edTPA study guide
edTPA · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
edTPA is a performance-based, subject-specific assessment and support system used by teacher preparation programs throughout the United States to emphasize, measure, and support the skills and knowledge all teachers need from their first day in the classroom. It was developed by Stanford University faculty and staff at the Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE), with feedback from teachers, teacher educators, and national subject-matter organizations; Stanford University is the exclusive author and owner of edTPA. It is intended for aspiring teachers, who prepare a portfolio of materials during their student teaching clinical experience. For each handbook field the placement is a Pre-Kindergarten to 12th grade classroom, and the assessment includes versions for 28 teaching fields. Topics on this exam: Planning, Instruction, and Assessment. The edTPA study guide has 3 sections and about 882 words.
01Planning
Task 1 is judged less by how polished a lesson plan looks than by whether the plans form a coherent, evidence-based sequence. The central focus is the through-line: the important understanding and related skills students should develop. Standards, measurable objectives, assessments, materials, and daily activities should all be traceable to it. Know the context for learning-classroom demographics, students' prior knowledge, assets, and needs-and show how it shapes choices.
323 words, about 2 min02Instruction
Task 2 asks you to show how instruction supports learning, using video evidence and commentary. Rubrics focus on the learning environment, engagement, subject-specific pedagogy, deepening thinking through discourse and questioning, and supporting academic language. The key move is analysis, not narration. 'I asked a question and students answered' is narration; 'At 3:12 I asked students to compare two explanations, and their turn-and-talk shows they were using evidence because...' is analysis.
286 words, about 1 min03Assessment
Task 3 requires analysis of student learning, not just a gradebook. You define evaluation criteria tied to objectives, analyze whole-class and focus-student evidence, examine academic language, provide feedback, and plan next steps or re-engagement. Strong analysis answers: what pattern appears, which students show it, what does it suggest about understanding, and what will I do? Focus students are used to examine variation-students with IEPs, English learners, struggling and advanced learners-not to create separate mini-reports.
273 words, about 1 min