Overview of edTPA - Teaching Event

Our California Teacher Candidates are required to pass the edTPA in order to earn their California teaching credential. Our candidates will be working on this assessment during their internship, in their internship seminars. This will serve as a brief overview and a collection of resources/links that will help you to guide our teacher candidates through this process.

It is critical that you understand you will not be able to complete your INT 503 course without submitting your EdTPA, and the final INT 504 course, without passing the EdTPA. You can repeat that last course up to 5 times before we would have to terminate your intern credential and remove you from the program. Any teacher working on an intern credential must be enrolled in an authorized intern program per the CTC. There are no exceptions to this. Anyone not enrolled continuously in the program will have the intern credential revoked and the school district/site will be notified.

Task 1: Planning for Instruction and Assessment

Task 1 is the planning portion of the edTPA. This task is divided into 5 parts and each of the five parts has specific requirements that include recording and uploading video segments, lesson plans, and narrative to substantively support the achievement of the task. For Task 1, the bulk of the task is responding to prompts about the lesson that you will be teaching. The five parts in task 1 are

Part A: Context for Learning (4-page limit)
Part B: Lesson Plans (3–5-day learning segment/mini-unit plan)
Part C: Instructional Materials (5-page limit)
Part D: Assessments (pre-assessments, and narrative on assessment planning)
Part E: Planning Commentary (9-page limit)

Task 2 is the teaching portion of the edTPA. The focus of this task is establishing an effective learning climate and showing that there is a rapport between the student and Teacher Intern. It is critical that the contents of Task 2 align with the planning in Task 1 - they should all be on the same 3–5-day learning segment.

Part A: Video Clips (10–20-minute clips depending on content area)
Part B: Instruction Commentary (6-page limit)

Task 2: Instruction and Engaging Students in Learning

Task 3: Assessment

This is the assessment portion of the edTPA to demonstrate how assessments are used to evaluate student learning, monitor the effectiveness of instruction, and guide future instruction. Assessments are briefly covered in Task 1 - but that is just the planning of the assessment as well as any pre-assessment that might be used prior to the teaching portion of the edTPA. Task 3 is divided into four parts:

chers are required to teach a Mathematics lesson that reflects student achievement in procedural fluency, development of mathematical reasoning, and advancement of problem-solving skills. This task is NOT required to be aligned with Tasks 1-3 and a different classroom can be used altogether if the Teacher Intern prefers. This task is divided into seven parts:

Part A: Context for Learning (similar to Task 1 but focused on mathematics)
Part B: Description of the Learning Segment (objectives & standards)
Part C: Assessment (formative assessment & directions, no student sample)
Part D: Rubric (copy of rubric, not evaluated)
Part E: Student Work Samples from the Learning Segment (three student samples)
Part F: Student Work Samples from the Re-Engagement Lesson (video or three student samples)
Part G: Mathematics Assessment Commentary (8-page limit)

Scoring of EdTPA

The edTPA Tasks are scored across targeted competency areas using approximately 15-18 rubrics. For each Task, the first 2-3 competency areas correspond directly to the specific Tasks (Planning, Instruction, and Assessment). The last 1-2 competency areas require Teacher-Candidates to use evidence across all the tasks to analyze teaching and academic language. The Rubrics are as follows:

Rubrics 1-5 relate to the Planning Task.
Rubrics 6-10 relate to the Instruction Task.
Rubrics 11-15 relate to the Assessment Task.
Rubrics 16-18 relate to the Math Task – Multiple Subject Candidates only.

The Rubrics used to score the edTPA include five proficiency levels, from the low performance at level 1 to the outstanding performance at level 5. The following chart describes the general description of each score/level.

Score 1	Represents the dispositions, knowledge, and skills of a seriously struggling Teacher Intern who’s not ready to teach.
Score 2	Represents the dispositions, knowledge, and skills of a Teacher Intern who is possibly ready to teach diverse student populations independently and effectively in a K-6 school setting.
Score 3	Represents the dispositions, knowledge, and skills of a Teacher Intern who is qualified to teach diverse student populations independently and effectively in a K-6 school setting.
Score 4	Represents the dispositions, knowledge, and skills of a Teacher Intern who has a solid foundation to teach diverse student populations independently and effectively in a K-6 school setting. (Demonstrates potential to be a strong beginning teacher.)
Score 5	Represents the advanced dispositions, knowledge, and skills of a Teacher Intern who is very well qualified and ready to teach diverse student populations independently and effectively in a K-6 school setting. (Is a strong beginning teacher)

The passing score for most edTPA Teaching Events is 41. For edTPA Teaching Events with more or less than 15 rubrics (e.g., World Language, Elementary Education), the passing score is adjusted. For example, Multiple Subject Teacher Interns complete and submit the Elementary Education edTPA, which consists of 18 rubrics. These Teacher Interns must pass with a total score of 49; they must score at least 41 in the Literacy part (Rubrics 1-15) and at least an 8 in the Math part (Rubrics 16-18).

CL-911 EdTPA Passing Score Range

The California Teaching Commission approved a Secondary Passing Standard. Please see PSA-2402 for direct language. Students who score within the approved scoring range, and have met all other program and credential requirements, are eligible to be submitted by the university for their preliminary credential.

The Secondary Passing Standard is:

Elementary - a score between 46-49

Secondary - a score between 38-41

Here is the checklist for interns, to make sure you’ve met ALL other program requirements: Intern Checklist. If you qualify for this option, please reach out to our EdTPA Coordinator, Professor Curiel mcuriel@usuniversity.edu.

EdTPA Score Appeals Policy

A Score Confirmation request is the process for appealing a score. If you believe that a score (not a condition code) on one or more rubrics was reported in error, you may submit a request for a score confirmation in writing. The fee is $200. Information about the score confirmation service is available on edtpa.com.

Please note that only one score confirmation request is permitted per submission and requests received after the initial score confirmation request will not be honored.

If you are unsure why a condition code was assigned to one or more rubrics in your score profile, you should refer to the information in your score profile. The performance description(s) will provide information regarding any condition code(s) assigned. For additional information about condition codes, please review edTPA Submission Requirements and Condition Codes.

EdTPA Video Recording Permissions Policy

Before you record your classroom instruction, you must ensure that you have the appropriate permission from the parents/guardians of your students and from adults who appear in the video recording. The permission slips should stay on file with your Site Supervisor, and kept for the duration of your Interning. If you do not receive a permission slip from a student or an adult in the classroom, you will need to make sure they DO NOT appear in any videos that you record in that classroom. That may mean you record a smaller group of students, or strategically place your camera so those students are not on video. Reach out to your University Supervisor with any questions or concerns.

EdTPA Teaching Event Submission Procedures

It’s important for Teacher-Candidates to follow the timelines, deadlines, and checklist given to them by the edTPA Coordinator. Teacher-Candidates must submit the edTPA directly to Pearson. Teacher-Candidates should be prepared to pay the edTPA submission/scoring fees, which range from $300-400.
University Supervisors will help Teacher Interns prepare to submit their edTPA portfolios during INT503.

EdTPA submission and reporting dates can be found at this webpage: https://www.edtpa.com/PageView.aspx?f=GEN_ScoreReportDates.html. Teacher Interns need to make sure they have enough time to submit and get scores back before the end of the semester so that their credentials can be processed on time. The following is a suggested checklist for edTPA submission.

EdTPA Appeals

Evaluation Systems will notify examinees of the determination made with regard to their requests for alternative arrangements. You may appeal the denial of some or all of your requests for alternative arrangements. Before you submit your appeal, it is suggested that you review the information on this website about alternative arrangements, including the documentation requirements for different types of alternative arrangements requests.

If after reviewing this information you still wish to proceed with an appeal of the decision, you may do so by submitting your appeal, in writing, to Pearson. The appeal should include the following information:

Your name and address
The date of the appeal
Any documentation, in addition to the documentation that you submitted with your original request, that supports your alternative arrangements requests
A brief summary of the reasons why your alternative arrangements requests should be granted
Your signature

Your appeal should be submitted as soon as possible. After your appeal is reviewed, you will be notified as to whether your appeal has been granted or denied. All appeal determinations are final.

EdTPA Appropriate Use of Materials Policy

EdTPA materials (handbooks, rubrics, Making Good Choices, local evaluation training materials) can all be found in the Teacher’s Lounge in the D2L platform. These materials can be shared with Site Supervisors under secure conditions. They may not be posted on public websites and local evaluation materials require a nondisclosure agreement. In addition, all materials related to your EdTPA submission must be kept confidential so as to not share any information about the participants in the video recordings.

EdTPA Remediation Policy

Interns who do not meet the passing standards for the edTPA will be directed to the EdTPA Coordinator to start the retake procedures. The process is the following:

Repeat INT504 until a passing score on the EdTPA is achieved
Review EdTPA feedback with EdTPA Coordinator in a 1:1 meeting
Attend weekly office hours with the EdTPA Coordinator (1 hour per week)
Attend bi-monthly webinars with the EdTPA Coordinator (1 hour every 2 months)

The College of Education recognizes that there are varying valid reasons why some Interns may not pass; which is why the edTPA Coordinator offers these Interns another opportunity to pass the edTPA.

Candidates who pass their retakes will have their credential paperwork processed. If they do not pass the re-take, they will start the remediation process from scratch. It is rare for Interns’ to retake the edTPA for a third time; but in these cases, Interns must follow the same steps outlined in this section.

EdTPA Resources

There are many resources to help Teacher Interns prepare for the edTPA. These resources include but are not limited to

Content-Specific Handbook and Rubrics
“Making Good Choices”
“Understanding Rubric Level Progressions”
Academic Language Handout

Teacher Interns are responsible for reading and knowing all the content in these documents and following the instructions therein. These resources will be provided by the University Supervisor at the appropriate time.

The following is a checklist for submitting the edTPA to Pearson:

STEP ONE: Register for Pearson

http://www.edtpa.com/PageView.aspx?f=GEN_RegisterPearson.html

Enter the last 5 digits of SSN.
Select the assessment, and choose the "national" version.
Select United States University when asked which program.
- This ensures we get your scores to process your credential.
When asked if edTPA is a program requirement, state license requirement, or both, select BOTH.
- This way your scores are sent to both USU and CTC.
If you are planning to teach in another state (e.g., NY, Washington, Georgia, Ohio, Minnesota, Iowa), you can select to have your scores sent to that state if it's listed as a state that currently requires edTPA for credentialing
Go to the bottom portion to enter Visa or Mastercard or PayPal information to pay the balance.
Registration needs to be done before submission.
When you get to submitting the edTPA, be sure to identify that you submitting directly to Pearson.
When you sign up for Pearson and you hit the "Next" button after you purchase the edTPA, choose the Platform Provider option and you should receive a key code. If you already paid and you do not have the right eportfolio head to "My account", then hit "Current Registrations." Then on the left-hand side, there will be a section that says "Managing edTPA Portfolio'', then it will ask you to accept or acknowledge the information. Make sure it is the edTPA Platform Provider.

STEP TWO: Submit to Pearson.

Do not use any identifying information in file names or within documents.
Remove student names, school names, city names or your own name.
Upload all artifacts and commentaries to Pearson. Do NOT submit it yet.
Use your EdTPA checklist to check and make sure each artifact, narrative, and video meets the length requirements and is complete and accessible. You do not want to score “Incomplete” because that means resubmitting and paying again (and could cause an additional delay causing you to repeat INT504).

Start this process at least 5 days before the final submission deadline. One of the most difficult parts of guiding students through the process of submitting their edTPA is that the faculty cannot give feedback on the submission, outside of helping with technical issues, grammar, or mechanics. The content of the edTPA must be evaluated by the edTPA reviewers. Here are some helpful links that give additional information:

Assessment Process Overview: http://www.edtpa.com/PageView.aspx?f=GEN_AssessmentProcessOverview.html

Submission and Reporting Dates: http://www.edtpa.com/PageView.aspx?f=GEN_ScoreReportDates.html

edTPA for California: http://www.edtpa.com/PageView.aspx?f=GEN_California.html

Policies for Students: http://www.edtpa.com/PageView.aspx?f=GEN_CandidatePolicies.html

Candidate FAQs: http://www.edtpa.com/PageView.aspx?f=HTML_FRAG/GENRB_FAQ_Candidates.html

EdTPA Late Submission Policy

Teacher Interns who do not submit the edTPA by INT503 will repeat INT503 until they have a successful submission.

EdTPA Acceptable vs. Unacceptable Support

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

Teacher Interns 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.
Teacher Interns 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 Teacher Interns’ draft edTPA responses or video-recordings, without providing direct edits of the Teacher Intern’s writing or providing Teacher Interns 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 Teacher Interns are unable to access the IEP, Site Supervisors 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 Teacher Interns in understanding how to use the electronic platforms for models/programs.
Mentors may arrange technical assistance for the video portion of the edTPA.

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

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

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

Process for Re-Taking the edTPA

Teacher Interns who do not meet the passing standards for the edTPA but are in “good standing” in the program as may be given the opportunity to retake and submit a new edTPA. Good standing means the following:

Teacher Interns have at least a 3.0 GPA.
Teacher Interns have earned a C-grade or above or Credit in all courses.
Teacher Interns have excellent internship evaluation reports.
Teacher Interns have positive attitudes and dispositions.

The College of Education recognizes that there are varying valid reasons why some Teacher Interns may not pass; in cases where Teacher Interns are in good standing, the College of Education via the edTPA Coordinator may offer these Teacher Interns another opportunity to pass the edTPA. Please note that you must be enrolled in INT 504 to resubmit.