Description

The Participating Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) Induction Program is an initiative to provide formative assessment and individualized support based on assessment information for beginning teachers. BTSA is co-administered by the California Department of Education (CDE) and the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC).

Overview

The Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment System was created by AB 1266 (Mazzoni, 1997). This grew out of legislation established in SB 1422 (Bergeson, 1992) based on research from the California New Teacher Project (CNTP). A central finding of this research identified the need to provide participating teachers with focused induction support. To be useful, this support must be provided at a sufficient level of intensity to make a difference in the performance, retention, and satisfaction of beginning teachers. The 1997 Mazzoni legislation establishing BTSA encourages collaboration by local school districts, county offices of education, colleges and universities in the organization and delivery of new teacher induction.

The 145 BTSA programs vary in organizational design and include individual districts, districts in collaboration with one another and with colleges and universities, and large consortia in which districts, colleges, universities, and county offices of education work together. BTSA programs use a variety of methods to provide targeted support, based on performance data, to Participating teachers. These programs use The California Formative Assessment and Support System for Teachers (CFASST) or an approved local assessment system, training experienced teachers in the relevance and methods for working with Participating teachers in a way that fully integrates support and formative assessment of teaching practice. These support providers assist participating teachers in collecting and interpreting evidence of teaching performance, in reflecting on their teaching, and in identifying meaningful professional development activities that are targeted to their individual needs.

Various trainings targeted for different audiences involved in BTSA (e.g., program directors, site administrators, support providers and participating teachers) have been developed by the state agencies and BTSA programs to prepare educators for their work with or as beginning teachers. Local projects are supported by regional Cluster Consultants and Professional Development Consultants who assist districts and other entities wishing to initiate or improve a BTSA program. At the same time, the cluster staff facilitates activities such as peer review and data collection to ensure accountability for state funds.

Retention rates in the profession for first- and second-year BTSA teachers were approximately 93% across all programs in the 1999-2000 school year. According to an independent evaluation analyzing retention data for that year, retention rates did not vary significantly among programs serving schools with different degrees of urbanicity, programs at different levels of maturity, or programs of different sizes

Purpose/Objectives

The California Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program (E.C. 44279.2) is administered jointly by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the California Department of Education. The purposes of BTSA are to:

· Improve the educational performance of students through improved training, information, and assistance for new teachers
· Enable participating teachers to be effective in teaching students who are culturally, linguistically, and academically diverse
· Ensure the professional success and retention of new teachers
· Ensure that a support provider provides intensive individualized support and assistance to each participating teacher
· Improve the rigor and consistency of individual teacher performance assessments and the usefulness of assessment results to teachers and decision makers
· Establish an effective, coherent system of performance assessments that are based on the California Standards for the Teaching Profession
· Examine alternative ways in which the general public and the education profession may be assured that new teachers who remain in teaching have attained acceptable levels of professional competence
· Ensure that an individual induction plan is in place for each participating teacher and is based on an ongoing assessment of the development of the participating teacher
· Ensure continuous program improvement through ongoing research, development, and evaluation.