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CalTPA Topics of Interest -- aka Responses to Frequently Asked Questions
PSD e-list
The weekly PSD e-list is the vehicle for disseminating CalTPA information.
- To subscribe, send an email to: psd-news-subscribe@lists.ctc.ca.gov
- To unsubscribe, send an email to: psd-news-unsubscribe@lists.ctc.ca.gov
To better convey to candidates the purpose of each task, the four CalTPA tasks have new names. The names are: Subject-Specific Pedagogy (formerly Task 1), Designing Instruction (formerly Task 2), Assessing Learning (formerly Task 3), and Culminating Teaching Experience (formerly Task 4). Multiple Subject and the core (English, Math, Science, Social Science) Single Subject versions of the Subject-Specific Pedagogy task will be available January 31st. The remainder of the Single Subject version will follow in 2009.
Double Scoring
To insure inter-rater reliability, programs are to double score at least 15% of candidate responses to each task each year.
Materials
Material Revision: All CalTPA materials are under revision. Most of the materials have been piloted and are almost ready for release.
Training Materials Distribution: Program CalTPA Coordinators and Lead Assessors who have participated in the new Lead Assessor training will receive the new materials just as soon as they are available.
Candidate Handbooks are scheduled for release in early 2008. Notification of the release of this material will be through the PSD e-list and mass mailing to program directors.
Materials on the Web: CalTPA now has its own CTC website. We will add information to this site as it becomes available and alert you to this new info via this e-list. Please share this information with appropriate persons in your program.
The CalTPA website is not the vehicle for distributing CalTPA materials; distribution will happen in a more secure environment (see Training materials Distribution above). However, we have put both the full text and a short form of the TPEs and the rubrics for the tasks on this site.
At this time we are only providing CTC-sponsored trainings Program Assessor and Lead Assessor training, not local program-specific assessor trainings. Please see Assessor Training Schedule [pdf]. However, you may contact Suzanne Sullivan, ssullivan@ctc.ca.gov -- she may be able to assist you.
Programs often ask us if we know of CalTPA training for program-level assessors in their geographic area. On the new website we are holding a place for links to your training schedule. Please send the URL of your schedule and registration information to, Suzanne Sullivan (ssullivan@ctc.ca.gov) and allow two days for the link to appear on our site.
Assessors
No one may score CalTPA candidate responses to any of the tasks without participating in training and calibrating on said task.
Calibration Rate
To insure quality and consistency in scoring throughout the State, the calibration rate is: For Subject-Specific Pedagogy, Designing Instruction, and Assessing Learning tasks, assessors must score:
- a minimum of 6 of the 12 Independent Scoring Cases on-point, with
- not more than 1 of the 12 Independent Scoring cases off by 2 points.
For the Culminating Teaching Experience task, assessors must score:
- a minimum of 5 of the 10 Independent Scoring Cases on-point, with
- not more than 1 of the 10 Independent Scoring cases off by 2 points.
Recalibration for already trained assessors
All assessors must recalibrate annually and assessors must recalibrate before scoring if they have not scored candidate responses within a six (6) month period. We are working on a secure online system for assessor recalibration. Programs are free to institute/continue another model for recalibration, which would be reported in respond to Standards 19, 20, 21. Our online recalibration system will be ready by July 1, 2008. When online recalibration is available, we will make an announcement through the PSD e-list.
Focus Students
The tasks, Designing Instruction, Assessing Learning, and Culminating Teaching Experience, require the candidate plan, assess, and teach in a whole class setting and make adaptations for two focus students: an English Learner and a student with special needs.
- The English Learner: English Learners are students who have a home language other than English, have not been re-designated, and are identified as EL by the school or district using CELDT scores.
The exception to the EL requirement is the Single Subject LOTE (Languages Other Than English) teacher candidate who is using the target language exclusively in classroom teaching. Because these candidates are teaching in the target language, not English, they do not need to focus on a learner of English. Their focus students will be the student with special needs and may be another student who presents an instruction challenge different rather than an English learner.
- The Student with Special Needs: For theDesigning Instructionand Culminating Teaching Experience tasks the student with special needs is one who presents a "different instruction challenge." Different from whom? Different from the class as a whole and from the EL student. TheAssessing Learningtask requires the student have an identifiable special need as verified by an IEP, 504 plan, or a designation of "gifted" or "talented".