Texas Tech University

Texas Tech webinar panel discussion to examine pros, cons of edTPA

Robert Stein

February 11, 2019

EdTPA classroom image

The webinar on Feb. 26 will examine the role of edTPA in developing effective teachers and address some issues critics have highlighted.

Texas Tech University College of Education is hosting a Feb. 26 webinar panel discussion about edTPA, the oft-criticized assessment for teacher preparation that has rapidly become a licensure requirement in several states and is being considered by Texas.

Titled "Policy in Practice: The Role of edTPA in Creating a Strong Teacher Workforce," the webinar will examine the role of edTPA in developing effective teachers and address some issues critics have highlighted, including cultural bias, inconsistent scoring and questionable usefulness in states with high rates of alternative teacher certification.

The webinar, which is open and free to the public, runs from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. CST. The panel discussion will last an hour and will be followed by an audience question-and-answer period.

"As edTPA continues to be adopted by states and institutions, it's important to take stock of what we know about the implementation and impact of edTPA, both from academic researchers and practitioners in teacher education," said Jessica Gottlieb, an assistant professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction who has published edTPA-related research and is moderating the discussion.

Panelists include:

  • Kevin Bastian, senior research associate in the Department of Public Policy at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and associate director of the Education Policy Initiative at Carolina (EPIC)
  • Dan Goldhaber, director of the Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER) at the American Institutes for Research and the director of the Center for Education Data & Research (CEDR) at the University of Washington
  • Doug Hamman, chair of the Texas Tech University Teacher Education Department
  • Charles Peck, professor at the University of Washington College of Education
  • Arthi Rao, professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Education
  • Martin Winchester, deputy commissioner of educator support at Texas Education Agency

The discussion will be hosted on Zoom, a free web-conferencing platform. Viewers can join by video or phone. Please register online.

The event is a project of faculty members affiliated with Texas Tech's new educational leadership policy Ph.D. program. The fully online degree program is designed to help students become critically engaged policymakers who can create, enact and evaluate educational policy.