ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the interaction between the complex multidimensional nature of teacher preparation, its assessment, and how that assessment interacts with the purpose of assessment. The importance of the trend toward empirical accountability in governmental services is particularly salient for teacher preparation because of the tremendous level of integration of government into teacher training. Teacher educators, teacher preparation programs (TPPs) accrediting agencies, and to varying degrees, state education agencies, have all called for increased emphasis on continuous improvement in teacher preparation with a variety of levels of authority and urgency. Overwhelmingly, TPPs are housed in institutions of higher education that value knowledge generation and dissemination. TPPs both actively recruit teacher candidates and make admissions decisions regarding teacher candidates. The endorsement or gatekeeping function of TPPs is often critical in the view of policy makers, but is rarely a central focus of discussion or inquiry among teacher preparation scholars.
