A Profile of High-Stakes Assessment Practices in Music Teacher Education

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify and describe high-stakes assessment practices in the field of music teacher education. Furthermore, I sought to compare institutional capstone assessment practices with state licensure requirements. Research questions involved the status of high-stakes assessments of general, content, and pedagogical knowledge, as well as high-stakes teacher performance assessments (e.g., edTPA). Participants in this study included faculty representatives (N = 274) from National Association of Schools of Music–accredited music teacher education programs across all 50 states. The majority of participants indicated that preservice candidates were required to pass a test of general knowledge as a gatekeeper to acceptance into the music teacher licensure program, as well as a variety of other examinations prior to graduation. More than one half of participants reported that their institution required music teacher candidates to complete a teacher performance assessment (e.g., edTPA). Alignment between state and institution requirements was varied.

Music Student Teachers’ Perceptions of Their Seminar Experience: An Exploratory Study

“…At these universities, the state-mandated portfolio and TPA reflected the bulk of the seminar course grade. Additionally, the amount of class time spent on completing these high-stakes assessments aligned with the overwhelming impact of such evaluative measures in music education programs from previous research (e.g., Parkes & Powell, 2015; Pritchard, 2018).…”

Student Perspectives on Implementation of edTPA in Year 1: A Dialectic Analysis

“…A recent development in teacher education, the edTPA is a controversial, high-stakes licensure exam designed to mimic the National Board Certification selectively completed by experienced educators. Teacher educators and researchers have voiced concerns regarding edTPA as a nationally implemented, standardized exam overseen by the for-profit company Pearson both within music education (Parkes & Powell, 2015;Prichard, 2018) and beyond (Au, 2013;Burns Henry, & Lindauer, 2015;Chiu, 2014;Dover, Schultz, Smith, & Duggan, 2015;Sato, 2014). Music education researchers have also investigated the perspectives of teacher candidates completing the exam (Heil & Berg, 2017;Koziel, 2018;Langlie, 2015;Lin, 2015).…”