Missing the Mark: Assessing Dispositions and the Reification of Whiteness in Teacher Preparation

Abstract

In order to explore whether the WatermarkTM Educator Disposition Assessment (EDA) is an equitable assessment for all teacher candidates regardless of race, this study used a Quantitative Critical Race Theory (QuantCrit) methodological design to analyze a pilot implementation of the assessment representing 650 discreet disposition assessments undertaken in 24 designated courses in five distinct programs of educator preparation at a midsized Midwestern university. Chi-square analysis and descriptive statistics from fall 2019–spring 2020 archival data indicate a statistically significant association between the variable race and the average scores assigned to students in multiple EDA assessments, with marked disadvantages for Black teacher candidates. Through this analysis and a careful and critical review of language embedded in each rubric row, the authors argue that the WatermarkTM EDA advances and reifies a set of normative practices that align with dominant White, middle-class cultural values under the guise of objectivity.