ABSTRACT
Teachers and teacher educators are public policy actors; they enact the policies that (typically) other people have decided upon as means towards an end. Debating public policy in classrooms seems perilous to some practitioners. Discussing and deliberating public policy is an important element of robust social studies. In a parallel vein, investigating whether the edTPA approach to accountability seems a prudent or punitive educational policy choice seems a professional duty for a teacher educator, just as understanding the implications of the No Child Left Behind Act was for classroom teachers. The edTPA approach is a policy prescription for teacher preparation programs designed as a portfolio assessment of a future teacher's knowledge and skills upon completing the teacher preparation program. The No Child Left Behind Act is notable for the degree of rancor ultimately generated within numerous constituencies by the law, especially its "highly qualified teacher" provision.
