PUSHBACK ON PEARSON: The Wall Street Journal reports district superintendents and teachers in New Jersey are pushing back on a new certification rule that could compromise student privacy.
Starting next fall teachers in training in New Jersey will be required to video record their classroom lessons and submit the recordings to Pearson for grading. The video will serve as part of their’s edTPA certification exam which is administered by Pearson and operational in 40 different states according to the edTPA website.
Though a Pearson spokesperson told the WSJ that the information would remain confidential, district officials fear that images and videos of students sent to digital databases are vulnerable to hacks and leaks. Some school leaders are threatening to remove trainee teachers altogether if the rule goes into effect—a move that could put university teacher training programs in a bind.
“We’re trying not to cripple our university partners,” Mr. David Aderhold, superintendent in West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District, told the WSJ. “It’s a decision we feel we have to make to raise awareness and draw the line.”
Parents will have to sign a release form before a student can legally be recorded.
