Illinois State Board of Education, Teacher Performance Assessment Task Force met Feb. 13

Dr. Patricia Nugen, Board Member | Bradley University

By Philip Gonzales

Mar 13, 2024

Illinois State Board of Education, Teacher Performance Assessment Task Force met Feb. 13.

Here are the minutes provided by the task force:

I. Call to Order/Roll Call:

Dr. Jason Helfer called the meeting to order at 3:31 p.m. and asked meeting facilitator Talor Mourning to conduct a roll call. A quorum was present.

Members Present:

Senator Tom Bennett

Dr. John Burkey

Dr. Kathryn Chval

Elizabeth Dampf

Dr. Vito Dipinto

Dr. Marie Donovan

Shauna Ejeh

Representative Amy Elik

Dr. Andrea Evans

Shannon Fehrholz

Lori Grant

Katrina Hankison

Dr. Terry Husband

Dr. Lori James-Gross

Dr. Christie McIntyre

Erika Mendez

Senator Laura Murphy

Jessica Nunez

Clair Siejka

Jennifer Smith

Dr. Michelle Stacy

Robin Steans

Representative Katie Stuart

Kesa Thurman-Stovall

Dr. Mary Ticknor

Dr. Diana Zaleski

Ex-officio member appointed by the state superintendent of education: Dr. Jason Helfer

Members Absent:

Jessica Handy

Gloria Helin

Bob Langman

Dr. Abir Othman

Others Present:

Meeting facilitator: Talor Mourning (ISBE)

Dr. Jennifer Kirmes (ISBE)

Jill Donnel (University of Illinois-Champaign)

Jim O’Connor (Advance Illinois)

Julie Peters (University of Illinois Chicago)

Leslie Ellis (University of Illinois-Champaign)

Mercedes Wentworth-Nice (Member of Public)

Omar Salem (IFT)

Scott Anderson (Member of Public)

Suzanne Lee (University of Illinois-Champaign)

Sarah Kaufman (Member of Public)

II. Approval of Minutes

Dr. Helfer called for discussion on the minutes. Ms. Ejeh noted her previous roll call votes should have been recorded as “Not Present.” This change was made in the minutes. Hearing no other discussion, Dr. Helfer called for a motion to approve the minutes. The motion was made by Senator Bennet and seconded by Dr. Donovan. Dr. Helfer then called for a roll call vote. Ms. Mourning took the roll call vote on the motion.

Senator Tom Bennett - Yes

Dr. John Burkey - Yes

Dr. Kathryn Chval - Yes

Elizabeth Dampf - Yes

Dr. Vito Dipinto - Yes

Dr. Marie Donovan - Yes

Shauna Ejeh - Yes

Representative Amy Elik - Yes

Dr. Andrea Evans - Yes

Shannon Fehrholz - Yes

Lori Grant - Yes

Jessica Handy - Not Present

Katrina Hankison - Yes

Gloria Helin - Not Present

Dr. Terry Husband - Yes

Dr. Lori James-Gross - Yes

Bob Langman - Not Present

Dr. Christie McIntyre - Yes

Erika Mendez - Yes

Senator Laura Murphy - Yes

Jessica Nunez - Not Present

Dr. Abir Othman - Not Present

Clair Siejka - Yes

Jennifer Smith - Yes

Dr. Michelle Stacy - Yes

Robin Steans - Yes

Representative Katie Stuart - Yes

Kesa Thurman-Stovall - Yes

Dr. Mary Ticknor - Yes

Dr. Diana Zaleski - Yes

The motion was passed.

III. New Business

Dr. Helfer reiterated the charge of the task force, which is to evaluate teacher performance assessments and recommend an implementation of a pre-service teacher performance assessment to the Illinois State Board of Education. Dr. Helfer also reminded members that the charge of this task force is to ensure consistency across teacher preparation programs.

Dr. Helfer reviewed common thoughts from the previous meeting, including what members had expressed were their “non negotiables” in a teacher performance assessment. Those included evaluation based on in-person observation, submission of candidate artifacts, cooperating teachers given the ability to provide evaluation, data-driven decisions, assessments aligned to employee evaluations, evaluations that took place throughout the student teaching experience, consistency across institutions, assessments which were objectively reviewed, assessments that were aligned to standards, candidates given the opportunity for self reflection, assessments aligned to student literacy and reading comprehension, and assessments which were free to candidates.

Dr. McIntyre noted that institutions seeking Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP)accreditation are also required to provide evidence of impact for P-12 learning. Dr. Helfer noted that CAEP accreditation is not required for Illinois approved programs and this is instead determined by individual institutions.

Dr. Helfer called for any feedback regarding the list of non-negotiables, but no additional feedback was given.

Dr. Helfer explained ISBE staff would be providing a brief overview of six different teacher performance assessments to provide framework for future considerations: Education Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA), Candidate Pre-Service Assessment of Student Teaching (CPAST), Praxis Performance Assessment for Teachers (PPAT), Missouri Education Evaluation System (MEES), New Hampshire Teacher Candidate Assessment of Performance (NHTCAP), and Resident Educator Summative Assessment (RESA).

Dr. Helfer provided a brief overview of the edTPA. Representative Stuart asked if evaluators for the edTPA were required to have teaching experience in K-12 for the content area they were evaluating. Dr. Helfer and Dr. McIntyre stated they believed it was possible for edTPA evaluators to be higher education faculty who taught the content area. Representative Stuart stated it is problematic to possibly have evaluators who had not taught the content in a K-12 classroom. Ms. Steans expressed that it should be verified what the edTPA evaluator requirements were. Dr. Helfer advised that ISBE staff would verify edTPA evaluator requirements and report back to the task force at a subsequent meeting.

Dr. Chval requested clarification on the cost to candidates and the number of sections on the edTPA test. Dr. Helfer confirmed there were three sections to the edTPA, and the initial cost is $300, plus an additional cost of $100 per section to re-take the section.

Senator Bennet asked for clarification as to whether the video submissions were still a requirement of the edTPA. Dr. Helfer explained that Pearson allowed for artifacts to be submitted in an alternate medium and ISBE staff would verify the procedures for submitting non-video artifacts and report back to the task force at a subsequent meeting.

Senator Murphy requested that ISBE staff provide information on what Pearson does to review the test materials and who is allowed to serve as an evaluator. Dr. Helfer confirmed that ISBE staff would verify the information and report back to the task force at a subsequent meeting.

Dr. Dipinto commented that in his experience, it is problematic to have a university faculty member who is not current on the content area material serve as an evaluator .

Ms. Grant inquired about the content test that was required prior to licensure and shared an example of an educator candidate who had attempted to pass the content test five times but had not yet been successful. Dr. Helfer clarified the content test was not part of the particular charge of the task force but explained that it could be an agenda item for a future meeting.

Ms. Mourning provided a brief overview of the Candidate Pre-Service Assessment of Student Teaching (CPAST). Dr. McIntyre shared that her institution utilizes the CPSAST and confirmed evaluators for the CPAST are also required to complete training prior to evaluating candidates, although not to the level of rigor as the edTPA training.

Dr. Dipinto asked if candidates are required to submit artifacts as evidence for the CPAST or if feedback was provided based solely on observation. Dr. McIntyre confirmed that clinical supervisors and cooperating teachers observe candidates and provide feedback based on student teaching. Candidates are also required to submit evidence. Dr. Donovan asked if the CPAST had been correlated to the edTPA. Dr. McIntyre stated she was unsure but shared that in some instances, CAEP had determined the CPAST did not meet their standard threshold.

Ms. Steans asked if evaluators who observe candidates in the CPAST were members of the institution; Dr. McIntyre confirmed this was true. Dr. Donovan suggested that evaluators for the CPAST go through training that includes inter-rater reliability.

Dr. Helfer thanked the task force members for their combined knowledge. Ms. Mourning provided a brief overview of the Praxis Performance Assessment for Teachers (PPAT). Dr. Helfer explained that the Educational Testing Service (ETS) had attempted to differentiate its product from other performance assessments and moved the assessment into different portions of the program.

Senator Bennett asked about the role of the cooperating teacher and what other states use for performance assessments. Dr. Helfer advised that ISBE staff would provide these clarifications to the task force at a subsequent meeting.

Dr. Kirmes provided a brief overview of the Missouri Education Evaluation System (MEES). Dr. Dipinto shared a concern that with a shortened student teaching experience, a candidate may be observed less often in this style of assessment.

Dr. Chval was involved with the development of the MEES assessment when she worked in Missouri. She shared that there was pushback from the districts regarding videotaping students. Ms. Donavon asked if universities utilized other assessments in addition to the MEES; Dr. Chval said that the state has considered a variety of assessments for evaluating student teaching.

Ms. Mendez asked if the MEES assessment just had to be completed as a requirement for licensure, rather than candidates having a passing score. Dr. Kirmes advised that ISBE staff would attempt to provide these clarifications at a subsequent meeting.

Dr. Kirmes provided a brief overview of the New Hampshire Teacher Candidate Assessment of Performance (NHTCAP). Ms. Steans asked if preparation programs were able to set their own passing scores for the assessment, and Dr. Kirmes confirmed that appeared to be the case. Dr. Dipinto noted there might be concerns with the cooperating teachers evaluating a student teacher and expecting them to be performing at the level of an experienced teacher.

Dr. Kirmes provided a brief overview of the Resident Educator Summative Assessment (RESA). Dr. Chval noted that if cooperating teachers also have to serve as performance assessment evaluators, it might impact their ability to mentor the student teacher candidates. Dr. Chval also noted the observations and feedback of the cooperating teacher are valuable and help the cooperating teachers feel respected and valued in the process.

Senator Bennett asked how a cooperating teacher could serve as an assessment evaluator for candidates who were not student teaching in their classrooms. Dr. Kirmes explained that student teacher candidates submit videos of their performance and cooperating teachers can watch and evaluate those.

Dr. Helfer called for additional questions or comments on the teacher performance assessments that had been discussed. Dr. Chval shared a link to an article that talked about why Missouri had moved from the MoTPA to the MEES.

Dr. Helfer shared some research on which states required a teacher performance assessment. Representative Stuart asked if there was information on which teacher performance assessment was used in the states that still required them. Dr. Helfer advised that ISBE staff would provide these clarifications to the task force at a subsequent meeting. Representative Stuart stated it would also be helpful information to know if any states had recently changed from a required to a not required.

Dr. Ejeh asked if there was any data on the retention of teachers in the states that do not require a teacher performance assessment for initial licensure. Dr. Ejeh also asked if there was any data on whether states that do not require a teacher performance assessment prior to initial licensure require some sort of assessment after the first year of teaching.

Dr. Helfer shared a reminder that the next few task force meetings would include panels of current teachers or administrators and reminded task force members to share their recommendations for both panelists and panelist questions. Dr. Donovan said it would be important to ensure panelists are from a variety of experiences and content areas.

Ms. Evans asked if there is any data as to what performance assessments were being used by Illinois educator preparation programs in addition to the required edTPA. Dr. Helfer advised ISBE staff would work to find that information and provide these clarifications to the task force at a subsequent meeting.

V. Public Participation

Dr. Helfer then called for public comment. Julie Peters thanked all task force members for their ongoing commitment to the process.

Sarah Kaufman spoke about her experience as a cooperating teacher and concerns that, in some school districts, student teachers were serving as substitute teachers for other classrooms. Dr. Kirmes confirmed that if a student teacher candidate held a valid substitute teaching license, they would be eligible to do so. Ms. Kaufman stated she felt that student teacher candidates should focus on their student teacher requirements. Dr. Chval shared that some student teacher candidates who had also served as substitutes reported they learned different skills in both settings.

VI. Adjournment

Dr. Helfer called for any additional comments and, hearing none, asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Dr. Burkey motioned for adjournment. Ms. Steans seconded. Ms. Mourning took the roll call vote on the motion.