A New Approach to Educator Preparation Evaluation: Evidence for Continuous Improvement?

Abstract

The landscape for educator preparation has shifted to accountability models emphasizing performance assessment of teaching, employer feedback reports, newly approved accreditation standards showing impact on K-12 student learning, and expectations of public access to all of this information.  This article provides a perspective on the extent to which this change offers promise for improving educator preparation programs and consequently excellence in teaching in K-12 schools.  Two accountability reports are used as the empirical evidence for review; one is a pilot institutional feedback report from the Teacher Quality Research Center (Boyd, Lankford, & Wyckoff, 2009) and the second is a new Teacher Preparation Program report prepared by New York City’s department of education (NYCDOE, 2013).  Ultimately, a systems perspective is recommended, in which candidates, IHEs, and K-12 schools are involved in the process of how educator preparation is evaluated and how that connects to other aspects of the education profession.