Teacher licensure exams disproportionately fail teacher candidates of color without predicting teaching effectiveness¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2018 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2021: tool and model accuracy changes quickly

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Studies have not found that licensure exams accurately and consistently predict teachers' effectiveness, while performance assessments such as PACT and edTPA show smaller or no pass-rate disparities and predict student gains. → Carver-Thomas 2018

Evidence¶

Carver-Thomas 2018¶

Carver-Thomas, D. (2018). Diversifying the teaching profession: How to recruit and retain teachers of color. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/diversifying-teaching-profession doi:10.54300/559.310

q2 · i? · review · r2

The review reports that even after exam modifications, fail-rate disparities persisted without predictive validity for effectiveness. It adds that a PACT study found no pass-rate disparities and that edTPA score gaps were smaller than on traditional exams.

"Studies have continued to find higher fail rates for prospective teachers of color but have not found that the exams accurately and consistently predict their effectiveness as teachers."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• African American and Latinx teacher candidates fail state certification assessments (Praxis I and II) at much higher rates than white candidates, while performance assessments show smaller disparities. — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• Preservice candidates pass teaching performance assessments at higher rates than intern candidates — related
• Sufficient clinical feedback predicts TPA passing for preservice candidates but not for internship candidates — related
• African American teacher candidates are less likely to receive job offers than white candidates despite similar or better qualifications. — related
• New York City teachers fail state certification examinations at far higher rates than teachers elsewhere in New York State — related
• Michigan repealed its basic skills test requirement after finding it disproportionately excluded people of color from preparation programs — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Racial disparities in TPA pass rates appear in low-performing programs but not in programs with passing rates above 90% — related