What are they? TPA is short for Teacher Performance Assessment which evaluates a teaching candidates performance with K-12 public school students.

Who has to do them? Anyone seeking a Multiple or Single Subject Teaching Credential in the state of California.

Since when? As of July of 2008.

Are there different models of the TPAs? Yes. There are currently four approved teaching performance assessment models: CalTPA, edTPA, FAST, PACT

What do they measure? TPA’s measure knowledge, skills and ability of  California’s Teaching Performance Expectations (TPEs), including demonstrating their ability to appropriately instruct students in Student Academic Content Standards.

What do you do to complete them? Candidates complete very specific tasks regarding  subject-specific pedagogy, designing and implementing instruction and student assessment, and a culminating teaching experience or event.

Who decides how you do? Submissions are scored by trained assessors.
How do they score submissions? Assessors score them “against one or more rubrics that describe levels of performance relative to each task/activity. Each model must also meet and maintain specified standards of assessment reliability, validity, and fairness to candidates.”