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…

This study was conducted by the Central Region Educational Laboratory (REL Central) administered by Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning to provide educators and policymakers with rigorous evidence about the potential of Classroom Assessment for Student Learning (CASL) to improve student achievement. CASL is a widely used professional…

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…

"It's All About Student Learning Assessing Teacher Candidates' Ability to Impact P-12 Students", provides practical assistance for institutions designing or revising assessment systems or individual assessments for use by units or programs. The publication includes performance assessments currently used by teacher preparation institutions and…

This study explores the efforts at Brigham Young University to improve preservice candidates' technology integration using the Teacher Work Sample (TWS) as an assessment tool. Baseline data that was analyzed from 95 TWSs indicated that students were predominantly using technology for productivity and information presentation purposes even though…

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,…

This report describes the development of an Assessment Center for Deputy Wardens of Security of the Georgia Department of Offender Rehabilitation. The formulation of a complete job analysis based on extensive interviews, questionnaires, on-site meetings, and reviews of job descriptions is outlined, and assessment staff training is discussed. The…

This study investigates the development of prospective teachers' observation skills and understanding of assessment in two teacher education programs that integrate information about performance assessment in varying degrees into their preparation and field experiences. Focusing on eight student teachers, we used interview data to investigate the…

An evaluation of the Career Alternatives Model (CAM) program in the Highline School District, Washington, assessed the impact of four key components: (1) the film series "Bread and Butterflies" (for grades 4-6), designed to increase acceptance of responsibility for future career development and to increase maturity in career decision…

A project was conducted at Gateway Vocational Technical School in Arkansas to reduce effectively the high percentage of students who discontinue vocational training before completing the course. This would be accomplished by assisting potential students with realistic career training decisions. The project involved the following four steps: (1)…