Chapter 8. Assessing Mathematics Teacher Preparation

Assessment is a cornerstone for all educational endeavors, the means by which those striving to support learning come to know the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of those whose learning they are supporting. This information is crucial for a myriad of reasons, including, but not limited to the design of learning experiences, the development of curriculum and programs, and reflections of learners and their teachers. Assessment in mathematics teacher preparation is purpose driven, and those purposes are summarized in Table 8.1.

Table 8.1. Purposes for Assessment of Mathematics Teacher Preparation

These purposes are served through sound and efficient assessments designed to provide information, support interpretation, and spur action. Assessments necessarily appraise mathematics teacher candidates and elements of the mathematics teacher preparation programs that support their professional growth, providing timely formative information needed to provide ongoing feedback to candidates and to tailor learning experiences that support their growth. Assessments also provide summative information on the outcomes of teacher preparation, most crucially providing information on the quality of the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of mathematics teaching candidates and the candidates’ proficiencies in supporting mathematical learning as well as the quality of a program.

AMTE is committed to promoting the improvement of mathematics teacher preparation. Therefore, this chapter is focused on formative, improvement-oriented uses of assessment that are aligned with the teacher preparation standards described in earlier chapters. Chapters 2 and 3 of this document set forth standards for what candidates should know and be able to do (Candidate Standards) as well as what programs must provide to support their candidates in achieving those standards (Program Standards). Effective programs need assessments that provide useful information about their candidates, both individually and collectively, to identify areas in which programs can better support their candidates’ growth toward becoming well-prepared beginning teachers of mathematics.

Although we choose to focus on assessing these standards for purposes of ongoing improvement, we acknowledge that the standards could at some points and in some ways inform summative purposes. For example, these standards are not designed to establish minimum benchmarks that candidates must meet before beginning their careers as mathematics teachers. However, these standards provide important descriptions of knowledge, skills, and dispositions to be considered in devising such benchmarks. Such an emphasis on program quality and improvement is consistent with Standard 5 of the accreditation standards put forward by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP, 2013b).

This chapter begins with recommendations about general features of effective assessments used in mathematics teacher preparation; these recommendations are abbreviated AF (Assessment Features). The recommendations for features of effective assessments should guide assessment decisions of instructors and programs when they select, design, and use assessments.

The second section of the chapter includes recommendations for assessments designed to determine progress toward attaining the Candidate Standards in Chapter 2; these recommendations are abbreviated AC (Assessment of Candidates). Finally, recommendations are given for assessments designed to determine progress toward attaining the Program Standards in Chapter 3; these recommendations are abbreviated AP (Assessment of Programs). Together these recommendations should be used to effectively guide efforts to support candidate growth and improve mathematics teacher preparation programs. A summary of the recommendations follows in Table 8.2.

Note that the match between these recommendations for assessment and the Candidate and Program Standards in Chapters 2 and 3 is not one to one. The features of effective assessments apply to all assessments of both candidate and program quality. Table 8.3 illustrates the relationships between the recommendations for assessing mathematics teacher candidate quality and the Candidate Standards; the checked cells indicate that the recommendation should particularly inform assessment of the given standard.

Table 8.3. Relation of Assessment Recommendations to the Candidate Standards

Table 8.4 illustrates the relationships between the recommendations for assessing program quality and the Program Standards; checked cells indicate the recommendation should particularly inform assessment of the given standard. In addition, given that candidate outcomes are essential components of program success, the recommendations for assessing mathematics teacher quality also inform assessment of Program Standards.

Table 8.4. Relation of Assessment Recommendations to Program Standards

Closing Remarks

The standards in Chapters 2 and 3 of this document set aggressive targets for the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of well-prepared beginning teachers of mathematics as well as for the qualities of effective mathematics teacher preparation programs. These standards are intended to guide efforts to support the development of well-prepared beginning teachers of mathematics and to improve mathematics teacher preparation programs. However, improvement is not possible without assessment. Evidence is necessary in identifying areas in which improvement is needed. Evidence also is needed to guide the process of improvement to ensure that changes are actually improvements (Bryk, Gomez, Grunow, & LaMahieu, 2015). Thus, seeking effective ways to assess the quality of candidates and of the program itself is central to attaining the goals set forth in this document. Indeed, when priorities for program improvement are considered, identifying or creating and implementing a more effective assessment system might be an important first step for a program to consider so that progress toward meeting the Candidate and Program Standards can be tracked.