Purpose: K-20 accreditation is contingent on having policies and procedures that provide evidence of quality assurance (QA) and quality improvement (QI), viewed here as the first of two conflicting paradigms, requiring concurrent expressions of excellence and need. Standardized summative assessments using the traditional tabular rubric design…

A team of researchers at two institutions revised and analyzed a battery of instruments to assess the Critical Dispositions (InTASC, 2013) required in the CAEP (2016a) accreditation standards for teacher education programs. This research presents initial findings for the revised version updating previous results from validity and reliability…

Purpose: Understanding and navigating the differences in standards, and the roots and rationales underlying accreditation reviews, is necessary for all institutions that seek multiple accreditations. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate a method to assist institutional-level leaders and assessment practitioners analyze and align these…

The construct of dispositions is defined in national standards, and colleges of education are required to assess candidate dispositions to meet accreditation requirements. Similarly, there is a need to review teacher dispositions in making hiring decisions about teachers, although this need may not yet be realized. Measurement is virtually…

Use of appropriate measurement methods and the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) Principles to assess teacher dispositions provides a safety net against legal and political challenges while also providing useful information for outcomes assessment. NCATE (2002) requires the measurement of dispositions as part of its…

The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE, 2002) requires teacher education units to develop assessment systems and evaluate both the success of candidates and unit operations. Because of a stated, but misguided, fear of statistics, NCATE fails to use accepted terminology to assure the quality of institutional evaluative…

U.S. teacher educators are faced with serious challenges to demonstrate the quality of the graduates they prepare. These challenges are expressed in the country's fixation on accountability and testing. We are witnessing the growth of standardized tests and alternative routes to certification as panaceas intended to solve the teacher shortage…

The NCATE Standards define dispositions (affect) as follows: "The values, commitments, and professional ethics that influence behaviors toward students, families, colleagues, and communities and affect student learning, motivation, and development as well as the educator's own professional growth." (p. 53, emphasis added), and even the…

NCATE (2002) requires the measurement of knowledge, skills, and dispositions as part of its accreditation requirements for teacher education programs (Standard 1) and the use of unit assessment systems to aggregate and analyse data with a view toward program improvement (Standard 2). Data must indicate that candidates meet professional, state, and…

To help institutions meet National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education standards, the article presents a research-based accreditation self-study process model incorporating three factors: recognition that program improvement is worthwhile, a well-designed curriculum benefiting from continuing improvement and a strong knowledge base, and…

The construct of dispositions is well defined in national standards, and U.S. colleges of education are required to assess candidate dispositions to meet accreditation requirements. Measurement, however, is virtually non-existent. On-line reviews of college accreditation reports indicate that colleges are attempting to assess dispositions without…

Rasch measurement can provide a much needed solution to scaling teacher ability. Typically, decisions about teacher ability are based on dichotomously scored certification tests focused on knowledge of content or pedagogy. This paper presents early developmental work of a partial credit teacher ability scale of 42 tasks (performances and…