When multiple raters score a writing sample, on occasion they will award discrepant scores. To report a single score to the examinee, some method of resolving those differences must be applied to the ratings before an operational score can be reported. Several forms of resolving score discrepancies have been described in the literature. Initial…

As accountability in education has become an increasingly prominent topic, teacher preparation programs are being asked to provide credible evidence that their teacher candidates can impact student learning. Teacher Work Samples, first developed 30 years ago, have emerged as an effective method of quantifying the complex set of tasks that comprise…

Teacher work sample methodology is a form of performance assessment that requires the teacher to describe, analyze, and reflect on student assessment data to improve both instruction and student learning. Some teacher preparation programs have adopted teacher work sample methodology as a means of teaching teacher candidates to gather and analyze…

Many university and college teacher education programs have adopted the Teacher Work Sample (TWS) as their capstone assessment demonstrating a teacher candidate's competencies in planning, assessing and reflecting on instructional practice. The TWS summative results submitted by students at a mid-size state university who were in their final…

Productive strategies for evaluating outcomes in teacher licensure programs are becoming increasingly important in the education field. Research data from 492 teacher licensure program completers from 2006-2009 in the School of Education, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado (USA) was compiled after accreditation by the Colorado…

Background: To attain accurate information about student performance, teachers must apply sound classroom assessment practices. First, teachers need to be able to understand and identify the purpose of their assessments. Teachers also need to provide their students with clear learning targets, in language that students can easily understand, so…

Elementary education faculty at this university embedded a Teacher Work Sample (TWS) performance-based assessment into the student teaching experience to assess candidates' ability to impact student learning as required by recent accreditation reforms. The authors conducted an internal evaluation of the TWS for the purposes of strengthening not…

Teacher Work Samples (TWS) can be viewed in terms of a product and a process. As a product, the TWS measures a teacher candidate's (TC's) ability to promote student achievement, documents that TCs have met minimum national standards, and validates teacher education programs. Teacher candidates engage in observable, job-related behaviors that serve…

Work sample aptitude test items and questionnaire items on past and predicted grades each contributed to the predictive efficiency of the Orleans-Hanna Algebra Prognosis Test in forecasting algebra grades for 2,684 eighth grade students. (Author/PN)

The Academy for Educational Development (AED) sent a research team to Western Oregon University (WOU) on November 17-18, 2008, to conduct interviews with individuals who play important roles in the university's teacher preparation program. These interviews, along with additional materials provided by WOU and identified by the AED research team,…

Examined the validity and generalizability of the use of Teacher Work Samples to assess the ability of preservice teachers and inservice teachers to meet national and state teaching standards and to make an impact on the learning of their students. Results of the study, which involved 132 work samples, show initial support for teacher work sample…

Student learning must be touchstone by which teachers and teacher educators are gauged. Unfortunately articles in November 1996 "Kappan" on "Quality Teaching for the 21st Century" don't support this statement. In contrast to three national certification initiatives, Oregon's teacher licensure system (Oregon Work Sampling…

Teacher Work Sample Methodology is described as one piece of an accountability system for the initial preparation and licensure of teachers that includes evidence of student learning. The underlying tenets of the methodology and of the whole idea of accountability systems are explored. (SLD)

The 24 chapters of this collection discuss contemporary approaches to using student learning gains to evaluating teachers or schools. The four methods considered are: (1) the Oregon Teacher Work Sample Methodology (chapters 2 through 6); (2) the Dallas Value-Added Accountability System (Texas) (chapters 7 through 11); (3) the Tennessee Value-Added…

A study dealt with determining the feasibility of using work evaluation in adult basic education (ABE) programs in Wisconsin and the extent to which this evaluation process would be of value to the ABE programs and students. Five ABE students participated in a two-week evaluation in which their vocational aptitudes, interests, abilities,…