In 1992, after INTASC released its model core standards and achieved some consensus around what beginning teachers should know and be able to do, states turned their attention to how they might assess that knowledge and skill. They determined that

• all licensing tests should be standards-based
• a single licensing test is inadequate in that it will not provide enough evidence of a candidate’s capabilities for a permanent teaching license
• states must assess not only what a candidate knows, but if they can teach

The states recommended a candidate pass at least three licensing tests before they are issued a permanent license, as opposed to an initial or provisional license. These three tests include

a) a test of content knowledge (math, science, etc.)
b) a test of teaching knowledge  (pedagogy, etc.) 
c) an assessment of actual teaching 

The first two tests on content and teaching knowledge are to be used by the state at the end of formal preparation, as the gateway to receiving a provisional license covering the first few years of teaching. (The number of years varies state by state.)  The third test, namely a portfo­lio, is to be used at the end of the first or second year of teaching, and will be the final evidence to issue an ongoing or permanent license.

Multi-State Portfolio Development Project

From 1994-2000, INTASC oversaw the Performance Assessment Development Project (PADP), a multi-state (15 states) effort to develop reliable, valid, and fair performance-based assessments for licensing beginning teachers and state-wide support systems for beginning teachers who are required to participate in this assessment.  The immediate goal of the project was to produce prototype assessments in the form of portfolios that could be used to evaluate a new teacher’s performance against today’s more rigorous professional standards. 

INTASC began its assessment development work by asking committees of experienced teachers and teacher educators to translate content-specific standards into a classroom-based assessment design. Based on multiple field tests, the committees designed and revised portfolio handbooks, support materials, and scoring systems.  The PADP focused on assessments designed to adequately portray a candidate’s ability to perform in the classroom—teaching portfolios.  Therefore, each assessment is fully grounded in the practice of beginning teachers and their students. 

INTASC’s Teacher Portfolio

The form and structure of any portfolio varies according to its purposes and audiences.  A teacher portfolio is a collection of documents that tell the story of a candidate’s teaching as it develops over a period of time. The documents become evidence that demonstrate whether a teacher meets or exceeds the INTASC standards for beginning teachers.  Experienced teachers are trained as scorers to examine the evidence in a portfolio and make a judgment about the quality of a candidate’s teaching.  The portfolio is a way for a teacher to document not only what they and their students do but also how they think and make decisions as a teacher.  The documents used as evidence include

• materials used in instruction
• examples of student work
• videotapes of teaching and learning in a candidate’s classroom
• written records of activities and assessments in a candidate’s classroom
• written commentaries that explain a candidate’s thinking about teaching and learning