New Book Captures Educators’ Insights on Measuring Teacher Quality

New Book Captures Educators’ Insights on Measuring Teacher Quality Contact: Tom Ewing 609-683-2899 mediacontacts@ets.org Princeton, N.J. (December 22, 2008) — Educational Testing Service (ETS) gathered hundreds of leading researchers, authors, teacher educators and policymakers to examine the critical issues surrounding assessment of teacher quality in 2007. Now a new book has captured their provocative, illuminating insights on this challenging task. The book, Measurement Issues and Assessment for Teaching Quality, was edited by ETS Distinguished Researcher Drew Gitomer and published by Sage Books, Nov. 2008. It provides an in-depth examination of three thematic issues: Measuring Teaching Quality for Professional Entry, Measuring Teaching Quality in Practice and Measuring Teaching Quality in Context. “The key message that comes through in so many of the chapters is that the goal of assessing teaching quality is not simply to serve an accounting function,” explains Gitomer. “It has to satisfy a higher criterion — to improve educational quality." The book focuses on the set of skills, knowledge and attributes that teachers bring to the classroom as well as the highly complex social system in which teaching occurs. “The ultimate quality of teaching depends on the interactions of teachers and students within this complex system,” continues Gitomer. “Within such a framework, the goal of assessment is not simply to assess the quality of the teacher, but the quality of the teaching, with the express purpose of improving teaching and student learning.” Section one, “Measuring Teaching Quality for Professional Entry,” features the following topics and experts: * Measuring Teacher Quality for Professional Entry Suzanne M. Wilson, Chair and Professor, Department of Teacher Education, Michigan State University * Hiring for Teacher Quality at the District Level: Lessons From The New Teacher Project Timothy Daly, President, The New Teacher Project David Keeling, Director of Communications, The New Teacher Project * Professionalizing the Occupation of Teaching in a Time of Transition Alan D. Bersin, Chairman, San Diego Regional Airport Authority Mary Vixie Sandy, Executive Director of the Cooperative Research and Extension Service for Schools (CRESS) Center in the School of Education at the University of California * Broadening the Vision of Professional Entry — Synthesis of Section I Ida M. Lawrence, Senior Vice President, Research and Development, ETS Drew Gitomer, Distinguished Researcher, ETS Section two, “Measuring Teaching Quality in Practice,” features the following topics and experts: * Measuring Teacher Quality in Practice Deborah Loewenberg Ball, Dean, School of Education, University of Michigan Heather C. Hill, Associate Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education * The Policy Uses and Policy Validity of Value-Added and Other Teacher Quality Measures Douglas N. Harris, Assistant Professor of Educational Policy Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison * Approximations of Teacher Quality and Effectiveness: View From the State Education Agency Mitchell D. Chester, Massachusetts Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Susan Tave Zelman, Senior Vice President for Education and Children’s Content, Corporation for Public Broadcasting * Measuring Teacher and Teaching Quality: Considerations and Next Steps — Synthesis of Section II Stephen Lazer, Vice President Assessment Development, ETS Section three, “Measuring Teaching Quality in Context,” features the following topics and experts: * Mapping the Terrain of Teacher Quality Arturo Pacheco, Professor of Educational Research, University of Texas at El Paso * Measuring Instruction for Teacher Learning Mary Kay Stein, Professor and Senior Scientist, University of Pittsburgh Lindsay Clare Matsumura, Assistant Professor, Learning Policy Center, University of Pittsburgh * Opportunity to Teach: Teacher Quality in Context Gloria Ladson-Billings, Professor of Urban Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison * Crisp Measurement and Messy Context: A Clash of Assumptions and Metaphors — Synthesis of Section III Drew Gitomer, Distinguished Researcher, ETS The volume closes with a final chapter: * Assessment of Teaching or Assessment for Teaching? Reflections on the Invitational Conference Lee S. Shulman, President Emeritus, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching “Raising the quality of teaching in American schools stands above all other issues, and is unmistakably the public’s top priority in education reform,” says Kurt Landgraf, ETS President and CEO. “Ironically, teacher quality also registers as the federal government’s biggest challenge in reforming education. We hope the publication of this book, which combines the insights of the experts gathered at the ETS Invitational Conference, will inform the debate and contribute to the science of measuring teaching quality.” Details and ordering information on Measurement Issues and Assessment for Teaching Quality, can be found at http://www.sagepub.com/booksProdDesc.nav?prodId=Book232324&. About ETS At nonprofit ETS, we advance quality and equity in education for people worldwide by creating assessments based on rigorous research. ETS serves individuals, educational institutions and government agencies by providing customized solutions for teacher certification, English-language learning, and elementary, secondary and post-secondary education, as well as conducting education research, analysis and policy studies. Founded in 1947, ETS develops, administers and scores more than 50 million tests annually — including the TOEFL® and TOEIC® tests, the GRE® test and The Praxis Series™ assessments — in more than 180 countries, at over 9,000 locations worldwide.