Welcome to the official edTPA website

Thank you for visiting our site to learn more about edTPA, a new and authentic assessment of prospective teachers developed by Stanford University in collaboration with the Teacher Performance Assessment Consortium. The Consortium currently consists of 24 states and the District of Columbia and over 160 institutions of higher education that have, together, worked to develop this assessment and pilot it across the country. Western Governors University is also a participating member in edTPA and offers accredited teacher preparation programs across the U.S.

edTPA is the culmination of many years of work by members of the teaching profession who have designed and refined assessments that capture the act of teaching. These efforts began with the National Board Certification portfolio for recognizing accomplished teaching in the early 1990s, the INTASC assessments of beginning teachers implemented in Connecticut and elsewhere, and the Oregon Teacher Work Sampling System and the Performance Assessment for California Teachers, designed for pre-service teachers.

edTPA was launched as a result of the growing determination by educators to create a nationally available assessment for new entrants to teaching – designed by teachers and teacher educators to reflect the real work of teaching, to support the learning of candidates, and to give useful feedback to programs that prepare teachers.

Beginning with 30 higher education institutions in 2009, the Teacher Performance Assessment Consortium, led by AACTE and Stanford University’s Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE), set out to develop a process to capture programs’ success at producing new teachers who are prepared to be effective in the classroom from Day 1. We wanted a valid, reliable measure that would respect the complexity of teaching, reflect the academic knowledge and intellectual abilities required to advance student learning, and be supported by a strong and well-trained national community of scorers who are, themselves, school and university-based teacher educators: program faculty, supervisors, cooperating teachers, mentor teachers, and principals who lead professional development school sites.

The result of that work is edTPA, a pre-service assessment process designed by educators. As with teaching, edTPA is not easy. It requires teacher candidates to demonstrate the skills necessary to meet the daily challenges of classroom teaching: planning around student learning standards, adapting plans for students based on their specific needs, implementing and assessing instruction, developing academic language, evaluating student learning, and reflecting on how to improve student outcomes by continuing to refine teaching plans and strategies. By focusing on the act of teaching, edTPA complements existing entry-level assessments that focus on basic skills or subject-matter knowledge.

edTPA completed an exciting milestone in June 2012, with more than 7,000 teacher candidates in 22 states participating in a national field test. The field test data are being used to fine-tune assessment tasks and scoring rubrics. A second field test is scheduled for spring 2013 in 5 states with the expected participation of 4,000 teacher candidates.  During summer 2013 the data will be analyzed. A field test report will be produced, which will address validity and reliability of the assessment, and will be referenced when setting recommended passing standards for edTPA. Beginning in the 2013-14 academic year, edTPA will be available nationally through our operational partner, Pearson, which will handle the administration of the assessment.

A number of states have already adopted or are considering edTPA for statewide use to license new teachers or for review of teacher preparation programs. Institutions of higher education in some states have worked with policymakers to position edTPA as part of their program approval.

None of this progress would have been possible without the support and participation we have received from the higher education community. On behalf of all of us who are involved with edTPA, we thank those who have made so many contributions to this initiative. We look forward to taking the next steps with you and with those who are new to edTPA.