An Examination of Colorado's Teacher Licensure Testing.

Abstract Under the Educator Licensing Act passed by the Colorado General Assembly in 1991, the professional standards that must be acquired by Colorado teachers, administrators, and support personnel were redefined. Accompanying those standards was a change in the assessment process used to certify the educators—from the California Achievement Test (1998) to the PLACE (Program for Licensing Assessments for Colorado Educators; National Evaluation Systems, Inc., 1998) tests. Findings are reported from a validity analysis of 7 iterations of those tests, which occurred 3 times each year (October 1994–October 1996, inclusive), from 5 of the 17 Colorado teacher training institutions that prepare teachers. Results are generally favorable and are reported in terms of policy decisions on a variety of issues.