State-wide implementation of edTPA in preparation for high-stakes testing: A mixed-methods study of the concerns of edTPA coordinators

Authors

  • Joyce E. Many Georgia State University
  • Ruchi Bhatnagar Georgia State University
  • Carla Tanguay Georgia State University
  • Shaneeka Favors-Welch Georgia State University
  • Clarice Thomas Georgia State University
  • Susan Ophelia Cannon Georgia State University
  • Tamra Ogletree University of West Georgia
  • Jihye Kim Kennesaw State University
  • Shannon Howrey Kennesaw State University
  • Sohyun An Kennesaw State University
  • Karen Kurz Berry College
  • Judi Wilson Augusta State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.27.4460

Keywords:

edTPA policy, stages of concern, teacher education accountability

Abstract

This study examined the implementation of high-stakes adoption of edTPA® in one state in the year prior to consequential use of edTPA scores for teacher licensure. Using a mixed methods design, we investigated concerns of coordinators who were responsible for edTPA implementation in their institutions. We utilized the Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM) to understand edTPA coordinators’ Stages of Concern, the nature of the challenges they faced, and the professional development opportunities that alleviated their concerns. Based on the CBAM survey, the most common Stage of Concernfor edTPA coordinators was Management.Coordinators’ interviews revealed the nature of their concerns at different stages and how the size of their institution and supportive resources at particular times may have played a crucial role in shaping the edTPA roll-out in their institutions. The use of the CBAM framework enabled edTPA coordinators (a) to understand their own concerns about the high-stakes policy, (b) to articulate the complexities involved in implementing edTPA initiatives, and (c) to underscore the importance of relating concerns to appropriate professional development opportunities and support for themselves as well as their faculty. 

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Author Biographies

Joyce E. Many, Georgia State University

Joyce Many is a Professor and Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Educator Preparation in the College of Education and Human Development at Georgia State University. Herresearch explores teacher education program effectiveness including factors impacting faculty and candidate perceptions and concerns and candidates’ performance and retention in the classroom. Dr. Many is the Series Editor of Contemporary Issues in Accreditation, Assessment and Program Evaluationwith Information Age Publishing. 

Ruchi Bhatnagar, Georgia State University

Ruchi Bhatnagar is a Clinical Assistant Professor and the assessment coordinator for the College of Education and Human Development at Georgia State University. Her research interests are: teacher education assessment, accountability, and educational policy.  

Carla Tanguay, Georgia State University

Carla Tanguay, Ph.D. is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Early Childhood and Elementary Education at Georgia State University and the Associate to the Dean for Clinical Practice, supporting initial teacher preparation programs in the areas of teacher performance assessment and clinical practice. She serves on the Georgia edTPA Policy & Implementation Advisory Committee and is the Chair of the Assessment and Accreditation Committee in the College of Education and Human Development. Her scholarly interests include teacher development, teacher induction and retention, assessment, program evaluation, and educational policy.

Shaneeka Favors-Welch, Georgia State University

Shaneeka Favors-Welch is a doctoral student at Georgia State University in Teaching and Learning with a concentration in Teaching and Teacher Education. In 2008 she founded a non-profit, G.R.O.W.E (Giving Resources and Opportunities to Women through Education), dedicated to advancing women in STEM fields.  Her particular areas of interests are cultural asset pedagogies, decolonization theories, and critical quantitative methods. 

Clarice Thomas, Georgia State University

Dr. Clarice Thomas received her Ph.D. in Teaching and Learning with a focus on Teaching and Teacher Education from Georgia State University. Her research interests include narrative research of experiences with the school to prison nexus, equitable education for African American students, preservice teacher preparation in urban education, and qualitative research methodology.

Susan Ophelia Cannon, Georgia State University

Susan Ophelia Cannon, a doctoral graduate from Georgia State University, will be an assistant professor of Early Childhood/Middle Grades Education at Mercer University beginning in fall 2019. She works and thinks across the boundaries of mathematics and statistics education, qualitative inquiry, and teacher education. 

Tamra Ogletree, University of West Georgia

Dr. Tamra W. Ogletree is an Associate Professor and Program Coordinator of the Language and Literacy program in the Literacy and Special Education Department at the University of West Georgia. She is the founder and former Director of UWG’s Cherokee Rose Writing Project, which is an affiliate of the National Writing Project. She holds a PhD in Language and Literacy and a Certificate in Interdisciplinary Qualitative Research from the University of Georgia. Her research focus includes literacy education, teacher preparation, and qualitative methodology. 

 

Jihye Kim, Kennesaw State University

Jihye Kim, Ph.D. is an assistant professor of educational research at Kennesaw State University. Her current research lies in evaluating survey instruments’ validity and reliability in order to provide accurate identification of emotional and behavioral risk in middle and high school students.

Shannon Howrey, Kennesaw State University

Shannon Howrey is an Associate Professor of Reading and Literacy Education at Kennesaw State University. She teaches courses in literacy, curriculum, and instruction as well as coordinating the Ed.S. in Curriculum and Instruction program. Her research interests include the use of literature in developing pre-service teachers’ dispositions.

Sohyun An, Kennesaw State University

Sohyun An is an Associate Professor of Social Studies Education at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Georgia, with research and teaching interests in issues related to racism, citizenship, immigration, and social justice within the context of social studies education. 

Karen Kurz, Berry College

Dr. Kurz has been a faculty member at Berry College Charter School of Education and Human Sciences since fall 1995 and served Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies in Education from 2001 to 2017. Her professional service has included Board of Examiner Georgia Professional Standards Commission, adjudicator for National Association for Sport and Physical Education, mentor National Board of Professional Teaching Standards portfolio development, Georgia Association of Colleges of Teacher Education President and Georgia Association of Independent Colleges of Teacher Education President. 

Judi Wilson, Augusta State University

Dr. Judi Wilson has served as a Department Chair, Associate Dean, and now serves as the Interim Dean of the College of Education at Augusta University. She taught elementary school and served as a primary, middle school, and district level administrator in Georgia. Judi Wilson received a B.A. in Education from Furman University, M.Ed. and Ed.S. degrees from The University of Georgia, and an Ed.D in Educational Administration from Georgia Southern University.

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Published

2019-10-09

How to Cite

Many, J. E., Bhatnagar, R., Tanguay, C., Favors-Welch, S., Thomas, C., Cannon, S. O., Ogletree, T., Kim, J., Howrey, S., An, S., Kurz, K., & Wilson, J. (2019). State-wide implementation of edTPA in preparation for high-stakes testing: A mixed-methods study of the concerns of edTPA coordinators. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 27, 122. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.27.4460

Issue

Vol. 27 (2019)

Section

Articles

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