Performance‐based assessment of biology teachers: Promises and pitfalls

BioTAP, the biology component of the Teacher Assessment Project, explored three modes of performance‐based teacher assessment: portfolios, simulations, and portfolio‐based simulations. Assessments were designed by a team of university‐based researchers and classroom teachers. Assessments were completed by 15 high school biology teachers from a variety of teaching contexts. Portfolios are defined as collections of evidence gathered on site, such as videotapes of instruction. The portfolios had four sections: planning, instruction, assessment, and professional development. Simulation exercises are replications of critical tasks of teaching in a standardized setting, for example, an interview about adapting a textbook. Portfolio‐based simulations take advantage of the contextual aspects of portfolios and the standardization of simulations, for example, an interview on student misconceptions about the laboratory experience that was presented in the portfolio. Using a holistic process, teachers were rated in categories derived from the five core propositions of teacher knowledge and skill proposed by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Teachers reported that the assessments had a high degree of fidelity to teaching and provided stimuli to improving teaching. The description presented in this article provides a foundation for those who wish to advance the research in science teacher assessment.