California Teaching Performance Assessment (CalTPA)
In California, all programs that recommend beginning teachers for credentials are required to administer a teaching performance assessment. These assessments are designed to make sure all graduates have the essential teaching skills needed to be successful in the classroom and in working with California’s K-12 students. The Teaching Performance Assessment (TPA) was designed to be integrated into credential coursework and completed as part of a credential program. The TPA evaluates candidates’ competency in demonstrating the TPEs.
The CalTPA is structured around two full instructional cycles based on the pedagogical sequence of plan, teach and assess, reflect, and apply, each conducted within a school placement. The complete sequence is addressed by each instructional cycle, with candidates providing evidence of instructional practice for each step. Acceptable evidence may be in a variety of forms, including annotated video clips and written narrative. As the revised CalTPA is designed to address subject-specific teaching and learning, candidates are asked to respond to the instructional cycles within the context of their teaching assignments.
Students must pass both Cycle 1 and Cycle 2 of the TPA in order to be recommended for their preliminary teaching credential.
For additional information, please contact TPA Coordinator Kristy Cross.
The CalTPA cycle of two assessments will be submitted to an online platform on the Pearson website. Candidates will receive a CalTPA voucher from the CalTPA Coordinator. They will go to the CalTPA Registration page to create a new account. Candidates will need to register for each CalTPA Instructional Cycle separately. Registrations are valid for 12 months. Candidates should consider this along with when their program has assigned each cycle to be completed and plan accordingly. Please contact the TPA Coordinator Kristy Cross at kcross7@usfca.edu for more information.
Students are required to attempt TPA Cycle 1 during Student Teaching I and will not be able to continue into Student Teaching II/III without submitting an attempt. Students are able to continue into Student Teaching II/III regardless of if they passed the cycle. Students are required to submit TPA Cycle II during Student Teaching II/III in order to receive a passing grade in the course. Students are not required to pass the TPA in order to receive a grade.
Teaching candidates will attend a mandatory TPA presentation given by the TPA Coordinator via Zoom for Cycle 1 and Cycle 2. Candidates will have 8-10 weeks to complete each cycle of the TPA with the support of the TPA Coordinator and their Student Teaching I/II/III instructors. Specific due dates for each cycle will be announced at the beginning of each semester.
Acceptable faculty support can be found by visiting the CTCExams Website.
If a teaching candidate is disqualified from or does not receive a passing score on the TPA, they will receive a detailed remediation session by the TPA Coordinator in order to help the candidate revise or redo their TPA in preparation to resubmit. Candidates can submit as many times as is necessary to pass their TPA. Candidates that do not pass will be required to pay $150 to resubmit their TPA.
If a student has completed Student Teaching but has not yet completed their TPAs, they have access to all of the weekly TPA support sighted below.
Candidates who wish to appeal their scores may pay to submit a Request for a Score Verification to Pearson within 90 calendar days.
Teaching candidates have weekly access to TPA support. TPA office hours are every Tuesday from 2-4pm (by appt) via Zoom. TPA café is every other Friday via Zoom from 3:30-4:30pm for Cycle 1 and 4:30-5:30pm for Cycle 2. The dates for TPA café will be posted on the TPA Canvas shell homepage. Please click here to access the Zoom link for all presentations, office hours and cafés. To make an appointment for office hours, please email Kristy Cross at kcross7@usfca.edu.