Linking Assessment and Instruction: Teacher Preparation and Professional Development. TQ Connection Issue Paper

The purpose of this Issue Paper is to provide a framework and justification for effective ways that teachers can collect and use assessment data to make instructional decisions. This framework is provided as an indication of what effective linking of assessment data to instructional decisions "ought" to look like--rather than a summary or survey of current practices. The framework and respective Innovation Configuration for Linking Assessment and Instruction in Teacher Preparation and Professional Development (provided in the Appendix, pages 31-34) are primarily designed to provide a blueprint for preservice teacher preparation; however, they also may be used as an evaluation rubric or development guide for inservice professional development. Although many schools and districts may not currently have in place the practices discussed in this Issue Paper, these practices are strongly endorsed by the requirements of the 2002 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)--also known as the No Child Left Behind Act--and the competitive grants to states that were made available through the Race to the Top Fund. This paper begins with a discussion of why assessment and instruction should be linked. It continues with an overview of the innovation configuration, describing essential components in preservice and inservice teacher training to identify the skills and competencies that teachers need to make sound decisions about using assessment information to improve instruction. Next, the major points within the innovation configuration are provided, with a rationale for their importance and elaboration of some of their core characteristics. Last, recommendations are provided regarding how the components of the innovation configuration might be included in teacher preparation and professional development practices. (Contains 2 figures.)