Highly Qualified Scorers Will Participate in Distributed Scoring Program for New Performance-Based Assessment of Teacher Candidates
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – Nov. 9, 2011 – Pearson today announced that it is recruiting 1,200 educators to score the new Teacher Performance Assessment (TPA), a nationally available, performance-based assessment instrument for measuring the effectiveness of teacher candidates seeking initial licenses.
The TPA was developed by a team of Stanford University researchers led by Drs. Linda Darling-Hammond and Raymond Pecheone. The work was grounded in the successful experiences of developing performance assessments for licensing of teachers in California and Connecticut, and in the first assessment development laboratory for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. The assessment will be field tested by a consortium of more than 20 states and their state departments of education, licensure boards, and institutions of higher education, as well as the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE).
The TPA focuses on evidence collected from the teaching of a 3-5 day unit of instruction to one class of students. Candidates submit evidence of their teaching (e.g., video clips of instruction, lesson plans, student work samples, teacher assignments, daily reflections). This evidence will be scored by highly qualified scorers through Pearson’s distributed scoring program, which utilizes technology to securely score assessments anywhere at any time.
The assessment process is designed to be educative for candidates and faculty. Candidates are asked a series of rigorous questions about their teaching practice and the evidence they provide. Preparation programs use patterns of scores to identify areas of candidate strength as well as areas for program improvement. An additional feature of the distributed scoring is that it enables faculty and K-12 teachers to learn about teaching practices beyond their local institutions through scoring TPAs from across their state and the nation.
“We are recruiting faculty from colleges of education as well as K-12 educators to be trained and serve as scorers for this groundbreaking new assessment of teacher performance,” said Kate Minette, Senior Vice President of Operations and Scoring for Pearson. ”Our distributed scoring program allows us to break down geographic barriers and ensure that we are employing the most highly qualified individuals — regardless of where they live — to score the TPA.”
Pearson’s distributed scoring uses online services coupled with high levels of security to tap a large pool of highly qualified scorers, increase flexibility for scoring employees and provide greater customization for scoring customers – with the same accuracy and quality as traditional scoring in regional centers.
Scorers must have a background in working with student or beginning teachers, and are matched to candidate TPAs by grade-level and subject-specific teaching and supervisions experience. Each of the TPA scorers must meet Pearson’s strict qualifications and participate in a screening process that includes an analysis of application data and a process to verify credentials and eligibility. Pearson employs security procedures to ensure that candidates and their institutions are not identified to the scorers through the scoring and distribution process, to ensure that scoring is anonymous.
To apply to become a TPA scorer, visit: www.scoretpa.pearson.com and click on “Apply Here.”
About Pearson
Pearson (NYSE:PSO), the global leader in education services, education technology and school solutions, provides innovative print and digital education materials for preK through college, student information systems and learning management systems, teacher professional development, career certification programs, and testing and assessment products that set the standard for the industry. Pearson’s other primary businesses include the Financial Times Group and the Penguin Group. For more information, go to www.pearsonassessments.com.
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