Adopting the edTPA: Cross-systems processes and decisions in Wisconsin

Adoption of the edTPA as part of new teacher licensing and/or program approval requirements has created heated discussions among teacher educators. Among the discussion topics is the supposition that state-level bureaucrats have been the sole source of the decision to require the edTPA, with little input from the preparation programs. This article describes how a university– state agency workgroup, in response to administrative code requirements, investigated various performance measures, identified and discussed many of the controversies, and then recommended adoption of the Teacher Performance Assessment (TPA/edTPA) to fulfill two assessment roles: (a) candidate licensing and (b) teacher education program evaluation. Also included is a discussion of the factors that led to the associated decisions.