Ashley Grazutis has been thinking about the edTPA since she arrived at NIU. “The first time I heard about the edTPA was [as a first-year student] at a Secondary Education Organization meeting,” says Grazutis, a senior from Palos Park, Illinois. “All the rubrics. All the steps. As a [first-year student], I was completely overwhelmed by it.”...

When Sarah Paver began her student-teaching class last August, the graduate student in physical education quickly became concerned. “I was very nervous when the edTPA came up,” says Paver, who graduated in December 2017. “A lot of my classmates had said that they had read the handbook over the summer. I didn’t look at anything...

After the new state-mandated edTPA became consequential for all teacher candidates in Illinois last fall, the state passing rate was 96 percent. Candidates from NIU posted a 99.13 passing rate, with the vast majority of licensure programs posting a 100 passing rate. NIU started preparing for the edTPA assessment in 2011-2012 when the state first...

NIU has named Jenny Parker, associate professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education, acting associate vice provost for Educator Licensure and Preparation. Parker begins her new role Thursday, Aug. 1. “Jenny has a long standing commitment to teacher preparation,” says Vice Provost Anne L. Birberick. “She will be a strong advocate for NIU teacher...