Rutgers Graduate School of Education scholar Drew Gitomer is available to discuss a recent study that found significant technical problems with a test used to determine if students trained to become professional teachers are ready for the classroom.
Over 20 states, including New Jersey, use the edTPA performance assessment system. The study, led by Gitomer and researchers from UCLA and published in the American Educational Research Journal, raises questions about the reliability and validity of edTPA measurements.
“There are basic technical requirements that must be met for these kinds of selection instruments, including reporting the assessment's reliability -- the extent to which scores and decisions might differ depending on who rates the edTPA portfolio,” Gitomer said. “We found that not only does edTPA not adequately report the reliability of the edTPA assessments, edTPA uses inappropriate and/or invented statistics to lead policymakers to believe that the evaluation is highly reliable, which is a highly deceptive premise.
“Until edTPA reports technical information appropriately and there is a review by independent experts and the policymakers who have adopted the test, we do not believe it is appropriate that the edTPA determine people's careers. Hence, our call for a moratorium on its high-stakes use.”
Gitomer, the Rose and Nicholas DeMarzo Chair in Education at the Graduate School of Education, is one of the nation's premier scholars on the assessment and evaluation of teaching.
For interviews, contact Megan Schumann at 848-445-1907 or [email protected].
RSS