TPA #2: Score Update

I got my score on 11/27/2017 at 10:48am. 2 days! So fast and it was on the Thanksgiving break again. So maybe the holidays do not cause delays. I would still say if you haven’t gotten your score to give it a couple extra days before total panic but at day 15, call your credential program and talk to them.

Oh ya, I PASSED!!!!!

TPA #2-Submission Update

I took a month off of my Master’s courses and even updating my site to focus on getting my TPA #2 put together and submitted. I admit working in Taskstream is tedious to me with all the pop-ups, timeouts and other annoyances. So I worked on writing my answers out on a google document. I copied my answers onto the Taskstream form and then I realized my mistake. I did not copy the directions. Somewhere along the way, I forgot that each question had a maximum limit of 10k characters and started thinking 10k words. So about 75% of my answers were within that 10k character limit, about 10% of my answers were easily editable down to the 10k limit but the remaining 15% of my answers were way-way too long. It was a long and super frustrating process of editing my responses down to the 10k character limit. So if you hate working in Taskstream and opt to write in a word document, make sure to note the 10k limit for each question so you don’t end up frustrated like me. I completed the work, turned it in on 11/25/2017 at 4:19pm and began to wait anxiously for the scoring.

TPA #4

I am doing CalTPA. For TPA #4 my task is Culminating Teaching Experience. It assesses my ability to integrate all three prior tasks :

  •  Learns about students and plans student instruction and assessment activities based on the learning goals
  • Adapts the plans and assessments for English learners and for students with other instructional challenges*
  • Teaches the lesson and administers the assessments
  • Analyzes and uses instruction and assessment results to plan further instruction
  • Reflects on the lesson, the classroom instruction, the learning results and on his/her effectiveness as a teacher

*Focus students must be different than those used on Differentiating Instruction and Assessing Learning tasks. (I plan to use different classes altogether.)

Students must complete the honor code, task form, attach un-editied 20-minute video of this lesson, attach sketch of your classroom with labels of EN and SN students, attach assessment related to the learning goals of the lesson, attach samples of specific students’ work and wait “7-10 days” for scoring.

Before starting, check out the TPA Handbook on this task to get an idea what you are about to tackle. For this task, also read up on the TPA Privacy and Permission Requirements. I will admit, normally I am a get in there and try it all out for myself first and refer to guides at the end kind of gal. Bad idea. I did that on TPA #1, I got started on a few answers and then looked after, I ended up going back for major edits. Save yourself some time and frustration, read first then start the actual task.

Side Note: I submitted my TPA #1 on 11/23/16 at 10:30pm and received my score on 12/5/16 at 2:06pm. The Thanksgiving holiday may have contributed to the long wait time or perhaps they were flooded with submissions right then. I would say take the 7-10 days with a grain of salt, but if you haven’t gotten a reply in 15 days, contact your credential program and start asking questions.

TPA #3

I am doing CalTPA. For TPA #3 my task is Assessing Learning. It assesses my ability to identify the link between students’ learning needs and their characteristics to:

  • plans student assessment activities based on the learning goals
  • administers student assessments to evaluate student learning
  • adapts the assessments for English learners and for students with other instructional challenges*
  • analyzes and uses assessment results to plan instruction
  • reflects on assessment implementation and the connection to student learning

*Focus students must be different than those used on Differentiating Instruction task. (I plan to use different classes for each of my tasks.)

Students must complete the honor code, task form, attach a copy of the assessment, attach a copy of the scoring rubric or scoring scale for the assessment, attach copy of specific students’ work submit both and wait “7-10 days” for scoring.

Before starting, check out the TPA Handbook on this task to get an idea what you are about to tackle. I will admit, normally I am a get in there and try it all out for myself first and refer to guides at the end kind of gal. Bad idea. I did that on TPA #1, I got started on a few answers and then looked after, I ended up going back for major edits. Save yourself some time and frustration, read first then start the actual task.

Side Note: I submitted my TPA #1 on 11/23/16 at 10:30pm and received my score on 12/5/16 at 2:06pm. The Thanksgiving holiday may have contributed to the long wait time or perhaps they were flooded with submissions right then. I would say take the 7-10 days with a grain of salt, but if you haven’t gotten a reply in 15 days, contact your credential program and start asking questions.

TPA #2

I am doing CalTPA. For TPA #2 my task is Designing Instruction. It assesses my ability to identify the link between students’ learning needs and their characteristics to:

  • plan instruction for an actual class of K-12 students, including developing and adapting instruction for English learners and for students with other instructional challenges
  • reflect on the connections between student characteristics and instructional planning

Students must complete the honor code, task form, submit both and wait “7-10 days” for scoring.

Before starting, check out the TPA Handbook on this task to get an idea what you are about to tackle. I will admit, normally I am a get in there and try it all out for myself first and refer to guides at the end kind of gal. Bad idea. I did that on TPA #1, I got started on a few answers and then looked after, I ended up going back for major edits. Save yourself some time and frustration, read first then start the actual task.

Side Note: I submitted my TPA #1 on 11/23/16 at 10:30pm and received my score on 12/5/16 at 2:06pm. The Thanksgiving holiday may have contributed to the long wait time or perhaps they were flooded with submissions right then. I would say take the 7-10 days with a grain of salt, but if you haven’t gotten a reply in 15 days, contact your credential program and start asking questions.

TPA #1

I am doing CalTPAFor TPA #1 my task is Subject Specific Pedagogy. This task does not involve working with any real K-12 students. It will assess my ability to understand how information about a class of students is used to

  • prepare instruction for particular subjects and content areas
  • develop and adapt student assessment plans based on the content

Students must complete the honor code, task form, submit both and wait “7-10 days” for scoring.

Before starting, check out the TPA Handbook on this task to get an idea what you are about to tackle. I will admit, normally I am a get in there and try it all out for myself first and refer to guides at the end kind of gal. Bad idea. I got started on a few answers and then looked after, I ended up going back for major edits. Save yourself some time and frustration, read first then start the actual task.

 

Side Note: I submitted TPA #1 on 11/23/16 at 10:30pm and received my passing score on 12/5/16 at 2:06pm. The Thanksgiving holiday may have contributed to the long wait time or perhaps they were flooded with submissions right then. I would say take the 7-10 days with a grain of salt, but if you haven’t gotten a reply in 15 days, contact your credential program and start asking questions.

TPA Honor Code

So I am sure each credential program has their own version but here is mine as an example. I will not be paraphrasing as it is so specific I would not want to guide anyone wrong. What I will say, do not skip reading the fine print. I know that people click the button that says “I read the terms and conditions” and do not read them. This is NOT one of those times. Seriously, no matter if you are going to National University, like me, or some other credential program, please read your TPA honor code in full before starting. There are a lot of practices that people get used to during their credential program that are a violation of the honor code, like asking a peer or professor for feedback (BIG NO NO on TPA’s)!

NU TPA Honor Code

TPAs

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.”

Costs of Becoming a Teacher

In addition to paying for your credential program, there are also a number of other costs for certification with the state of CA:

CBEST: $102

CSET (Multi-Subject): $247 for all subtests taken together or

$99 per subtest taken separately (3 subtests total)

CSET (English): $297 for all subtests taken together or

$72 for subtest 1, $75 for subtest 2, $75 for subtest 3, $75 for subtest 4

RICA: $171 written test or $191 video performance assessment

Task Stream Membership (2017 rates effective as of March 1, 2017):                                          1 Semester – 5 Months ($29.99) — Today to …..
1 yr. account ($49.99) — Today to …..
2 yr. account ($79.99) — Today to …..
3 yr. account ($102.99) — Today to …..
4 yr. account ($109.99) — Today to …..
5 yr. account ($124.99) — Today to …..
6 yr. account ($134.99) — Today to …..

TPA 1: assessment fee $65

TPA 2: assessment fee $65

TPA 3: assessment fee $65

TPA 4: assessment fee $110