- Talent & Leadership
At Pearson VUE, the exams we deliver have a positive impact in communities worldwide—driving progress and helping our clients fulfill the promise of their industries. In this series, we take a closer look at how that impact comes to life—through conversations with colleagues across our business who are leaving their mark on the future of assessment. This time we hear from Dr. E. Wyatt Gordon, who heads up our educator certification division. Currently delivering more than 65 percent of educator credentialing assessments taken by teachers in the U.S., Pearson’s educator certifications play an integral role in developing a capable educator workforce.
In today’s educational landscape, the effective preparation of educators has never been more critical. Education systems are undergoing broad reforms while facing ongoing challenges around teacher shortages and substantial increases in underprepared educators. At the same time, the growing use of AI by both students and teachers is transforming educational experiences. As a former teacher and now business leader, Wyatt shares his personal perspectives around how we can best harness AI’s potential to tap into the science of teaching and learning.
Dr. E. Wyatt Gordon
SVP & Head of Evaluation Systems at
Pearson VUE
Q. Wyatt, please tell us a bit about yourself, your experiences as a teacher, and your journey to leading our Evaluation Systems business today.
I’m from a family of educators who have always believed that learning is the key to unlocking opportunity and driving social mobility. My father, aunt, sister, grandfather, and grandmother are all professors. My mother and uncle both teach in elementary schools. Growing up in that environment, I saw how powerful education can be in addressing society’s most difficult challenges and creating pathways for people to thrive.
While I spent time in classrooms as a teacher, my focus has always been on the intersection of policy, business, and education—working to design and deliver systems that move the needle on learning outcomes—at scale. That background has shaped my approach to leadership: combining the perspective of a practitioner with the strategic lens of policymaking and organizational growth.
Today, leading Pearson’s educator certification division, I’m privileged to continue my family members’ work by guiding programs like The National Evaluation Series, edTPA (the Educative Teacher Performance Assessment), and numerous state-based educator assessment systems. Our mission is to help design and deploy educator workforce solutions because when educators succeed, students learn—and learning changes everything.
I’m from a family of educators who have always believed that learning is the key to unlocking opportunity and driving social mobility.
Q. What does a typical day look like?
A typical day for me is a mix of strategy, collaboration, and connections with stakeholders. I spend a good deal of time with state and institutional partners, listening to their needs and making sure our services are aligned to what matters most—supporting them, supporting educators, and ultimately supporting student learning. I also work closely with our teams at Pearson—reviewing new product and service innovations or tackling operational challenges— to ensure we’re delivering the high-level of quality and service our partners expect.
Just as important, I make space to reflect on the bigger picture. That could mean reviewing data on program performance, catching up on the latest policy and industry trends, engaging with policymakers on the future of education in their state(s), or simply reflecting on how our work connects back to the classroom. No matter what’s on the agenda, the overarching theme is always the same: making sure our decisions help educators succeed so students can learn.
Q. Evaluation Systems works with many US states. This must be a complex and continually shifting landscape for your business. As a leader, how do you even begin to navigate something so high-scale and so high-stakes?
It is a complex and constantly evolving landscape. Each state has its own priorities, policies, and timelines for their education system. The stakes are incredibly high because different states have their own strategic goals. For example, what content is most important for educators to know, and focus areas for improvement (based on student test scores). Or they might have hotspots for educator shortages to tackle. They must address the concerns of a broad range of stakeholders within their jurisdiction and any policy decisions they make directly affect educators and the learners they serve. A failing score on an educator licensure assessment may prevent someone from starting in the profession that they have spent years of their life preparing for. The way I navigate the complexity is by focusing on three things: our people, our clients, and continuous improvement.
We start by listening carefully to state leaders, educator preparation faculty, and educators themselves. Their perspectives guide our understanding of what challenges need to be solved and where innovation can make a difference. From there, we build strong partnerships, grounded in trust and transparency, so that states see us not just as a vendor but as a collaborator invested in their success. And finally, we stay flexible—because education policy and practice don’t stand still, and neither can we.
Q. Some people feel like testing is a barrier. How do you help people understand that testing educators is about ensuring quality?
Testing can feel high-pressure, and for candidates who are already investing so much in becoming a teacher, it can be a necessary hurdle. The way we look at it is—testing isn’t about creating obstacles—it’s about ensuring that every learner has access to a well-prepared, highly qualified teacher. When done thoughtfully, educator assessments are really about fairness and protecting the public. They help verify that aspiring teachers have the knowledge and skills they need before stepping into the classroom. And that’s not just important for learners—it also benefits educators themselves. Entering the profession with confidence, knowing you’re ready to succeed, is empowering.
Our role is to make sure these assessments are valid, reliable, and designed to align with the policy goals of each state. We also work closely with states and teacher preparation programs to provide the right support for candidates, so the focus isn’t on “getting through a test” but on growing into the role of an effective teacher. At the end of the day, testing is about trust—giving families, schools, and communities confidence. Confidence that every educator on their first day of work—is ready to teach students and to help them prepare for their future.
Q. There’s ongoing debate around how AI will change the way education is delivered by educators in the classroom and how it’s experienced by learners. What do you see as the biggest opportunities with this technology and who’s responsible for implementing effective guardrails around its use?
There’s no doubt the use of AI has accelerated across education and will reshape how learning happens, how teaching is delivered, and even how assessments are designed. We’re already seeing strong engagement with student-focused generative AI study tools—helping learners personalize their experience, brainstorm ideas, and refine individual goals. In fact, according to Microsoft’s recent AI in Education 2025 report, 86% of education organizations are now using generative AI, the highest rate of any industry. At Pearson, we’ve also seen surging demand for AI acumen within higher education institutions alongside growing efforts to deepen learning in classrooms.
But adoption is just the starting point. Pedagogy (the method and practice of teaching children) can and should evolve to meet the needs of learners. I believe AI has enormous potential to advance our understanding of what truly works with pedagogical and andragogical theory (as we look to help young and adult learners respectively). With today’s tools, we can leverage data and insights to develop effective instructional strategies based on their ability to shift the needle on outcomes for specific subjects, concepts, and students.
Microsoft’s report put it well: ‘AI can be a powerful thought partner and force multiplier—amplifying ideas, streamlining tasks, and unlocking new possibilities for teaching and learning’. That’s exciting, but it also raises an important question: What does effective teaching and learning look like? Without competent teachers, thoughtfully designed AI systems (and strong support), the technology won’t deliver the meaningful impact we need for learners and educational outcomes.
That’s why responsibility for guardrails can’t rest on one group alone. Policymakers, education leaders, technology providers, and educators all have a role to play in ensuring AI is ethical, transparent, and most importantly —effective. At Pearson, we see our responsibility as innovating thoughtfully while partnering with institutions and states to ensure AI supports the heart of education: great teaching and real learning.
Q. So what does a competent teacher look like? And given how AI is changing education and the role of educators, how can a teacher ensure they maintain the right skills? Particularly when there’s been a significant shift from more standardized teaching methods to more personalized ones?
A competent teacher is not just someone who knows their subject—it’s someone who knows how to teach that subject effectively to different kinds of learners. It’s the ability to understand how students typically learn a concept, where they might struggle, and which strategies or examples will help the learning “click.”
As AI transforms education and accelerates the move to more personalized learning, that kind of situated understanding of pedagogy becomes even more critical. AI can generate materials, analyze performance data, or suggest learning pathways, but it takes a teacher with a strong understanding of how to deliver instruction for a particular subject to decide how to use those insights in ways that are developmentally appropriate and impactful for each learner.
I think we could see AI assist more in direct instruction over time as we develop a better understanding of the instructional strategies that are most effective for different types of content. However, educators will be technology’s greatest asset. Educators will provide thoughtful human guidance by monitoring progress, intervening in real time, and identifying how the student learns best.
Q. How do you see educator certification evolving in the future as AI advances?
In the future, I think certification will be more authentic and practice-based. Rather than relying solely on single data points, AI can help capture and analyze how teachers actually engage with students, design instruction, and adapt to learner needs. That means shifting the focus from “Can you recall the knowledge?” to “Can you apply the knowledge in ways that improve learning?”
I also see certification becoming more continuous and personalized. Licensure has traditionally served as a checkpoint—ensuring teachers meet minimum standards before they enter the classroom. That safeguard will remain essential, but AI now gives us tools to go further—providing opportunities to continue to grow professionally.
Lastly, educator licensure will increasingly play a critical role in connecting our rapidly evolving understanding of how students learn and how teachers teach. While regulatory and policy frameworks will continue to shape accountability, curriculum design, and teacher preparation.
The future of education will be defined by how boldly we connect innovation, policy, and practice to empower educators and unlock learning. By using AI responsibly and keeping pedagogy at the center of everything we do, we can ensure that tomorrow’s classrooms are places where both educators and learners thrive.
The following views reflect Pearson VUE’s exploration of AI’s potential applications in education and do not describe existing Pearson products or capabilities.
Any AI-related work Pearson undertakes would comply with applicable data protection laws and our Responsible AI framework, ensuring transparency, fairness, and human oversight.
The opinions expressed are Dr. Gordon's own and do not necessarily represent the official position of Pearson VUE.