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Preliminary Evidence on Measurement Characteristics for the Foundational Assessment of Competencies for Teaching Performance Tasks CKT ECD MET FACT

Author(s):
Phelps, Geoffrey; Bridgeman, Brent; Yan, Fred; Steinberg, Jonathan; Weren, Barbara H.; Zhou, Jiawen
Publication Year:
2020
Report Number:
RR-20-27
Source:
ETS Research Report
Document Type:
Report
Page Count:
50
Subject/Key Words:
Teacher Licensure, Teacher Assessment, Teaching Quality, Reading, Mathematics, Content Knowledge for Teaching (CKT), Evidence-Centered Design (ECD), On-Demand Performance Tasks, Measures of Effective Teaching (MET), Human Raters, Foundational Assessment of Competencies for Teaching (FACT)

Abstract

In this report we provide preliminary evidence on the measurement characteristics for a new type of teaching performance assessment designed to be combined with complementary assessments of teacher content knowledge. The resulting test, which we refer to as the Foundational Assessment of Competencies for Teaching (FACT), is designed for use as part of initial teacher licensure. Twenty elementary FACT performance tasks (10 for mathematics [MATH] and 10 for reading language arts [RLA]) were developed and then administered to 59 teacher candidates. The results from the pilot indicate that the performance tasks function as designed with candidates completing the tasks on average in approximately 3.5 min. Human raters were able to score the tasks quickly and accurately. All score points were well represented for all the scored tasks. Total scores for all tasks combined and subscores for reading language arts RLA and MATH had respective alpha reliabilities of .86, .77, and .79, with the scores well distributed across the scale. A large majority of teacher candidates participating in the study strongly endorsed the FACT tasks as authentic, assessing valuable competencies, and suitable for use as part of teacher licensure. These preliminary results indicate that the FACT performance tasks show great promise for use in large-scale, high-stakes testing programs that seek to provide evidence of both the knowledge and skills needed for effective teaching.

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