Acceptable vs Unacceptable Support

EdTPA is a high stakes assessment. Student Teachers have been supported through the program with feedback, practice opportunities, etc. They can apply everything they learned to the completion of the edTPA. Student Teachers must complete the edTPA by themselves. That stated there are ways in which mentors (e.g. instructors, University Supervisors, and Cooperating Teachers) can support their Teacher- Candidate Student Teacher while working on the edTPA. These acceptable conditions are described below:

●Student Teachers with a documented disability are eligible to receive relevant accommodations they have received for coursework and program assessments OR to apply to Pearson for approval of accommodations.
●Student Teachers who routinely receive support from a writing center or writing tutor may also receive support while drafting edTPA submission materials, but support must not include direct edits or advice related to the content of the submission.
●Mentors may paraphrase or answer questions about the content of a handbook prompt, rubric, direction, or support document such as “Making Good Choices” to clarify what the prompt or direction is requesting.
●Mentors may ask probing questions about Student Teachers’ draft edTPA responses or video-recordings, without providing direct edits of the Student Teacher’s writing or providing Student Teachers with specific answers to edTPA prompts.
●Mentors may provide references to relevant articles or sections of a text to address questions about effective teaching strategies.
●On school sites where Student Teachers are unable to access the IEP, Cooperating Teachers may provide relevant information about IEP goals, modifications, and accommodations in the IEP. This is subject to approval by School Site Administrators.
●Mentors can flag instances where identifying information still needs to be removed from an edTPA draft to ensure confidentiality.
●Mentors may assist Student Teachers in understanding how to use the electronic platforms for models/programs.
●Mentors may arrange technical assistance for the video portion of the edTPA.

Student Teachers must adhere to the cheating/plagiarism policies while completing the edTPA. The following are unacceptable forms of support:

●Telling a Student Teacher what to write (anything beyond general directions).
●Offering recommendations for specific instructional and assessment strategies in response to knowledge or a description of the Student Teacher’s students.
●Editing a Student Teacher’s EdTPA drafts prior to submission.
●Offering critique of Student Teachers’ edTPA drafts prior to submission for official scoring that provides specific, alternative responses.
●Telling Student Teachers which video clips or work samples to select for submission.
●Uploading Student Teachers’ edTPA responses (written responses or videotape entries) on public access social media websites or uploading them to the scoring platform for Student Teachers.

Any infraction will result in the Student Teachers’ edTPA being invalid. Student Teacher must be knowledgeable about the unacceptable support guidelines and inform their mentors. In addition, infractions will subject Student Teachers’ to the same consequences as those Student Teachers who violate the cheating/plagiarism policy.