Prairie State Wire

Illinois State Board of Education, Teacher Performance Assessment Task Force met July 29.

Here are the minutes provided by the task force:

I. Call to Order/Roll Call:

Dr. Jason Helfer called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m. and asked meeting facilitator Delaney Workman to conduct a roll call. A quorum was not present.

Members Present:

Senator Tom Bennett

Dr. Vito Dipinto

Dr. Marie Donovan

Representative Amy Elik

Dr. Andrea Evans

Lori Grant

Gloria Helin

Dr. Lori James-Gross

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. Kathryn Chval

Elizabeth Dampf

Shauna Ejeh

Shannon Fehrholz

Jessica Handy

Katrina Hankison

Dr. Terry Husband

Bob Langman

Dr. Christie McIntyre

Erika Mendez

Senator Laura Murphy

Dr. Abir Othman

Claire Siejka

Dr. Mary Ticknor

Others Present:

Meeting facilitator: Delaney Workman

Rae Clementz

Madelyn Cullick

Leslie Ellis

Dave Fangmeier

Emily Fox

Angela Foxall

Sara Kaufman

Jen Kirmes

Ashley Mosely

Jim O’Connor

Julie Peters

Rob Potempa

Sierra Ryan

Omar Salem

Emma Winn

II. Approval of Minutes

Dr. Helfer explained to the members that there could be no action taken on the minutes. A vote cannot be taken without a quorum present.

III. Public Comment

Dr. Helfer called for any public comment. Sara Kaufman, retired educator and cooperating teacher shared that she has heard many concerns from student teachers that the edTPA is burdensome. She states that the time, money, and difficulty level contributed to student fears when taking the edTPA. She suggested that the task force include feedback from cooperating teachers in its final recommendation. Additionally, she brought up the idea of having a set of rubrics that the candidate would be scored on from their first clinical experience to their final student teaching experience.

IV. New Business

Dr. Helfer moved on to new business and reviewed the structure of the meeting. As he provided the overview, Ms. Steans commented on the prior meeting minutes, particularly the breakout room summaries. She shared that her group agreed that cooperating teachers needed to be involved in the evaluation process. The minutes currently reflect that there was no agreement in this area. Ms. Workman said that she would edit the minutes to reflect the change.

Dr. Helfer introduced the breakout room facilitators and explained their role within the meeting. He then allowed Ms. Workman to explain the breakout rooms to members. Ms. Workman stated that the groupings were created heterogeneously; meaning members with different task force affiliations were in groups together. She explained that there would be a facilitator leading the discussions and a scribe taking notes in each room. She then reviewed the key questions that would guide the discussion within the breakout rooms. The questions are as follows:

Consistency

In developing a recommendation for a teacher performance assessment (TPA) in Illinois:

• What should serve as the structure for a TPA (e.g., instructional planning, instructional delivery, and the like)?

• What aspects of a TPA are most important to ensure consistency (e.g., all institutions use the same instrument and evaluation rubrics, required training for evaluators, and the like)?

• What are different ways to consider the notion of “consistent implementation” to:

o Reasonably ensure “Day 1 readiness” to serve as a teacher of record?

o Support the development of the novice teacher?

o Inform educator preparation program (EPP) implementation?

o Serve as part of a thoughtful and well-rounded licensure system?

o Support of/advocacy for teaching as a profession?

Cost

In developing a recommendation for a TPA in Illinois:

• In what ways should cost (e.g., monetary and “human capital”) be considered in the identification of the “form” of a TPA in Illinois?

• In what ways can/should cost be “controlled” for the teacher candidate, cooperating teacher, school districts, university/college program faculty, and college/university supervisors?

A summary of breakout room discussions is included in Appendix A.

After the breakout room meetings concluded, Dr. Helfer asked group members if they wished to share about the discussions that occurred in their breakout rooms. Dr. Michelle Stacy began by sharing that her group discussed having a rubric-based assessment connected to the Danielson framework and the Illinois Professional Educator Standards (IPES). She explained that her group emphasized including the cooperating teacher’s voice during the assessment evaluation. Her group also said that the cost of the assessment should come from state appropriations rather than candidates, EPPs, or school districts.

Ms. Steans added that the group also realized that the notion of consistency is a difficult aspect of this process that requires careful consideration.

Representative Stuart said her group's conversation was similar. She emphasized that the cost of the assessment should not be burdensome to the student teacher, EPP, or school district. Another point of conversation from this group was that the standards need to be set to determine the level of proficiency necessary for a first-year teacher. She also said that the assessment should include student behavior. Her explanation of this is that if all other parts of the assessment (instructional planning, delivery, assessment, etc.) are done well, then student behavior tends to fall in line.

Senator Bennett shared that his group noted that EPPs are already using assessment tools to evaluate candidate performance and wondered if there is a way to incorporate those tools into the final assessment. He also said it is important to keep administrators in mind when making recommendations.

Dr. Donovan said that her group agreed with using the Danielson framework and IPES to guide the final assessment. Her group also agreed that the cost should be covered by state appropriations and should not be burdensome to the candidates, EPPs, or school districts. She then asked the members if there was consensus among all groups that the state should shoulder the cost of the assessment.

Ms. Steans said that she feels the group members can all agree on that. She then reemphasized that the consistency component is very important and requires careful consideration and that it will likely be costly.

Senator Bennett shared that many universities are using their own rubrics and models that the task force could potentially pull from and utilize when creating the final recommendation.

Ms. Steans shared that though it is possible, there is not consistency among programs and that the models at each institution vary greatly from another.

Senator Bennett said he was aware of the differences between programs but reviewing their assessments might serve as a good starting point.

Dr. Helfer provided members with their next steps and wrapped up the meeting.

V. Adjournment

Dr. Helfer asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Dr. Donovan motioned for adjournment. Ms. Steans 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/20240729-Minutes.pdf