In Fall of 2021, the Teacher Candidate Performance Portfolio (TCPP) was replaced with the edTPA®. This assessment is a portfolio nationally scored by trained content specific professionals through Pearson. The new assessment is more rigorous than the previous and will be required for all Teacher Education majors.
The edTPA® is another step in assuring USI Teacher Education major interns have the skillset to succeed in the classroom. All interns have 15 rubrics they will complete that are broken down into three areas—planning, instruction, and assessment—each representing five rubrics.
Interns experience firsthand how much time goes into aligning content and the preparation for instruction. The edTPA® requires a video portion where interns are scored based on their ability to deliver content- specific objectives, demonstrate respect, and appropriately assess aligned content. It also allows for self-reflection of their tone, body language, teaching skills, and ability to keep focus.
There are several different handbooks used to guide the intern, which are content specific to the area of study. For example: special education, early childhood, elementary education, visual arts, physical education, etc. The assessment is individualized based on these content- specific areas of study.
USI’s Teacher Education Program currently has 79 clinical interns who will prepare their edTPA® during their last semester at USI while in their student teaching placements. This gives the interns the opportunity to collaborate with working professionals in their field, as well as gain hands on experiences with students. Teachers who have worked alongside interns completing the edTPA® have said interns are more involved in the classroom and with all aspects of teaching compared to other semesters.
Currently, Indiana does not have a specific passing score, but interns are encouraged to be proficient. The Teacher Education Department at USI encourages interns to meet the “classroom ready” score on the assessment. The test score will not impact the intern’s eligibility to graduate or fail the course at this time. In other states, however, a teaching license cannot be obtained until a certain score had been achieved. These scores vary by state. While the score may not determine passing, schools are looking for graduates with higher edTPA® scores over others.
After scoring, the assessment gives feedback to the intern. This allows the intern to reflect on their strengths and areas for growth when it comes to teaching, giving them accountability for their own success. In addition to guiding interns through the process, instructors at USI utilize the feedback to adjust their own teaching. If multiple interns score low in a specific area of the rubric, this provides USI’s faculty with data to modify the curriculum to increase competencies in that area.