Voices From the Field

Stephanie Wittenbrink, a Student Board member of the Washington Education Association and former NEA Board of Directors member, talks about how edTPA accelerated her preparation as a teacher candidate at Western Washington University http://www.nea.org/home/54775.htm

"I am a supervisor for secondary and middle science TPA scoring. I am also a benchmarker for edTPA in secondary science. I have absolutely become a fan of this whole process. I have found the process to be excellent with a minimum of glitches, and the ability to evaluate candidates in this way an effective tool. Although the rubrics are excellent, the video clips are the true strength of this assessment process. If a picture says a thousand words the videos do even more."

"The edTPA was designed and is scored by accomplished teachers and teacher educators from around the country. I believe this strengthens our profession, not only because the assessment creates more useful evidence about what teachers can do, but also because it creates a common language and set of expectations for teaching - defining characteristics of all professions."

"We have now completed several studies on the impacts of the TPA (and its forebear in California) on teacher preparation programs. While some college faculty view the assessment as an intrusion (particularly before they have direct experience using it), many more view it as a highly valuable source of feedback about what their teacher candidates are able to take up from their courses and apply in the classroom. Our studies indicate that, in the hands of thoughtful and proactive teacher educators, the TPA can be a powerful and effective tool for program improvement."

“The TPA provides something long overdue in teacher education: a clear, concise, and precise definition of the core of effective beginning teaching. It takes us a step further than other professional licensure exams because it goes beyond knowledge and judgment and examines actual candidate performance.”

– Amee Adkins,  Associate Dean, Illinois State University

“…I have really dug into some of the [TPA] resources and found them extremely useful and I can see how this will really strengthen the teaching profession – and I agree with you….it is all about good teaching. We are in the process of revising our program here, and this is the perfect “goal post” to work toward. I am really excited about this – and anxious to get moving.”

"As a former high school social studies teacher and current University of Colorado School of Education Instructor, I welcome a demanding and reliable way for the profession to identify the best young teachers and to counsel out those who are not ready for the classroom."

“In Tennessee, eight universities are piloting the TPA. Each report that the assessment has helped focus conversation around concrete images of sound teaching practices, and what is needed to learn them. At Vanderbilt, where we have used TPA data to make changes, our candidates are better prepared and more skilled -- according to school principals and teachers.”

“Most exciting to us is the potential for this assessment to improve both the practice of candidates and our practice as teacher educators. Throughout the pilot and field test, we have engaged our School of Education faculty in reviewing our candidates’ performances. That experience is already helping us to fine tune the faculty-designed assessments we use prior to their student teaching semester.”