Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC)

The Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) was created in 1987 through the Council of Chief State School Officers. This consortium consists of two distinct groups: national educational organizations and state agencies. The national educational organizations that participate in INTASC are the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE), the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC), the National Education Association (NEA), and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). The 36 state education agencies that participate are state departments of education and independent standards boards whose responsibilities are approving teacher preparation programs, licensing teachers, and supporting ongoing professional development.

The role of INTASC is to facilitate consensus building among states on the reform of teacher education that includes teacher preparation, teacher licensing, and professional development for teachers. INTASC is not to be viewed as a decision-making organization, because authority concerning state policy comes from within states' governance structures. The work of INTASC builds on the work conducted by the Holmes Group and John Goodlad. The educational work of these individuals and groups is guided by the belief that all students deserve to have effective teachers in every classroom: teachers who are capable of integrating content knowledge with the diverse strengths and needs of students, and ensuring learning and high performance for all students.

INTASC's mission is to provide a forum for its members to explore and investigate ways to improve teacher education. The various state members join together to learn and collaborate on critical issues that affect the teaching profession. These issues are fourfold and include the development of compatible educational policies on teaching through the creation of a common language and purpose; developing new accountability requirements for teacher preparation programs that are aligned with content standards; developing new techniques for assessing teacher performance (i.e., licensing and evaluation); and developing new programs that enhance professional development for teachers at all stages of their professional career.

INTASC believes that all education policy should be driven by what PreK–12 students need to know and be able to do as outlined by content standards. Teacher licensing standards then become the state's policy for what teachers need to know and be able to do to assist students effectively in achieving the PreK–12 standards. The licensing standards guide the approval of teacher preparation programs, and the licensing assessment evaluates whether a teacher candidate has the knowledge and skills outlined in the licensing standards. The licensing standards provide states a continuum for in-service professional development.

INTASC standards are grounded in five premises: (1) teachers are committed to students and their learning, (2) teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach the content to diverse learners, (3) teachers are responsible for monitoring and managing student learning, (4) teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience, and (5) teachers are members of learning communities. From these premises the INTASC core standards were developed by a committee of teachers, teacher educators, and state agency [Page 481]officials to describe the essential knowledge, dispositions, and performances of all candidates regardless of subject content or grade level to be taught. These standards are divided into 10 areas: (1) subject matter; (2) student learning; (3) diverse learners; (4) instructional strategies; (5) learning environment; (6) communication; (7) planning instruction; (8) assessment; (9) reflection, professional development, and collaboration; and (10) ethics and relationships.

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