Connecticut, ditch the edTPA teacher certification requirement

If you are someone who cares about public education and teacher quality, please join me in calling on the CT State Board of Education to eliminate the edTPA requirement for teacher certification in Connecticut by signing this petition .

This issue is currently being considered in the state legislature (contained in HB363 ), and it has been for the last several years, but it has proven difficult to challenge the multi-billion dollar standardized testing industry, for obvious reasons.

The edTPA is a high-stakes standardized test which costs college students who want to become teachers $300 during their last semester. The edTPA was never supported by the literature, it is widely unpopular among the students in our programs, and it has only made it more difficult to become a certified public school teacher in Connecticut at a time when many schools in our state are facing a hiring crisis.

The ineffectiveness of the edTPA can be summed up as follows: It was once required in most states in the nation, but now it is only required in three: Connecticut, Alabama, and Utah.

Seriously. C’mon Connecticut! Get off the ship before it sinks!

The financial burden placed on our aspiring teachers by the edTPA is unjustifiable. It’s time to stop this bad policy. Let’s stop taking money from college students and giving it to billion dollar standardized testing corporations.

If Connecticut policymakers want to require a standardized performance assessment for teacher candidates, then look no further than to our neighbor: Massachusetts.

Over six years ago, MA developed an evidence-based model for teacher certification ( CAP — Candidate Assessment of Performance ) that comes at no cost to the individual. The CAP is a non-controversial, evidence-based system, which can easily be replicated here in Connecticut. By doing so, we would not only alleviate unnecessary financial stress on our future educators but also ensure a more equitable path towards their teaching career.

There are no valid reasons to maintain this costly and unsupported hurdle for our future teachers.

We urge the CT State Board of Education to take action now: eliminate the edTPA requirement from our teacher certification process in Connecticut.

Please sign this petition. Help put $300 back into the pockets of our future public school teachers.

Jacob Werblow Ph.D. of West Hartford is an educational researcher.