Lost in Transition: Learning to Teach in the Era of Test-Based Accountability

Abstract

Neoliberalism has been increasing its impact on the educational policy landscapes in many nations in a way that leads to emphasize test-based accountability mandates. In the USA, the federal government has been gradually strengthening its accountability control by implementing high-stakes testing and using student performance data for teacher evaluation. Accordingly, teacher education programs are facing intense demands to produce high-quality teachers who are capable of improving student performance. Yet many teacher education programs in the USA tend to emphasize different pedagogy, such as culturally responsive teaching and constructivist methods, that is, often in conflict with the practices favored by the accountability mandates. Acknowledging that this tendency may cause a significant challenge to beginning teachers who are new to the profession, this chapter analyzes the preservice learning and current practices of three American beginning teachers who work in three different levels of accountability contexts: high, moderate, and low accountability. Using the framework of teacher learning by Cochran-Smith and Lytle (1999), it indicates there was a disconnection between the teachers’ preservice education and their current practices, regardless of their accountability contexts and the preparation they went through. It suggests that developing teacher candidates’ ‘inquiry stance’ can be considered as this approach encourages them to lead their professional learning individually and collectively by questioning the taken-for-granted practices and deliberating on ways to improve their practices within and against the challenging accountability landscapes.