ABSTRACT
An assessment system for professional preparation and licensure should accomplish three basic objectives. First, it should reflect the knowledge and skills all professionals are expected to master as a minimum requirement for responsible practice. Second, it should be constructed so as to encourage the acquisition of the required professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions. Third, it should reliably and validly sort those candidates who are adequately prepared for responsible independent practice from those who are not. The chapter outlines the structure for a licensing system that can meet these three conditions, taking into account the kinds of preparation, standards, and assessments needed to ensure that licensing becomes a meaningful indicator of readiness for professional practice. New assessments for teacher licensing must be considered and developed within the context of a system of licensing that links a conception of teaching and learning to teacher preparation, testing, and licensing.
