As noted in the December
2014 blogpost, the NYSTCE exams, including the ALST, EAS, CST, and
edTPA, are examples of trailing indicators of success.
The intent of increased rigor of these exams is to produce more
professionally competent teachers. Success
with the content of the ALST, EAS, CST, and edTPA exams will require the
teacher preparation program’s leading indicators of success provide optimal
opportunities for professional development.
The leading indicators cannot be content alone but rather exhibit a balance
between supporting development of the teacher candidate’s pedagogy, promoting
active inquiry, and engaging faculty across the disciplines.
During
the series, this writer will present one NYSTCE exam each month, identifying the
primary purpose and framework of that exam.
Each post in the series will present five systemic activities for
supporting teacher candidates. Lastly, apropos
for the content of the highlighted NYSTCE exam, links to articles will be provided to encourage instructors and their students to follow the Buffalo (2014) template
for developing a text set. Thereafter, through
application of the formative assessment process, the teacher candidates’ will
practice their critical reading, professional writing, and quantitative
literacy skills while strengthening their teacher competencies.
The
five activities below address the needs of a student body that exhibits
difficulty with analytical and quantitative literacy skill development. A campus-wide approach to elevating higher
order thinking skills across disciplines efficiently and effectively promotes
sustained success. For the most part, the suggested activities
provide rich opportunities for mitigating deficits in analytical
and quantitative
literacy skill development. However, these
solutions do not require faculty to develop additional skills. Rather, a college-wide faculty embrace of
these activities simply makes critical thinking, academic comprehension, and
persuasive writing, an explicit expectation within the institute of higher
education. Collectively, these
suggestions embrace the metaphor that a rising tide raises all ships. This is a win/win habit (Covey, 1989), beneficial for all stakeholders. By embracing the
following five activities, faculty become effectively engaged in the efficient
process of student skill development:
- Opportunities for Analytical Literacy: Assignments requiring comprehension of, and written response to, point/counterpoint arguments, text sets, or class debates.
- Promoting Quantitative Literacy: Do Now interpretation of graphs and charts that begin class sessions.
- Addition of a writing dimension to any written assignment rubric thereby clarifying high writing expectations.
- Referrals to the Writing Center: As soon as a student exhibits less than college-level writing.
- Requiring evidence of the utilization of proofreading/editing strategies prior to submission of written assignments: Inclusion of a Grammarly.edu score of >95 (screen shot) as an appendix to written assignments. Grammarly is now free with Google Chrome.
This
month highlights the Educating All Students (EAS) Exam. Administration of the EAS is through computer-based testing (CBT). Crucially, CBT may be a new format for many teacher
candidates. Therefore, it is wise for
the teacher candidate to access the computer-based testing tutorials prior to the day of test
administration. This planning for
success will mitigate his or her stress and mental overload on the day of the actual
exam. An EAS Study
Guide is available through the NYSTCE website. Additionally, an interactive practice test with
comprehensive feedback on the teacher candidate’s performance. Teacher preparation programs can
support their teacher candidates with this opportunity by purchasing ALST and
EAS practice in bulk through Pearson: estestvoucher@pearson.com
The EAS exam consists of forty selected-response
(multiple-choice) questions and three constructed-response assignments. Each selected-response question has four
answer choices. Teacher candidates are
encouraged to respond with the one best answer and to answer all questions. When unsure of an answer, it is better to make
an informed guess than not to answer a question at all. The teacher candidate has a total of 135
minutes to complete the entire EAS exam. The teacher candidate should therefore
carefully allocate his or her time to complete the entire exam within the session. Based on the test framework,
the forty selected-response
(multiple-choice) questions measure five distinct teacher candidate competencies:
1. Diverse Student Populations
2. English Language Learners (ELL)
3.
Students with Disabilities and Other
Special Learning Needs
4.
Teacher Responsibilities
5.
School-Home Relationships
Minimal
performance expectations were established for each of the five areas. Related to diverse student populations, the
competent teacher candidate “understands the characteristics, strengths, and
needs of all student populations and effectively uses knowledge of diversity
within the school and the community to address the needs of all students, to
create a sense of community among students, and to promote students' appreciation
of and respect for all students in their diversity” (NYSED, 2014, p. 201-2).
Related
to English language learners, the competent teacher candidate “understands the
characteristic s, strengths, and needs of English language learners and
effectively uses this knowledge to assist in developing their language and
literacy skills and promoting their achievement of learning standards in all content
areas” (NYSED, 2014, p. 201-4).
Related
to students with disabilities and other special learning needs, the competent
teacher candidate “understands the characteristics, strengths, and needs of students
with disabilities and other special learning needs and effectively uses this knowledge
to help students reach their highest levels of achievement and independence” (NYSED,
2014, p. 201-5).
Related
to teacher responsibilities, the competent teacher candidate “understands
rights and responsibilities in situations involving interactions between
teachers and students, parents/guardians, community members, colleagues, school
administrators, and other school personnel” (NYSED, 2014, p. 201-6).
Related
to school-home relationships, the competent teacher candidate “understands
effective strategies for promoting positive and productive relationships and
interactions between the school and home to enhance student learning” NYSED,
2014, p. 201-6).
As
with the ALST, critical reading and professional writing efficiency and
effectiveness is required for successful completion of the EAS constructed-response
assignment.
The need to exhibit command of three specific performance characteristics
guide the scoring of responses to the EAS exam’s constructed-response
assignment. These three performance characteristics
include:
1.
Content, as measured by the “extent to
which the response meets the requirements of the assignment” (NYSED Study Guide,
2014).
2.
Analysis,
synthesis, and application of pedagogical principles as measured by the “extent to which the response
demonstrates understanding of and engagement with the provided exhibits” (NYSED
Study Guide, 2014).
3.
Command of evidence, as measured by
the “extent
to which the response presents relevant support”
(NYSED
Study Guide, 2014).
As
noted in the December
2014 blogpost, initial NYSTCE results indicate the need to strengthen teacher
candidates’ academic and quantitative literacy skills (Thompson, Case, Alvarado-Santos, 2014). To address this
need, Buffalo (2014) advocated for the development and utilization of text
sets. To promote this strategy, she provided
the following template for developing and responding to a text set:
Assignment
1: Use Passages A and B to respond to the following assignment.
In
a response of approximately 100–200 words, identify which author presents a
more compelling argument. The teacher
candidate’s response must:
· outline the
specific claims made in each passage;
· evaluate the
validity, relevance, and sufficiency of evidence used to support each claim;
· and include
examples from both passages to support the evaluation.
The
teacher candidate’s response should be written for an audience of educated
adults. With the exception of
appropriately identified quotations and paraphrases from the sources provided, the
teacher candidate’s writing must be his or her own. The final version of the
teacher candidate’s response should conform to the conventions of edited
American English.
Assignment
2: Use Passage B and the Graphic to respond to the following
assignment.
In
a response of approximately 100–200 words, explain how the information
presented in the graphic can be integrated with the author's central argument. The teacher candidate’s response must:
· explain how
specific information presented in the graphic
either supports or counters the author's claims, reasoning, and evidence with
regard to identified theme; and
· include examples
from the passage and the graphic to
support the teacher candidate’s explanation.
The
teacher candidate’s response should be written for an audience of educated
adults. With the exception of appropriately identified quotations and
paraphrases from the provided sources, the written response must be his or her
own. The final version of the response should conform to the conventions of
edited American English.
Assignment
3: Use Passages A and B and the Graphic to respond to the following assignment.
Provided probe: How does……?
In
an essay in the teacher candidate’s own words of approximately 400–600 words,
present a fully developed argument that introduces and supports a claim
assessing the benefits and risks of …
The
teacher candidate’s argument must:
· include a
knowledgeable claim that demonstrates an understanding of the topic;
· use valid
reasoning that draws on and extends the arguments in the sources provided;
· supports the teacher
candidate’s claim with relevant and sufficient evidence from all three sources; and
· anticipate and
address at least one counterclaim.
The
teacher candidate’s essay should be written for an audience of educated adults.
He or she must maintain an appropriate
style and tone and use clear and precise language throughout the written
response. With the exception of
appropriately identified quotations and paraphrases from the sources provided, the
must be the teacher candidate’s own. The
final version of the essay should conform to the conventions of edited American
English.
To help teacher candidates develop the competencies required to satisfy
minimal expectations of the EAS, faculty and their students can access the
following links to articles and the supplemental flow chart of the Jung and
Guskey (2010) model. Based on the topic
linking the two articles: Teaching and evaluating exceptional learners with
disabilities, the instructors and their students can follow the Buffalo (2014)
template for developing a text set.
Thereafter, through application of the formative assessment process, the
teacher candidates’ will practice their critical reading, professional writing,
and quantitative literacy skills while strengthening their teacher
competencies.
Text set articles:
Text set articles:
Jung, L.A. &
Guskey, T.R (2010) Grading exceptional learners. Education Leadership:67 (5)
pp31-35. Retrieved from:
Related flow chart: http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/journals/ed_lead/el201002_jung.pdf
Voltz, D.L., Sims, M.J., &
Nelson, B. (2010) Connecting teachers, students, and standards:
Strategies
for success in diverse and inclusive
classrooms (Chapter 1).
Arlington,
VA: ASCD. Retrieved from: http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/109011/chapters/Introduction@_Teaching_in_Diverse,_Standards-Based_Classrooms.aspx
Anderson, C.J. (January 18, 2015) NYSTCE tests: The educating all students (EAS) exam
[Web log post] Retrieved from http://www.ucan-cja.blogspot.com/
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