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University of New Hampshire
New Hampshire Teacher Candidate Assessment of Performance (NHTCAP)
New Hampshire is in a position that has no precedent in the state’s history: faculty from
all institutions of higher education in the state that offer educator preparation programs
have formed a nonprofit consortium focused on the shared aim of program
accountability. In this context, UNH and the entire consortium committed to adapting,
piloting and implementing a common teacher candidate performance assessment for
the state of New Hampshire called the New Hampshire Teacher Candidate Assessment
of Performance (NHTCAP) to serve as one of multiple measures leading to institutional
recommendation for teacher certification. NHTCAP is a complex, subject-specific,
multiple measures, portfolio style performance assessment designed to assess and
provide formative learning experiences for beginning teachers. It is built upon the
established California PACT and tailored to specific tasks that align with New Hampshire
state approval guidelines for educator preparation programs. It is a necessary step for
initial licensure, but is one of multiple measures toward that end.
During the 2014-2015 academic year, UNH initiated a second round of piloting the
NHTCAP with all of its elementary education teacher candidates, with the aim of
expanding the pilot into secondary subject areas starting in fall 2015. The statewide
inter-institutional research team is continuing to analyze results of the pilot for purposes
of scoring calibration, enhancement of assessment’s psychometric properties, revisions
for the coming year, and to inform education preparation programs’ curriculum and
decision-making, particularly around the identification and positioning of signature
practices that would be embedded within programs leading to culminating clinical
experiences. NHTCAP is designed to provide teacher candidates across the state with a
common language and practice that is consistent with New Hampshire standards for
teaching and learning and aligned with teacher evaluation systems across the state.