May 24, 2017
Teacher candidates sail through national assessment
Assistant Professor of Education Desmond Odugu hoods Briana Majkowski '16 MAT '17. The 2017 cohort of teacher candidates s...
Lake Forest College teacher candidates passed the national Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA) with flying colors, scoring an average 49.3 points, well above the passing score of 35 set by the state of Illinois.
The edTPA gauges whether new teachers are ready to teach. Based on their scores, new Lake Forest College teachers are fully prepared the first day they enter the classroom.
“Our students’ success on the assessment is evidence of how strong the teachers prepared by Lake Forest College continue to be,” said Professor and Chair of Education Rachel Ragland. “We are proud of them all.
Briana Majkowski ’16 MAT ’17 felt “extremely prepared” submitting her edTPA portfolio for scoring. “Along with our student-teaching supervisors, Professor Ragland outlined a timeline to keep us on track, provided meaningful feedback for each piece of the assessment, and was always available and willing to answer questions,” Majkowski said. “I think this was a huge factor that contributed to our cohort’s overall success.”
edTPA is a performance-based assessment that demonstrates teacher candidates’ understanding of teaching and student learning during their student teaching experience. The resulting electronic portfolio is scored by nationally trained scorers in each specific grade level and discipline.
Gabi Caputo MAT ’17 was confident submitting her edTPA portfolio, which demonstrates proficiency of three key teaching tasks—evidence of planning, instructing, and assessment.
“The education department at Lake Forest College has scaffolded its courses to include practice tasks, where we receive feedback to use during the actual edTPA,” Caputo said. “Additionally, we received feedback on drafts of our edTPA tasks from our student teaching supervisors and the department chair before submitting them. Both the practice scaffolded into the program and the formative feedback from our professors were invaluable for our success.”
Caputo and Majkowski were among a group of 16 bachelor’s and master’s degree students who took and passed the assessment this year:
- Charles Alvarado ’16 MAT 17
- Allison Brand ’17
- Gabi Caputo MAT ’17
- Ellie Duerst ’17
- Sophie Faylor ’17
- Gelacio, Araceli ’17
- Adriana Giannelli ’16 MAT ’17
- Matt Hoshaw ’17
- Jan Krzeszowski ’16 MAT ’17
- Briana Majkowski ’16 MAT ’17
- Modloff, Amanda ’17
- Danielle Muci ’17
- Alexa Parmley ’16 MAT ’17
- Nate Rhodes MAT ’17
- Marlena Udden ’17
- Danny Zamudio ’17
The graduates were feted at the annual student teaching program completion celebration and hooding ceremony for MAT graduates, held for the first time at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Robert D. Krebs, chairman of the College’s Board of Trustees.
