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The Urban Review

, Volume 50, Issue 2, pp 323–343 | Cite as

Winter is Coming: Forecasting the Impact of edTPA on Black Teachers and Teachers of Color

  • Emery Petchauer
  • Anica G. Bowe
  • Julene Wilson
Article
First Online:

Abstract

This article traces how high-stakes teacher exams have shaped the career entry opportunities for Black teachers and makes recommendations for the emerging era of high-stakes performances exams brought about by the edTPA. We begin our analysis in the 1980s and the testing for competencies movement during which scholars critiqued the rising use of high-stakes standardized licensure exams as gatekeepers into teacher education programs. Although the most severe predictions from this crisis moment did not come to fruition, we ask what it can tell us today about exams like the edTPA and how it may impact Black teachers. We outline three findings from the emerging edTPA scholarship in response to this question: (1) mixed and alarming results from edTPA racial bias reviews, (2) institutional resources and unequal distribution, and (3) how the exam may constrain or permit justice. We make recommendations for teacher education programs and for scholars conducting research at the intersection of edTPA and racial bias.

Keywords

edTPA High-stakes tests Licensure Racial diversity African American teachers 
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© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2018

Authors and Affiliations

  • Emery Petchauer
    • 1
  • Anica G. Bowe
    • 2
  • Julene Wilson
    • 3
  1. 1.Departments of Teacher Education and EnglishMichigan State UniversityEast LansingUSA
  2. 2.RochesterOakland UniversityRochesterUSA
  3. 3.East LansingMichigan State UniversityEast LansingUSA

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