Evaluating the Psychometric Qualities of the edTPA in the Context of Pre-Service Music Teachers

The Educative Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA) is a widely implemented performance assessment in the United States used to indicate the readiness of pre-service teachers to enter the classroom and the level of pre-service teacher preparation supported by individual colleges of education. The purpose of this study is to investigate the psychometric qualities (i.e., validity and reliability) of the edTPA specifically in the context of pre-service music education candidates. The study was guided by the following questions: 'What is the overall psychometric quality (i.e., validity and reliability) of the edTPA rubric items in the context of pre-service music educators?' (Research Question 1); 'How do the rubric criteria fit the measurement model and how do they vary in difficulty?' (Research Question 2); and (c) 'Do the category response structures for each criterion empirically cooperate to provide meaningful measures?' (Research Question 3). Results indicated overall adequate model-data fit but demonstrated measurement optimization concerns attributed to the category response structures. Implications for pre-service music education training are discussed.