Abstract
While school leaders have long sought a definitive tool for assessing teacher affect and dispositions, a practical method for measurement has proven elusive. This book presents a conceptual framework that helps educators understand what "appropriate dispositions" are, why it is important to measure them, and how to implement an assessment process in their schools and districts. It introduces the authors' research-based five-step Disposition Assessment Aligned with Teacher Standards (DAATS) model, combining user-friendly definitions and guiding questions with an examination of assessment design, planning, instrument development, decision making, and data management. Linked to national standards for best practice set by National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC), and National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), the DAATS approach offers: (1) A step-by-step implementation sequence with worksheets and training activities; (2) Examples from preservice and inservice settings; and (3) A comprehensive assessment system when used with the Competency Assessment Aligned with Teacher Standards (CAATS) model for assessing teacher competency (knowledge and skills). The text offers a field-tested, valid, and reliable process for dispositions assessment may be used by schools of education, teacher induction programs, and preservice and inservice training. Following lists of tables, figures, boxes and abbreviations and acronyms, forward (Richard C. Kunkel), preface, acknowledgments, and authors' information, the book is divided into nine chapters: (1) What Are Dispositions and Why Should We Measure Them? (2) Methods for Assessing Dispositions; (3) DAATS Step 1: Assessment Design Inputs; (4) DAATS Step 2: Planning With a Continuing Eye on Valid Assessment Decisions; (5) DAATS Step 3: Instrument Development; (6) DAATS Step 4: Decision Making and Data Management; (7) DAATS Step 5: Credible Data; (8) Using Teacher Scores for Continuous Improvement; and (9) Legal Integrity. The book concludes with Resource I. DAATS Steps and Worksheets and Resource II. INTASC Disposition Indicators. A glossary and index are included. [This book is a companion to "Assessing Teacher Competency", see ED495320.]