141teachers to provide explicit statements of their assessment regarding how well the
preservice teacher has performed and progressed.
The third professional assessor is the school coordinator of preservice teacher
professional experience, who provides a broader perspective to the assessment pro-
cess related to the complex and multidimensional realities of a school’s internal and
external environment (Cohen, Hoz, & Kaplan 2013 ). These coordinators are
employees of the school and are well placed to support preservice teachers to engage
professionally with colleagues, parents/carers and the community beyond the scope
of a specific classroom. In addition, in comparison to most supervising teachers,
school coordinators are exposed to many preservice teachers over time; thus, their
judgements are informed by their capacity to make more moderated comparisons
regarding the stage of development of preservice teachers’ performances. Similarly,
the teacher educators from the university often have many years of experience in
supporting a number of preservice teachers, frequently across multiple schools,
states and even countries, thus having the capacity to moderate summative
judgements.
Formative and summative assessment conversations are informed by the rubric.
Preservice teachers are expected to engage with the rubric at the start of the profes-
sional experience to identify what is important to learn and to do in practice, to
self-assess their areas of strength and development and to verify their assessment
with their supervising teacher, school coordinator and teacher educator. They then
use it to plan and track the progress in their learning during the initial period of
classroom experience, after which they independently complete an interim review.
The review is shared with their supervising teacher who prepares a formal interim
report that is discussed with the teacher educator. This process enables a timely
identification of preservice teachers at risk of not satisfactorily completing the for-
mal teaching practice and ensures appropriate support for risk mitigation and
improved classroom performance (AITSL, 2015 ). Similarly, at the end of the pro-
fessional experience, the supervising teacher reviews the achievements of the pre-
service teacher against the expected stage of development and prepares a final report
including comments from the school coordinator and teacher educator. The preser-
vice teacher also submits a reflection on their school experience and a professional
learning plan. Both reports form the basis of a concluding discussion between the
supervising teacher, school coordinator and teacher educator. If there is disagree-
ment, the latter makes the final judgement on the assessment, informed by the three-
way conversation.
The Study
Considerable research and time were employed to develop both the rubric and the
supporting self-assessment and goal-setting processes. The final shape of the rubric
and processes was derived from rigorous discussion and critique within the School
of Education Professional Experience Team and in consultation with school
9 Using a Developmental Assessment Rubric to Revitalise Stakeholder Conversations...