TPD@Scale Briefing Note: Assessment in Large-scale Teacher Professional Development Programs

Executive Summary

• There is a distinct gap in literature concerning assessment and teacher professional development (TPD) programs. Assessment of TPD (i.e. overall TPD program evaluation) and assessment in TPD are often conflated in existing literature though both are crucial in measuring the effectiveness of any TPD program.
• This paper focuses on assessment in TPD which refers to the explicit and specific assessment of and for teachers’ professional learning, observed through changes in their individual beliefs, knowledge, and practices. Assessment in TPD is inherently complex; often lacks clarity; and intersects with various discourses, power relations, and hierarchies.
• Implementing effective assessment of and for teachers’ learning in large scale programs without compromising quality and equity is challenging. But some promising examples from the Global South highlight where assessment at scale can be enhanced using technology. These examples also illustrate typical resource demands for different types of assessment at scale as well as other considerations for policymakers and practitioners.
• Reflective frameworks can provide useful prompts in designing assessment components in at-scale TPD programs taking into account system level considerations, assessment design, feedback loops, teacher recognition/motivation, and evaluation of the assessment design itself.

This paper is one of four TPD@Scale Technical Briefing Papers published by the Foundation for Information Technology Education and Development, Inc. (FIT-ED) for the TPD@Scale Coalition for the Global South.