Costs and benefits of accountability: a case study of credential candidates' performance assessment

The claims of the Delandshere & Arens (2001) study support the notion that the authority of standards and the standardization of teacher preparation without a shared, common vision of what characterizes good teacher education may lead teacher educators to adopt a narrow or reductionist approach to the complex challenge of teaching and learning. There is evidence to support that strong teacher preparation programs have the following features: a shared vision of good teaching, well-defined standards of practice and performance, extended clinical experiences, strong relationships between the university and partner-schools, and extensive use of case study methods, teacher research, performance assessments and portfolio examinations that tie teacher learning at the university with their teaching practice in the schools (Darling-Hammond, et al, 2005).