The purpose of teacher preparation programs is to ensure that teachers are adequately equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to support the various educational needs of their students. Nevertheless, a call for a uniform process through which teacher candidates can demonstrate their ability to meet their students' educational needs using…

Much of the responsibility for measuring teacher competency rests with teacher educators. Instead of developing new observation inventories, educators should use available ones. This article describes instruments used at the University of Toledo's competency-based teacher education program since 1979 and suggests they are broad enough to be used…

Two student teacher evaluation methods used by the University of Toledo are the Classroom Observation Keyed for Effectiveness Research Instrument (COKER) and the Teacher Performance Assessment Instrument (TPAI). The COKER is an objectively administered low inference system for recording teacher and student interactions in the classroom. (The form…

Performance-based teacher certification in Georgia is centered on: criterion-referenced tests, and on-the-job assessment procedures for student teachers and beginning teachers. A state-funded contract was awarded to develop teacher certification tests, resulting in a 250-item pool and 15 criterion-referenced tests for 32 teaching fields. Cutting…