Performance Criteria for Educational Personnel Development: A State Approach to Standards

Abstract

One hang-up in educational personnel de-velopment has been caused by the pressure to establish standards in finite guise.There is no need to spell out why professionals and the public seek such specificity and certainty. However, it should be emphasized that attempts through the years to establish and meet such standards have slowed progress toward preparation programs and state standards that are related directly to professional role expectations, relevant tasks, and essential competencies.Establishing and applying standards for truly professional roles based upon performance criteria presupposes departures from traditional and risk-free approaches to program design. Decisions about program prerequisites and course sequences can no longer be made beforehand by disinterested authorities, by normative surveys, or by applying &dquo;principles of education&dquo; out of context. Expertness in decision making (making judgments) is developmental, individual, and continuous. This means that those who are teacher trainers or curriculum designers have the responsibility for creating relevant and legitimate alternative learning experiences for students. At the same time, students (trainees) have the responsibility for choosing from these alternatives (or creating others) and experiencing the consequences of each choice. An individualized performance approach for the training of a person in a democracy requires that the act of choosing be a sacred right of the individual. The good society (or set of institutions) keeps alternatives for choosing open and real.If preparation for performance in professional roles is continuous and if the individual is the key element in the process, then we should not expect less preservice assistance from colleges and uniDr. Allen is assistant superintendent for teacher education and certification, and Drs. Cady and Drummond are associates for teacher education,

Some Impressions of Competency‐Based Training Programs

“…Competency-based training programs (CBTP) are beginning to appear on the current scene, and there are indications that this approach to the training and certification of teachers, counselors, and other educational personnel may soon be in vogue (Allen, Cady & Drummond 1969;Elam 1971; Getz et al 1973; Hendricks, Ferguson & Thoresen 1973;Horan 1972). This article presents my impressions after two years of involvement in a competency-based training program for counselors, school psychologists, and teachers.…”

Toward Performance‐Based Counselor Certification

“…Although the literature, in general, was highly encouraging, it was not until the early 1970s that a few operational programs began to appear in print. These initial attempts are characterized by the procedures developed by the State of Washington (Allen, Cady & Drummond, 1969;.…”

A radical change in counselor education and certification

“…Yet these times require flexible, innovative, and accountable approaches to counselor certification and training. The state of Washington is committeed to a counselor training and certification plan which emphasizes performance standards rather than mere accumulation of credits, degrees, and experience (Allen, Cady, & Drummond, 1969).…”