Teacher Certification Assessment-Cover (January 18-20, 2000 Board

							                      ILLINOIS STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
                              WORK STUDY SESSION
                                 January 20, 2000



Agenda Topic:              Teacher Certification Assessment

Materials:                 Assessment Advisory Panel Final Report (separate cover)
                           Illinois Certification Testing System Annual Report (separate
                                    cover)


Staff Contact(s):          Frank Llano
                           Rob Sampson
                           Pat Glenn


Purpose of Agenda Item

   To lay the groundwork for State Board action regarding identification of assessments
    required for teacher assessment.


Expected Outcomes of Agenda Item

   Board acceptance of the overall approach of the Assessment Advisory Panel
    recommendations, i.e., that teacher candidates be assessed in basic skills, content
    knowledge, and pedagogy before they receive the Initial Certificate, and on
    performance before they advance to the Standard Certificate.

   Board acceptance of a plan to consider the implementation of each assessment in
    turn, beginning with basic skills at this meeting, then proceeding to pedagogy,
    content knowledge, and performance assessment at succeeding meetings.

   Board direction regarding improvement of the basic skills assessment for new
    teachers.


Background Information

       Illinois is purposefully moving from a course-based system of teacher certification
to a standards-led system. The state has adopted the Illinois Learning Standards for its
classroom students, and is now engaged in establishing high standards for its teacher
candidates. Rather than specifying which course requirements teacher candidates
must fulfill, Illinois now has clear standards that define what teacher candidates are
expected to know and be able to do. Instead of reviewing transcripts and counting
course credits, the state will now assesses the knowledge that teacher candidates have
actually acquired during their years of preparation to be teachers.

        In moving the educational system—K-12 classrooms, teacher candidates, and
teacher preparation programs—to a foundation based on clearly stated standards, the
issue of assessment gains paramount importance. The assessment of candidates’
knowledge, skills, and performance becomes the key to evaluating their qualifications
for the teaching certificate.

         Thus, in a standards-led system of certification, the state’s need for highly
qualified teachers who can help students learn challenging content translates into the
need for rigorous assessments aligned with the high standards that Illinois is instituting
in its classrooms. It is logically clear—and proven by research—that students learn best
under knowledgeable teachers. The state understands that rigorous, well-targeted
assessments are needed to help ensure teacher quality and thereby positively impact
student achievement. It is left to the State Board to determine what to assess, at what
level, how, and when.

      In making this determination, the Board is informed by the legislative mandate
that underlies educational reform in Illinois and by the recommendations of the
Assessment Advisory Panel.


The Legislative Mandate
       Testing for teacher certification first became a requirement in Illinois in 1988 with
the passage of the 1985 Education Reform Act. The Act stipulated that all candidates
for teaching, school service personnel, and administrative certificates, in addition to
meeting all other requirements, had to pass a test of basic skills—specifically defined in
the law as reading, writing, grammar, and mathematics—and a test of content
knowledge. (The 1998-1999 Annual Report of the Illinois Certification Testing System—
the currently required assessment program—is attached for the Board’s review.)

        More than ten years later, in December 1997, the legislature changed the testing
requirement as one provision of P.A. 90-548, which created a new multi-tiered
certification structure. The legislature directed the “State Board of Education, in
consultation with the State Teacher Certification Board to design and implement a
system of examinations…which shall be required prior to the issuance of Initial
Teaching Certificates and Standard Teaching Certificates.” The 1997 legislative
mandate, unlike the 1985 law, left the decision regarding the content, nature, and timing
of the assessments to the State Board of Education.


The Illinois Assessment Advisory Panel
      To assist it in making informed decisions regarding the many issues surrounding
teacher certification assessment, the State Board convened an Assessment Advisory
Panel, which it charged with formulating recommendations regarding the assessments



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that should be required of candidates before they receive Initial and Standard
certificates.

      The panel completed its charge and submitted its final report,
“Recommendations for the Assessment of Pre-service and Novice Teachers,” dated
September 8, 1999 (attached). The panel formulated 12 specific recommendations on
the content, nature, and timing of the assessments. The essence of the panel’s
recommendations is that teacher candidates should be assessed in basic skills, content
knowledge, and pedagogy before receiving the Initial Certificate and in performance
before receiving the Standard Certificate. The panel further recommended that the
assessments be aligned with the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards and the
appropriate Teacher Content Standards, both of which are aligned with the Illinois
Learning Standards.

       While the panel provides in its report further specifics regarding each of the
recommended assessments, it acknowledges the complexity of the issues surrounding
each and the panel’s inability to delineate recommendations at the operational level.
This task is left to the State Board.


Issues and Implications:

        A system of assessments is statutorily required and must be available for teacher
certification purposes. In compliance with P. A. 90-548 and filed Administrative Rules,
the tests of the Illinois Certification Testing System will be required of certification
candidates until new assessments are phased in between now and July 1, 2003. The
passing scores for the Illinois Certification Testing System have been validated and are
legally defensible. It would seem prudent to maintain those scores until the new
assessments are in place.

       The Assessment Advisory Panel has made recommendations as to what the new
system of assessments should be and the State Teacher Certification Board has
accepted those recommendations. The panel is comprised of individuals representing
various stakeholders in the teacher certification process including public school
teachers and administrators, professional associations, regional offices of education
and institutions of higher education. The panel’s recommendations were arrived at by
consensus of the group after much research and thorough and thoughtful consideration.
The recommendations are intended to ensure meeting the requirements of the law and
ultimately the provision of quality teachers in Illinois classrooms. The recommendations
present a direction and starting point for Board action.

        There are many issues associated with the adoption and implementation of each
of the recommended assessments. After discussing the overall approach to
assessment, staff recommend that the Board consider each of the assessments in
independently so that adequate attention and time may be focused on the issues
surrounding each. The focus at this meeting will be on the basic skills assessment.



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Superintendent’s Recommendations

   Accept the overall approach of the Assessment Advisory Panel, i.e., that teacher
    candidates be assessed in basic skills, content knowledge, and pedagogy before
    they receive the Initial Certificate, and in performance before they receive the
    Standard Certificate.

   Agree to consider and discuss each assessment separately beginning at this
    meeting with basic skills and then moving to pedagogy, content knowledge and
    performance.


Next Steps

      Staff has prepared the following issue paper on the assessment of basic skills for
the Board’s consideration at this time.       Staff will prepare for Board member
consideration at future board meetings similar papers on the assessment of pedagogy,
content knowledge, and performance.




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