Exploring the impacts of a teaching performance assessment on Australian initial teacher education programs

In 2014, Australia’s Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group (TEMAG) emphasised the need for a rigorous approach to assessing graduating teachers’ classroom readiness. The Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) revised its Program Standards and Procedures to include a requirement for all pre-service teachers (PSTs) to be assessed using a Teaching Performance Assessment (TPA) as a condition of graduation. The purpose of this chapter is to make visible the experiences of four Australian Initial Teacher Education (ITE) providers as they implemented a TPA for the first time. At the time of the study, the ITE providers were at varying stages of introduction, exploration, and implementation of the TPA. Using a case study approach, the researchers gathered evidence from PSTs and teacher educators to determine whether the introduction of an additional assessment hurdle in the final semester of a teacher education program supported or diminished their sense of agency. The study’s findings suggest that despite some initial reservations about incorporating a high-stakes capstone assessment in the final semester of teacher education programs, teacher educators and PSTs experienced an enhanced sense of agency as they adapted to the new assessment task. Through engagement in professional dialogues and shared understanding of expectations of PSTs at a graduate level, both PSTs and teacher educators perceived unexpected benefits of engaging in the TPA process. While the findings are limited to four ITE providers presented in the study, similar research findings have also been found in the United States of America where TPAs have been in operation for a number of years.