Washington ProTeach Portfolio Launches
The Washington ProTeach Portfolio, the first large-scale, consequential, e-Portfolio assessment for teacher licensure, was launched on January 4, 2010. Through alignment to Washington standards, Educational Testing Service (ETS) is responsible for the development, delivery and scoring of this innovative assessment for Washington's teacher professional licensure. Teachers must earn their professional license by the end of their fifth year of teaching.
The Washington Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB), responsible for educator certification, selected ETS as the contractor for the design, development, delivery, scoring and score reporting components of the assessment. ETS is partnering with LiveText to create the fully online performance assessment system. LiveText is a Chicago-based company serving the education community with e-Portfolios, learning assessments and accreditation management solutions.
The ProTeach Portfolio utilizes a complete online solution to meet Washington's "green" requirements:
- candidates register online
- access an online informational website: www.waproteach.org
- create their own online website through which they draft and revise their portfolio
- submit their portfolio online
- receive their scores online
Candidates are required to submit responses to three portfolio entries.
The entries, which measure the Washington Professional Certificate Standards and Criteria, include:
- Professional Growth and Contributions
- Building a Learning Community
- Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment
"This online assessment provides maximum transparency, flexibility and convenience for the candidates," said Esther Baker, Director, Educator Assessments, Washington State's Professional Educator Standards Board. "The use of Washington educators in the electronic scoring closes the loop for continuous improvement to the licensure system and provides an excellent professional growth opportunity to experienced teachers."
"Using what we've learned through work on the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, the California Teaching Performance Assessment and the Kansas Performance Teaching Portfolio, ETS continues to innovate the measurement of educator performance," says Linda Tyler, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for teacher licensure and certification. "We are very proud of this work and honored to serve the PESB."
To view screenshots for the e-portfolio interface, visit the Guides and Documentation section on the www.waproteach.org site and select Technical Guide. To view the portfolio directions, select the Candidate Guide. For more information on Washington ProTeach, or any other performance-based assessments, contact Katherine Bassett at kbassett@ets.org.