Consensus and dissensus in mentor teachers' judgments of readiness to teach

Deciding whether a teacher candidate is ready to teach is a significant judgment about which little is known. In this study, Social Judgment Theory's lens model is used to analyse grade decisions made by 18 primary school mentor teachers who were provided with four vignettes of fictional teacher candidates' practicum performance. Mentor teachers' grade decisions, and their reasoning, showed evidence of some consistency but also significant dissensus. We argue that such dissensus is inevitable in complex social decision-making and therefore needs to be used productively to help make more reliable judgments. •Study focuses on judgment of teacher candidates' readiness to teach.•Judgments made against vignettes of teacher candidates' practicum performance.•Some consistency but also significant dissensus displayed by the mentor teachers.•The variability predicted by SJT resides in both the judges and the context.•Dissensus needs to be used productively to help make more reliable judgments.