consideration is how to decide which subjects should have customized assessments . State policymakers have an important responsibility to ensure that licensure assessments are implemented with careful deliberation and provide useful data about the performance of teachers .
• Tennessee should stay on track to require all teaching candidates in Tennessee to take and pass edTPA to be recommended for licensure , beginning in January 2019 . The state should set the passing qualifying score to 42 , as this score is the nationally recommended professional performance standard . The state should also continue to monitor other performance assessments and the potential for their use in Tennessee .
• By January 2018 the TDOE should release an implementation guide that contains statedeveloped resources for EPPs , especially as it relates to curriculum redesign , breaking down edTPA rubrics , and communicating about edTPA requirements to school districts ; including security and confidentiality of video recordings of candidate teaching . The guide should highlight and draw upon promising practices at EPPs that have already been implementing edTPA since 2010 as a model for other institutions .
• The TDOE , Tennessee Higher Education Communication , the Tennessee Board of Regents , and the University of Tennessee system should collaborate to provide guidance for EPPs to support students in covering the cost of edTPA — especially for Pell grant-eligible teachers in training .
• In addition to use of edTPA as a measure of pedagogy , the state should initially develop custom licensure assessments for reading , secondary and middle grades math , and spanish since the TDOE has identified the greatest need for more rigorous , better-aligned assessments in these three subject areas . Development of custom content assessments for these three subjects should begin in January 2017 with a target implementation date of January 2019 . The TDOE and the SBE should also identify other subjects that will need custom assessments by January 2017 .
• SCORE encourages the SBE to consult with states that have implemented custom , statealigned licensure assessments to create a reciprocity policy that does not create barriers to hire students from out-of-state .
Increase staff capacity within the Tennessee Department of Education
To ensure that educator preparation policies are implemented with fidelity , SCORE recommends increasing staff at TDOE within the educator preparation division .
The TDOE is responsible for implementing all educator preparation policies in the state , including licensure , initial program review , and continuing approval of educator preparation providers and their programs . The department currently has just four people assigned to support all this important work . The department ’ s initial work to create stronger relationships between EPPs and districts and increase the diversity of the teaching population will also require more dedicated staff time .
The TDOE needs increased capacity within the educator preparation division and increased funding for additional positions during the
33