New Directions in Assessment: Professional Development and Teacher Evaluation

Maurice Hauck, PhD Strategic Advisor, Assessment Division Educational Testing Service

Educational Testing Service

• A not-for-profit educational institution founded in 1947 • Develops, administers, and scores more than 50 million tests annually at more than 9,000 locations in over 180 countries • ETS-branded assessments include… – TOEFL www.toeflgoanywhere.org

– TOEIC www.ets.org.toeic

– GRE General and Subject Tests www.ets.gre

– The Praxis family www.ets.org.praxis

• As well as dozens of assessment programs for clients including the College Board, PISA, NAGB, California Department of Education, etc. 2 Copyright © 2012 Educational Testing Service.

Educational Testing Service

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“Our mission is to help advance quality and equity in education by providing fair and valid assessments, research and related services. Our products and services measure knowledge and skills, promote learning and performance and support education and professional development for all people worldwide.”

• For more information: www.ets.org

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What can tests provide?

• Standardized information about the knowledge/skills/abilities of individuals and groups for a range of purposes.

• Explicit information about how the assessment is designed to be: – Valid – Reliable – Fair – Practical 4 Copyright © 2012 Educational Testing Service.

Why assess teachers?

• Teacher assessments as a type of employment testing • Teacher quality as an essential element of a strong educational system 5 Copyright © 20112Educational Testing Service.

Some purposes for assessments of teachers

• To determine if potential undergraduate education majors have foundational skills • To determine if pre-service/potential teachers have required knowledge: – Subject area – Principles of pedagogy • For ongoing professional development of in service teachers • To certify that in-service teachers have attained a certain skill level • To influence a teacher education and preparation system 6 Copyright © 2012 Educational Testing Service.

One Test Can’t Do It All

• Need different tests for different purposes • Assessment design as a process of value judgments and tradeoffs • The importance of multiple measures - particularly for something as complex as teaching 7 Copyright © 2012 Educational Testing Service.

ELTeach

The Need

• A world-wide need for more effective teaching of English in public-sector K-12 schools. • A compelling need to enable and empower the classroom teacher: – To build professional knowledge and confidence – To provide language skills needed to teach English in English 9 Copyright © 2012 Educational Testing Service.

• A professional development system to improve the effectiveness of public sector teachers of English as a foreign language • A collaboration between Cengage Learning (curricula) and ETS (assessments) 10 Copyright © 2012 Educational Testing Service.

ELTeach: Two Strands

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Kansas Educator Evaluation Protocol (KEEP)

The Need

• A teacher evaluation system that will meet needs both internal and external to the educational system • Include a significant formative component to improve teaching practice • Design for flexible use across a wide range of contexts (including new vs. experienced teachers) 13 Copyright © 2012 Educational Testing Service.

The Process

• Evaluation framework guided by Kansas educators, both teachers and supervisors • Identify “critical aspects of teaching that would distinguish strong and weaker teaching practice” • Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC) standards as a guiding document • Multiple measures: – Observations – On-line portfolios of artifacts (lesson/unit plans, student work, data collected, etc.) – Teacher test scores 14 Copyright © 2012 Educational Testing Service.

InTASC Constructs and Components

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Reviewing and Interpreting the InTASC Standards

• What is the critical knowledge, skill, or ability to be evaluated?

• What would be convincing evidence of this knowledge, skill, or ability?

• How could this evidence best be collected?

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For discussion

• What are the assessment needs of the Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools?

• What decisions need to be made about the knowledge/skills/abilities of: – Students – Teachers • What information could assessments provide to help in making those decisions?

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