecer las prácticas docentes. A la vez, los autores respondieron al comentario SCALE. Las respuestas de los autores plantean inquietudes sobre la equidad, la rectitud y las consecuencias involuntarias de las evaluaciones del desempeño docente. Estas respuestas revelan la necesidad de un diálogo continuo sobre las formas de mejorar la formación docente y fortalecer la profesión docente.Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning and Equity Stanford (SCALE) ofereceu um comentário sobre os manuscritos na primeira parte desta edição especial, que destacou os benefícios do edTPA e a necessidade de tais programas de avaliação para melhorar a formação de professores e fortalecer práticas de ensino. Ao mesmo tempo, os autores responderam ao comentário SCALE. As respostas dos autores levantam preocupações sobre equidade, retidão e as conseqüências involuntárias das avaliações de desempenho dos professores. Essas respostas revelam a necessidade de um diálogo contínuo sobre formas de melhorar a formação de professores e fortalecer a profissão docente

Quality Videos and Integrated Performance Assessments Are Essential in the World Language edTPA

For more than 60 years, educational reform in the United States of America has been driven by four major questions revolving around teacher attributes, effectiveness, knowledge, and outcomes. Today, outcomes for not only students but also for those who teach them have become a focal point. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the World Language edTPA—a performance-based, subject-specific assessment for pre-service teachers in 27 content areas that is now in place in 41 states and the District of Columbia. The authors begin by highlighting educational policy and best practices in teaching languages before providing research-based suggestions regarding the development of a high-quality portfolio by focusing on video recording considerations and the use of the integrated performance assessment

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