Roger Eddy, Board Member | Olney Central College
Roger Eddy, Board Member | Olney Central College
Illinois State Board of Education, Teacher Performance Assessment Task Force met July 15.
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 Delaney Workman to conduct a roll call. A quorum was present.
Members Present:
Senator Tom Bennett
Dr. Kathryn Chval
Elizabeth Dampf
Dr. Marie Donovan
Shauna Ejeh
Representative Amy Elik
Shannon Fehrholz
Jessica Handy
Dr. Terry Husband
Dr. Lori James-Gross
Dr. Christie McIntyre
Erika Mendez
Senator Laura Murphy
Jessica Nunez
Jennifer Smith
Dr. Michelle Stacy
Robin Steans
Representative Katie Stuart
Kesa Thurman-Stovall
Dr. Diana Zaleski
Ex-officio member appointed by the state superintendent of education: Dr. Jason Helfer
Members Absent:
Dr. John Burkey
Dr. Vito Dipinto
Dr. Andrea Evans
Lori Grant
Katrina Hankison
Gloria Helin
Bob Langman
Dr. Abir Othman
Claire Siejka
Dr. Mary Ticknor
Others Present:
Meeting facilitator: Delaney Workman
Bill Curtin
Jill Donnell
Sara Kaufman
Nicole Murphy
Jim O’Connor
Julie Peters
Jessica Tobias
II. Approval of Minutes
Dr. Helfer called for discussion on the previous meeting minutes. Hearing no discussion, he called for a motion to approve the minutes. The motion was made by Dr. Stacy and seconded by Representative Stuart. Dr. Helfer then called for a roll call vote. Ms. Workman took the roll call vote on the motion.
Dr. Kathryn Chval – Yes
Elizabeth Dampf – Yes
Shauna Ejeh – Yes
Representative Amy Elik – Yes
Shannon Fehrholz – Yes
Jessica Handy – Yes
Dr. Terry Husband – Yes
Dr. Lori James-Gross – Yes
Dr. Christie McIntyre – Yes
Erika Mendez – Yes
Senator Laura Murphy – Yes
Jessica Nunez – Yes
Dr. Michelle Stacy – Yes
Robin Steans – Yes
Representative Katie Stuart – Yes
Kesa Thurman-Stovall – Abstain
Dr. Diana Zaleski – Yes
The motion was passed.
III. Public Comment
Dr. Helfer called for any public comment. Two individuals wished to provide public comment.
First, Jill Donnell, executive director for the Council on Teacher Education at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, thanked the committee members for the work they are doing for teacher preparation across the state. She encouraged committee members to consider incorporating aspects of the Danielson framework into their final recommendation. Additionally, she encouraged the group to carefully consider the purpose of a new assessment.
Next, Julie Peters, associate director of the Teaching of History Program at the University of Illinois Chicago, reminded the group of a comment made by Dr. Evans in a previous meeting. She explained that it is important for the members to keep in mind the reason for a teacher performance assessment (TPA). She then said that it is important to consider that if there is a problem, there needs to be a solution to the problem.
IV. New Business
Dr. Helfer moved on to new business and explained to members that the meeting would consist of breakout rooms. Within each room, members are asked to guide their discussion using specific questions on use, purpose, value, and quality. The questions are below.
Use, Purpose, and Values
Considering the various uses for and various “audiences” of a TPA, how and in what ways ought a TPA be used to:
• Reasonably ensure “Day 1 readiness” to serve as a teacher of record?
• Support the development of a novice teacher?
• Inform education preparation provider’s program scope and implementation?
• Serve as part of a thoughtful and well-rounded licensure system?
• Advocate for teaching as a profession?
Quality
From your perspective, what constitutes a “quality” TPA that creates the greatest likelihood of:
• Reasonably ensuring “Day 1 readiness” to serve as a teacher of record?
• Supporting the development of a novice teacher?
• Informing education preparation provider’s program scope and implementation?
• Serving as part of a thoughtful and well-rounded licensure system?
• Advocating for teaching as a profession?
Within the breakout rooms, task force members were organized into groups based on their affiliation. There were three categories: Higher Education, Legislator/Advocacy Group, PK-12 Education. Within each group, members had 45 minutes to discuss the above questions. A summary of each breakout room discussion is included in Appendix A.
Once breakout rooms ended, Dr. Helfer held space for members to share the discussions that occurred.
Senator Bennett shared that his room struggled. Many topics were discussed, such as the TPA being a measure of skills and a gatekeeper into the profession. He also said that his group noted the importance of the triad – the relationship between a student teacher, cooperating teacher, and university supervisor.
Dr. Chval explained that her group, Higher Education, noted that the assessment that the task force recommends cannot do everything. It is important to keep the purpose in mind.
Ms. Steans said her room discussed that having a teacher performance assessment ensures readiness into the profession. This needs to be done in a developmentally appropriate way that also can share information with programs for continuous improvement purposes.
Ms. Dampf said her group discussed the value of an assessment to measure how well a teacher candidate has taken their coursework and translated it into practice. She also said that her group expressed interest in having the TPA be integrated into the preparation experience, with candidates having the opportunity to collect evidence throughout their program.
Dr. McIntyre reiterated the need to clearly define and remember the purpose for a teacher performance assessment.
Dr. Helfer thanked members for their time and robust discussions within the breakout rooms. He informed the group members of their next steps.
V. Adjournment
Dr. Helfer asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Dr. Donovan motioned for adjournment. Dr. Evans seconded. All members present unanimously agreed to adjourn.
The motion was passed.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:45 p.m.
https://www.isbe.net/Documents_TPA/20240715-Minutes.pdf