Teaching Performance Assessment (TPA)

General Information

As of July 2008, California statute (Chap. 517, Stats. 2006) requires all teacher candidates for a preliminary Multiple and Single Subject Teaching Credential to pass an assessment of their teaching performance with K-12 public school students as part of the requirements for earning a preliminary teaching credential. This assessment of teaching performance is designed to measure the candidate's knowledge, skills and ability with relation to California's Teaching Performance Expectations (TPEs), including demonstrating his/her ability to appropriately instruct all K-12 students in the Student Academic Content Standards. Each of the three approved teaching performance assessment models, CalTPA, edTPA, and FAST requires a candidate to complete defined performance tasks relating to subject-specific pedagogy, designing and implementing instruction and student assessment, video-recording teaching, and reflecting on practice. Performance tasks must be completed within a site placement where the candidate is working with supervising teachers, master teachers, and actual students. Multiple-subject candidates must demonstrate their capacity to teach literacy and mathematics. When taken as a whole, teaching performance assessment tasks measure the six TPE domain. Candidate performances are scored by trained, calibrated content-specific assessors against multiple rubrics that describe levels of performance relative to each performance task. Each model must also meet and maintain specified standards of assessment reliability, validity, and fairness to candidates. Annually model sponsors of approved assessments will report on candidate performance and this data will be used to inform program accreditation. All candidates who start a Commission-approved multiple and single subject teacher preparation program as of July 1, 2008 must meet the teaching performance assessment requirement. As of July 1, 2018, candidates must complete the redeveloped and approved TPA models, as well as meet all program requirements prior to being recommended for a preliminary teaching credential.

To learn more about California's Teaching Performance Expectations, click here [PDF] - Updated June 2016 

Ensuring Successful Implementation of the Teaching Performance Assessment

This letter from the Commission (PDF) outlines the responsibility of K-12 Districts and County Offices in Partnering with Teacher Preparation Programs to Ensure Successful Implementation of the Teaching Performance Assessment and the Administrator Performance Assessment. (Updated July 2018)

This letter from Tom Torlakson, recent State Superintendent of Public Instruction, provides an update on California's Teacher and Administrator Performance Assessments. (Updated December 2018)

These letters may be duplicated and distributed to assist in the implementation of the TPA and the APA. 

Thank you for your continued support.

Three models of the TPA are currently available.

Please select the model for which you would like more information.