Chapter 1 Tensions: Negotiating the challenges of accountability and accreditation

Abstract

Brigham Young University has been consistently accredited by National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) since 1954. Our accreditation reports of past years focused on input information – general goals, complicated organization diagrams, and clinical performance assessments. When NCATE moved from inputs to outcomes with evidence grounded in measurable data, we worked collaboratively among teacher education faculty, faculty from the arts and sciences colleges, and public school partners to overhaul our assessment system and design new instruments. Our current accreditation reports include course and clinical assessments aligned with specific program outcomes, statistical charts detailing the levels at which these outcomes are being met, and documentation of programmatic decisions based on the findings of our assessments. Moving from input descriptions to output evidence was a painful process. However, we have come to appreciate the usefulness and value of our experiences, the tools that emerged, and the new decision-making processes we now engage in. This chapter is a recounting of our frustrations and the lessons we learned as we moved toward a culture of data-based decision-making.

Citation

Wentworth, N. and Erickson, L.B. (2010), "Chapter 1 Tensions: Negotiating the challenges of accountability and accreditation", Erickson, L.B. and Wentworth, N. (Ed.) Tensions in Teacher Preparation: Accountability, Assessment, and Accreditation (Advances in Research on Teaching, Vol. 12), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-3687(2010)0000012004