HB 3354 Tilts Scales for Evaluation of Teacher Candidates

HB 3354 VOTE: NO
Signed into Law by Gov Brown on 07/27/21
Status (overview) of bill: https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2021R1/Measures/Overview/HB3354

This bill directs Teacher Standards and Practices Commission to adopt standards for educator preparation programs relating to evaluations of teacher candidates. Requires using multiple measures and at least one measure that is locally determined having the effect of manipulating scores towards more diverse underrepresented candidates.

Fiscal Responsibility
Impact is estimated by Teacher Standards and Practices Commission at $470,288 general fund.

Limited Government
Oregon currently uses the edTPA assessment to evaluate candidates for licensure. EdTPA is a performance-based assessment created by the Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE) at Stanford University as a more practical assessment than other teacher preparation and licensing exams. It is a subject-specific assessment that includes versions for 28 teaching fields featuring a common architecture focused on three tasks: Planning, Instruction, and Assessment. It was designed to be more equitable than other assessments. However, because EdWeek reports that African-American teacher candidates scored on average 2.4 points lower than white candidates, this bill determines there must still be notable inequities in scores among demographic subgroups and not a reflection of the work submitted. Eighteen states have a policy in place requiring an assessment and approving edTPA. Those states are Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Washington. Three states have created their own licensure exams: Massachusetts, New Mexico, and Missouri. Other states use the PRAXIS exams to evaluate teacher licensure candidates. HB 3354A requires the use of multiple measures to evaluate licensure candidates and includes at least one locally determined measure adopted by the educator preparation provider.