Testing Teacher Candidates The Role of Licensure Tests in Improving Teacher Quality (2001) / Chapter Skim
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3. Testing and Licensing Beginning Teachers
3. Testing and Licensing Beginning Teachers
Pages 34-69
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From page 34... ...
States require candidates to fulfill education and supervised teaching requirements, pass required tests, provide evidence of good character, and meet other licensure requirements. Furthermore, states use many different licensure tests in different ways.
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Specifications for licensure tests may also recognize advances in professional knowledge. Licensing exams are viewed as a means for ensuring that advances in professional knowledge are incorporated into professional education programs.
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have 19 different combinations of education and experience requirements (Schmitt, 2000~. For CPA candidates, over half of the states require two years of practical experience for a license and a few require three years (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and National Association of State Boards of Accountancy, 1998~.
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TEACHER LICENSURE The teaching profession and individual states impose standards through program approval, teacher education admission and course requirements, testing, and initial licensure to promote quality practice.
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From page 38... ...
Over 600 exams in use; most states require one or more tests of basic skills, general knowledge, subject matter knowledge, or pedagogical knowledge. One exam with nine sections: predesign; general structures, lateral forces, mechanical and electrical systems, materials and methods; construction documents and services, site planning, building planning, and building technology.
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^t exam; Multiple-choice and About half the states Unlicensed individuals can Less than half of the entals of problems; 16 disciplines; allow experience to be work as engineers, but states require CE ring (FE) is first eight hours per part; substituted for an limitations are placed on requirements.
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; most states also require a jurisprudence exam. Physical therapistsh All states require A few states require One exam; a few states Computer-base graduation from an clinical practice.
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From page 41... ...
prior to passing the test; some states allow individuals to take the LPN exam while training for RN and to practice as an LPN until becoming an RN. Eels of exams: Computer-based Most states do not Four levels of practice that Most states require CE, ntermediate, multiple-choice; four accept experience in define a progression of usually 15 to 20 hours d, and Clinical; hours; $110 per level lieu of education.
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Department of Education, 2001~. All states require teacher preparation programs to obtain state approval based on policies and standards set by them.
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For student teaching, states require between 9 and 18 weeks of supervised teaching (National Association of State Directors of Teacher Educa
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Tests As noted earlier, in addition to these requirements, 42 states require candidates to pass one or more tests of basic skills, general knowledge, subject matter knowledge, or teaching knowledge (National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification, 2000b)
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Department of Education, 2000a, 2001~. Some states issue emergency or temporary licenses to individuals who have met some requirements, such as holding a bachelor's degree, passing a basic skills test, or holding a license from another state, yet who have not fulfilled all of the licensure requirements for that state.
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From page 46... ...
Although 28 states report providing beginning teachers with a support system, the process is voluntary in 10 states, and state funding is provided only in 10 to 12 states (National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification, 2000b)
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From page 47... ...
Some measure basic skills or liberal arts knowledge, others test subject matter knowledge in teaching areas, and still others test knowledge of teaching strategies. States also vary in the way they use licensure tests to evaluate teacher candidates.
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Some states develop their own tests, and some use a combination of statedeveloped and contractor-produced tests. Table 3-2 shows the number of states that require each of five different types of licensure tests basic skills, general knowledge, subject matter knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and subject-specific pedagogical knowledge tests as well as the test producers.
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Subject Matter Knowledge Twenty-one states require teacher candidates to take one or more tests of subject matter knowledge (U.S. Department of Education, 2000a; National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification, 2000b)
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The Communication Skills test assesses candidates' knowledge of aspects of the teacher education curriculum and their ability to listen, read, and write well. NES has also developed pedagogical knowledge tests for several states, including Arizona, Colorado, New York, Texas, and Illinois (National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification, 2000b)
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INTASC states are developing a new pedagogical knowledge test called the Test of Teaching Knowledge (TTK) for teacher candidates.
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. Only seven states require prospective teachers to take tests of pedagogical knowledge.
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Some tests that have tried to examine subject matter knowledge as it is applied to teaching have had difficulty doing so in a manner viewed as closely related to the act of teaching. TEST RESULTS SUPPORT DIFFERENT DECISIONS ABOUT CANDIDATES States vary in the way they use initial licensure tests to evaluate teacher candidates (National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification, 2000b)
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TABLE 3-4 Numbers of States Using Initial Teacher Licensure Tests to Support Varied Decisions About Candidates in 1998-1 ggga Subject Basic Matter Pedagogical Skills Knowledge Knowledge Subject-Specific Pedagogical Knowledge Admission to teacher educationb 19 3 0 0 Eligibility for student teaching or degree conferralC 1 3 2 2 Licensure 18 25 26 5 Total 38 31 28 7 aData are from the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (2000b) , especially Tables G-1 and G-3.
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Similarly, there is a difference in the math passing scores required by Alaska and Maryland, although both states require teacher candidates to pass Praxis I for initial licensure. California requires teacher candidates to pass the California Basic Educational Skills Test, developed by NES.
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SETTING PASSING SCORES Passing scores on licensure tests are important because they help determine access to the profession. States set their own passing scores The passing scores currently required by different states are given in Appendix C (National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification, 2000b; U.S.
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From page 63... ...
States using ETS exams either use item-level pass/fail procedures or a benchmark paper selection approach (Educational Testing Service, 1997~. For the former, panelists look at the scoring tables for open-ended items and make estimates of the numbers of points minimally competent candidates can be expected to earn on each question.
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From page 64... ...
It is known, however, that several state policy bodies have recently raised passing scores on their licensure tests (Educational Testing Service, 1998b, 2000~. Others have reported setting passing scores on newly adopted tests that exceed those set by other states using the same tests (Archer, 1998; The Ohio Wire, 2118198; Education World, 2000~.
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The percentiles associated with these passing scores in the national candidate population are given in the second data column. Column
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From page 68... ...
It is not known whether differences in passing scores on current tests reflect methodological differences in the standard-setting process, differences in the judgments of state panels about the minimum requirements for beginning teachers, or policy makers' adjustments to panelists' recommendations. Also not known is the extent to which differences in states' teaching and learning standards or differing concerns about decision errors, teacher quality, or teacher supply influence variability across states.
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From page 69... ...
The tests are designed to separate teacher candidates who are minimally competent in the areas assessed from those who are not. Initial teacher licensure tests do not provide information to distinguish moderately qualified from highly qualified teacher candidates nor are they designed to test all of the competencies relevant to beginning practice.
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