Lever
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Explicit Candidate Developmental Trajectory
A developmental trajectory makes candidate growth visible: what candidates should be able to do early, how that performance should deepen, and what readiness looks like before they take on greater responsibility.
About the 14 Levers
EdPrep Partners' 14 Levers for Quality Teacher Preparation translate the EdPrep Performance Framework into practical parts of a preparation system. Together, they show how programs can define quality, develop candidates toward readiness, learn from evidence, and build the conditions for strong preparation to last.
Choose one important candidate practice. What should performance look like early in preparation, how should it deepen over time, where will candidates develop it, and how will teacher educators know what to reinforce at each point?
Clear answers give coursework, clinical experiences, coaching, and support a stronger developmental throughline. Candidates can see where they are going, and the people preparing them can be more intentional about helping them get there.
Every child deserves an excellent educator. Preparing teachers to enter classrooms ready to teach well takes more than strong coursework, clinical experiences, or assessments in isolation. It requires a preparation system that defines what candidates should know and be able to do, deliberately develops them toward those expectations, equips the people responsible for their growth, and continually learns and improves.
The EdPrep Performance Framework defines the systems, practices, and conditions required for high-quality teacher preparation. The 14 Levers for Quality Teacher Preparation translate that definition into the core program elements that shape candidate preparation in practice.
One system.
Designed to work together.
The 14 Levers describe connected parts of a preparation system. They build on and reinforce one another, but they are not a prescribed implementation sequence. Programs begin from different strengths, evidence, needs, and contexts.
Which parts of our preparation system need to move together to strengthen candidate development and readiness?







