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Middle Childhood English Language Arts

Assessment Handbook

Version 06.1

edTPA_MC_ELA_V06.1

edTPA stems from a twenty-five-year history of developing performance-based assessments of

teaching quality and effectiveness. The Teacher Performance Assessment Consortium (Stanford

and AACTE) acknowledges the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, the

Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium, and the Performance Assessment for

California Teachers for their pioneering work using discipline-specific portfolio assessments to

evaluate teaching quality. This version of the handbook has been developed with thoughtful input

from over six hundred teachers and teacher educators representing various national design

teams, national subject matter organizations (ACEI, ACTFL, AMLE, CEC, IRA, NAEYC, NAGC,

NCSS, NCTE, NCTM, NSTA, SHAPE America), and content validation reviewers. All

contributions are recognized and appreciated.

This document was authored by the Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE)

with editorial and design assistance from Evaluation Systems.

The edTPA trademarks are owned by The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University.

Use of the edTPA trademarks is permitted only pursuant to the terms of a written license agreement.

edTPA Middle Childhood English Language Arts Assessment Handbook

Contents

Introduction to edTPA Middle Childhood English Language Arts ................................................. 1

Purpose................................................................................................................................................................... 1

Overview of the Assessment ................................................................................................................................... 1

Structure of the Handbook ...................................................................................................................................... 3

edTPA Middle Childhood English Language Arts Tasks Overview ......................................................................... 5

Planning Task 1: Planning for Instruction and Assessment .......................................................... 8

What Do I Need to Think About? ............................................................................................................................ 8

What Do I Need to Do? ........................................................................................................................................... 8

What Do I Need to Write? ..................................................................................................................................... 10

How Will the Evidence of My Teaching Practice Be Assessed? ........................................................................... 13

Planning Rubrics ................................................................................................................................................... 14

Instruction Task 2: Instructing and Engaging Students in Learning ........................................... 19

What Do I Need to Think About? .......................................................................................................................... 19

What Do I Need to Do? ......................................................................................................................................... 19

What Do I Need to Write? ..................................................................................................................................... 21

How Will the Evidence of My Teaching Practice Be Assessed? ........................................................................... 22

Instruction Rubrics ................................................................................................................................................ 23

Assessment Task 3: Assessing Student Learning ........................................................................ 28

What Do I Need to Think About? .......................................................................................................................... 28

What Do I Need to Do? ......................................................................................................................................... 28

What Do I Need to Write? ..................................................................................................................................... 29

How Will the Evidence of My Teaching Practice Be Assessed? ........................................................................... 31

Assessment Rubrics ............................................................................................................................................. 32

Professional Responsibilities ........................................................................................................... 37

Middle Childhood English Language Arts Context for Learning Information ............................ 38

Middle Childhood English Language Arts Evidence Chart ........................................................... 41

Planning Task 1: Artifacts and Commentary Specifications .................................................................................. 41

Instruction Task 2: Artifacts and Commentary Specifications ............................................................................... 42

Assessment Task 3: Artifacts and Commentary Specifications ............................................................................ 43

Middle Childhood English Language Arts Glossary ...................................................................... 46

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Introduction to edTPA Middle Childhood

English Language Arts

Purpose

The purpose of edTPA Middle Childhood English Language Arts, a nationally available

performance-based assessment, is to measure novice teachers’ readiness to teach English

Language Arts to young adolescents. The assessment is designed with a focus on student

learning and principles from research and theory. It is based on findings that successful

teachers

develop knowledge of subject matter content standards and subject-specific

pedagogy

develop and apply knowledg

e of varied students’ needs

consider research and th

eory about how students learn

ect on and analyze evidence of the effect

s of instruction on student learning

As a performance-based assessment, edTPA is

designed to engage candidates in

demonstrating their understanding of teaching and student learning in authentic ways.

Overview of the Assessment

The edTPA Middle Childhood English Language Arts assessment is composed of three

tasks:

1. Planning for Instruction and Assessment

2. Instructing and Engaging Students in Learning

3. Assessing Student Learning

For this assessment, you wil

l first plan 3–5 consecutive English Language Arts lessons

(or, if teaching within a large time block, 3–5 hours of connected instruction) referred to

as a learning segment. Consistent with NCTE/IRA Standards for the English Language

Art

a learning segment prepared for this assessment should provide opportunities for

young adolescents to use textual references to construct meaning from, interpret, or

respond to complex text, AND t

o create a written product, interpreting or responding to

complex features of a text that are just beyond your students’ current skill levels.

The Standards for the English Language Arts (2012) can be found at

http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Books/Sample/StandardsDoc.pdf.

Complex text used as the focus for instruction can be written text, speech (oral text), or other media. However, students must

produce a written product within the learning segment.

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In addition, consistent with the recommendations provided by the Association for Middle

Level Education (AMLE),

a learning segment prepared for this assessment should be

“developmentally responsive, challenging, empowering, and equitable.” While the full scope

of AMLE’s recommendations will not be feasible in a short learning segment, you should

design your lessons to provide challenging and responsive opportunities for young

adolescents to learn English Language Arts.

See the AMLE Middle Level Teacher Preparation Standards (2012) at

http://www.amle.org/AboutAMLE/ProfessionalPreparation/AMLEStandards/tabid/263/Default.aspx.

You will then teach the learning segment, making a videorecording of your interactions with

students during instruction. You will also assess, informally and formally, students’ learning

throughout the learning segment. Upon completion of the three tasks, you will submit

artifacts from the tasks (e.g., lesson plans, clips from your videorecording, assessment

mat

erials, instructional materials, student work samples), as well as commentaries that

you

have written to explain and reflect on the Planning, Instruction, and Assessment

components of the tasks. The artifacts and commentaries for each task will then be

evaluated using rubrics especially developed for each task.

The edTPA Tasks and the Cycle of Effective Teaching

The three edTPA tasks represent a cycle of effective teaching (i.e., teaching that is focused

on student learning). Planning Task 1 documents your intended teaching, Instruction Task

2 documents your enacted teaching, and Assessment Task 3 documents the impact of

your teaching on student learning.

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The three tasks and the evidence you provide for each are framed by your understandings

of your students and their learning. As you develop, document, and teach your lessons, you

will reflect upon the cyclical relationship among planning, instruction, and assessment with a

focus on your students’ learning needs.

Evidence of Teaching Practice: Artifacts and Commentaries

An essential part of edTPA is the evidence you will submit of how you planned, taught, and

assessed your lessons to deepen young adolescent learning in English Language Arts. This

evidence includes both artifacts and commentaries:

Artifacts represent authentic work completed by you and your students. These

inc

lude lesson plans, copies of instructional and assessment materials, video clips of

your teaching, and student work samples.

Commentaries are

your opportunity to describe your artifacts, explain the rationale

behind their choice, and analyze what you have learned about your teaching practice

and your students’ learning. Note that although your writing ability will not be scored

directly, commentaries must be clearly written and well focused.

When preparing your artifacts and commentaries, refer to the rubrics frequently to guide

our thinking, planning, and writing. Refer to the

Middle Childhood English Language Arts

vidence Chart for information about how your evidence should be formatted for electronic

ubmission.

Evaluation Criteria

The rubrics used to score your performance are included in this handbook, following the

sections describing the directions for each task. The descriptors in the five-level rubrics

address a wide range of performance, beginning with the knowledge and skills of a novice

not ready to teach (Level 1) and extending to the advanced practices of a highly

accomplished beginner (Level 5).

Structure of the Handbook

The following pages provide specific instructions on how to complete each of the three tasks

of the edTPA Middle Childhood English Language Arts assessment. After an overview of the

tasks, the handbook provides instructions for each task, organized into four sections:

1. What Do I Need to Think About?

This section provides focus questions for you to think about when completing the task.

2. What Do I Need to Do?

This section provides specific, detailed directions for completing the task.

3. What Do I Need to Write?

This section tells you what you need to write and also provides specific and detailed

rections for writing the commentary for the task.

4. How Will the Evidence of My Teaching Practice Be Assessed?

This section includes the rubrics that will be used to assess the evidence you provide for

he task.

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Additional requirements and resources are provided for you in this handbook:

Professional Responsibilities: guidelines for the development of your evidence

Middle Childhood Engl

ish Language Arts C

ontext for Learning Information:

prompts used to collect information about your school/classroom context

Middle Childhood English Language Arts Ev

idence Chart: specifications for

electronic submission of evidence (artifacts and commentaries), including templates,

supported file types, number of files, response length, and other important evidence

specifications

Glossary: definitions of key terms can be accessed by rolling your cursor over each

glossary term marked with a dotted underline throughout the handbook or by

referring to the Mi

ddle Childhood English Language Arts Glossary.

You should review the Making Good Choices document prior to beginning the planning of

he learning segment. If you are in a preparation program, it will have additional resources

that provide guidance as you develop your evidence.

Review all instructions carefully before beginning to teach the learning segment to

ensure that you are well prepared for all tasks. Before you record your videos,

pay particular attention to the specific content focus of each video clip

submission; these foci are described in the What Do I Need to Do? sections in

Instruction Task 2 and Assessment Task 3. Refer to the Professional

Responsibilities section of this handbook for important information about

permissions, confidentiality, and other requirements.

If your program requires you to submit artifacts and commentaries for official

scoring, refer to www.edTPA.com for complete and current information before

beginning your work and to download templates for submitting materials. The

website contains information about the registration process, submission deadlines,

submission requirements, withdrawal/refund policies, and score reporting. It also

provides contact information should you have questions about your registration and

participation in edTPA.

Whether submitting directly to www.edTPA.com or via your program’s electronic

portfolio management system, follow the submission guidelines as documented in

the Evidence Chart and review edTPA Submission Requirements to ensure that

your materials conform to the required evidence specifications and requirements for

scoring.

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edTPA Middle Childhood English Language Arts

Tasks Overview

Planning Task 1: Planning for Instruction and Assessment

What to Do

Select one class as a focus for this

assessment.

Provide relevant context information.

Identify a learning segment to plan,

teach, an

d analyze student learning.

Your learning segment should include

3–5 consecutive lessons (or, if

teaching English Language Arts within a

large time block, about 3–5 hours of

connected instruction).

Determine a central focus for your

lear

ning segment. The central focus

should support young adolescent

learners to (1) use textual references to

construct meaning from, interpret, or

respond to complex text (2) create a

written product that interprets or

responds to a text and (3) make

interdisciplinary connections.

Write and submit a lesson plan for each

lesson i

n the learning segment.

Select and submit key instructional

materi

als needed to understand what

you and the students will be doing.

Choose one language function and

other l

anguage demands important to

understanding middle childhood English

Language Arts in your learning

segment. Identify a learning task where

students are supported to use this

language.

Respond to commentary prompts prior

to te

aching the learning segment.

Submit copies of all written

assessments and/o

r clear directions for

any oral or performance assessments

from the learning segment.

What to Submit

Part A: Context for

Learning Information

Part B: Lesson Plans for

Learni

ng Segment

Part C: Instructional

Mater

ials

Part D: Assessments

rt E: Planning

Commentary

Evaluation Rubrics

Planning Rubrics

Rubric 1: Planning for English

Lang

uage Arts Understandings

Rubric 2: Planning to Support

Var

ied Student Learning Needs

Rubric 3: Using Knowledge of

Students to

Inform Teaching and

Learning

Rubric 4: Identifying and

Supp

orting Language Demands

Rubric 5: Planning Assessments to

Monitor

and Support Student

Learning

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Instruction Task 2: Instructing and Engaging Students in Learning

What to Do

Obtain required permissions for

videorecording from parents/guardians

of your students and other adults

appearing in the video.

Identify lessons from th

e learning

segment you planned in Planning Task

1 to be videorecorded. You should

choose lessons that show you

interacting with young adolescents to:

1) engage them in constructing

mea

ning from, interpreting, or

responding to a complex feature of a

text, and 2) discuss the text to support

and/or monitor young adolescents’

abilities to interpret the text.

Videorecord your teaching and select 2

video c

lips (no more than 10 minutes

each in total running time, but not

less than 3 minutes combined).

Analyze your teaching and your

stu

dents’ learning in the video clips by

responding to commentary prompts.

What to Submit

Part A: Video Clips

Part B: Instruction

Commentary

Evaluation Rubrics

Instruction Rubrics

Rubric 6: Learning Environment

Rubr

ic 7: Engaging Students in

Learning

Rubric 8: Deepening Student

earning

Rubric 9: Subject-Specific

edagogy: Using Textual

References

Rubric 10: Analyzing Teaching

ffectiveness

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Assessment Task 3: Assessing Student Learning

What to Do

Select one assessment from the

learning segment that you will use to

evaluate your students’ developing

knowledge and skills. Attach the

assessment used to evaluate learner

performance to the end of the

Assessment Commentary.

Define and submit the evaluation

crit

eria you will use to analyze young

adolescent learning.

Collect and analyze young adolescent

work fr

om the selected assessment to

identify quantitative and qualitative

patterns of learning within and across

learners in the class.

Select 3 student work samples to

lustrate your analysis of patterns of

learning within and across learners in

the class. At least 1 of the samples

must be from a young adolescent with

specific learning needs. These 3

students will be your focus students.

Summarize the learning of the whole

class,

referring to work samples from

the 3 focus students to illustrate

patterns in young adolescent

understanding across the class.

Submit feedback for the work samples

for

the 3 focus students in written,

audio, or video form.

Analyze evidence of young adolescents’

lan

guage use from (1) the video clips

from Instruction Task 2, (2) an

additional video clip of one or more

students using language within the

learning segment, AND/OR (3) the

student work samples from Assessment

Task 3.

Analyze evidence of young adolescent

lea

rning, and plan for next steps by

responding to commentary prompts.

What to Submit

Part A: Student Work

Samples

Part B: Evidence of

Feedb

ack

Part C: Assessment

Commen

tary

Part D: Evaluation Criteria

Evaluation Rubrics

Assessment Rubrics

Rubric 11: Analysis of Student

Learning

Rubric 12: Providing Feedback to

ide Learning

Rubric 13: Student

Under

standing and Use of

Feedback

Rubric 14: Analyzing Students’

Lang

uage Use and English

Language Arts Learning

Rubric 15: Using Assessment to

Infor

m Instruction

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Planning Task 1: Planning for Instruction

and Assessment

What Do I Need to Think About?

In Planning Task 1, you will describe your plans for the learning segment and explain how

your instruction is developmentally appropriate for young adolescents and the content you

are teaching. As you develop your plans, you need to think about the following:

What do your students know, what can they do, and what are they learning to do?

What do you want your students to learn? What are the

important understandings,

core concepts, and interdisciplinary connections you want students to develop within

the

learning segment?

How will you use your knowledge of your students’ assets to inform your

plans?

What instructional strategies, learning tasks, and assessments

will you design to

suppor

t young adolescent learning and language use?

How will your learning segment support students to develop and use language that

deepens c

ontent understanding?

How is the teaching you propose supported by research and theory about how young

adoles

cents learn?

What Do I Need to Do?

Select a class. If you teach more than one class, select one focus class for this

assessment. If your placement for English Language Arts has you responsible for a

group rather than a whole class, plans should describe instruction for that group

(minimum of 4 students). That group will constitute “the whole class” for edTPA.

Provide context information. The Middle Childhood English Language Arts Context for

Learning Information form is provided later in this handbook and must be submitted in a

tem

plate. This form provides essential information about your students and your

school/classroom. The context information you submit should be no more than 4

pages, including prompts.

Identify a learning segment to plan, teach, and analyze. Review the curriculum with

your cooperating teacher and select a learning segment of 3–5 consecutive lessons. (If

teaching English Language Arts within a large time block, select a learning segment of

about 3–5 hours of connected instruction.)

Identify a central focus. Identify the central

focus along with the content standards and

objectives you will address in the learning segment. The central focus should support

young adolescents to use textual references to

construct meaning from, interpret, or respond to complex text

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create a written product interpreting or responding to complex features of a text that

are just beyond their current skill levels

make interdisciplinary connections as relevant

Identif

y and plan to support language demands. Select a k

ey language function from

your learning objectives. Choose a learning task that p

rovides opportunities for young

adolescents to practice using that language function. Identify additional language

demands associated with that task. Plan targeted supports that address the identified

language demands, including the language function.

Write a lesson plan for each lesson in t

he learning segment. Your lesson plans should

be detailed enough that a substitute or other teacher could understand them well enough

to use them.

Your lesson plans must include the foll

owing information, even if your teacher

preparation program requires you to use a specific lesson plan format:

State-adopted student academic content standards that are the target of student

learni

ng (Note: Please include the number and text of each standard that is being

addressed. If only a portion of a standard is being addressed, then only list the part

or parts that are relevant.)

Learning objectives (subj

ect-specific and, as relevant, interdisciplinary) associated

with the content standards

Informal and formal assessment

s used to monitor student learning, including type(s)

of assessment and what is being assessed

Instructional strategies and learning tasks (including what you and the students will

be doing) t

hat support diverse student needs

Instructional resources and mat

erials used to engage young adolescents in learning

Each lesson plan must be no more than 4 pages in length. You will need to

condense or

excerpt lesson plans longer than 4 pages. Any explanations or rationale for

decisions should be included in your Planning Commentary and deleted from your plans.

Respond to the commentary prompt

s listed in the Planning Commentary section

prior to teaching the learning segment.

Submit your original lesson plans. If you make changes

while teaching the learning

segment, you may offer reflection on those changes in the Instruction Task 2 and

Assessment Task 3 Commentaries.

Select and submit key instructional materials needed to understand what y

ou and

the students will be doing (no more than 5 additional pages per lesson plan). The

instructional materials might include such items as class handouts, assignments, slides,

and interactive whiteboard images.

Submit copies of all written assessments and/or directions for any oral or

performance assessments. (Submit only the blank assessment given to students; do

not submit student work samples for this task.)

Provide citations for the source of all materials that you did not create (e.g.,

published texts, websites, and material from other educators). List all citations by lesson

number at the end of the Planning Commentary. Note: Citations do not count toward the

commentary page limit.

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See the Planning Task 1: Artifacts and Commentary Specifications in the Middle

Childhood English Language Arts Evidence Chart for instructions on electronic

submission of evidence. The evidence chart identifies templates, supported file

types, number of files, response length, and other important evidence specifications.

Your evidence cannot contain hyperlinked content. Any web content you wish to

include as part of your evidence must be submitted as a document file, which must

conform to the file format and response length requirements.

What Do I Need to Write?

In Planning Task 1, you will write

a description of your Context for Le

arning (see “What Do I Need to Do?” above for

direc

tions)

lesson plans (see “What Do I Need to Do?” above for directions)

a commentary expl

aining your plans (see “Planning Commentary” below for

directions)

Planning Commentary

In Planning Task 1, you will write a commentary, responding to the prompts below. Your

commentary should be no more than 9 single-spaced pages, including the prompts.

1. Central Focus

a. Describe the central focus and purpose of the content you will teach in the

learni

ng segment.

b. Provide the title, author (or, if a film, the director), and a short description (about

a paragr

aph) of salient features of the text(s) that a reviewer of your evidence,

who is unfamiliar with the text(s), needs to know in order to understand your

instruction. If there is more than one text, indicate the lesson(s) where each text

will be the focus.

Consider including the following in your description: genre, text structure, theme,

plot,

imagery, or linguistic features, depending on the central focus of your

learning segment.

c. Given the central focus, describe how the standards and learning objectives

wit

hin your learning segment address young adolescents’ abilities to use textual

references to

construct meaning from, interpret, or

respond to complex text

create a written product interpreting or responding to complex features of a

text

d. E

xplain how y

our plans build on each other to help young adolescents make

connections between textual references, constructions of meaning,

interpretations, and responses to a text to deepen their learning of Middle

Childhood English Language Arts.

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e. Explain how you will help students make interdisciplinary or integrative

connections between the central focus of the learning segment and other subject

areas.

2. Knowledge of Students to Inform Teaching

For each of t

he prompts 2a–c below, describe what you know about your students

with respect to the central focus of the learning segment.

Consider the vari

ety of young adolescent learner

s in your class who may require

different strategies/support (e.g., students with IEPs or 504 plans, English language

learners, struggling readers, underperforming students or those with gaps in

academic knowledge, and/or gifted students).

a. Prior academic learning and prerequisite skills related to the central

focus—Cite

evidence of what young adolescents know, what they can do, and what

they are still learning to do.

b. Personal, cultural, and communit

y assets related to the central focus—What do

you know about your students’ everyday experiences, cultural and

language backgrounds and practices, and interests?

c. Young adolescent developmental assets related to the central focus—What do

you know about your students’ cognitive, physical

, and social and

emotional development?

3. S

upporting Students

’ English Language Arts Learning

Respond to prompts 3a–d below. To support your justifications, refer to the

instructional materials and lesson plans you have included as part of Planning Task

1. In addition, support your justifications using principles from research and/or

theory, including how the research/theory reflects elements of young

adolescent development.

a. Justify how your understanding of your students’ prior academic learning (from

prompt 2a above) guided your choice or adaptation of learning tasks and

materials. Be explicit about the connections between the learning tasks and

students’ prior academic learning and research/theory.

b. Justify how your understanding of your students’ personal, cultural, community,

and developmental assets (from prompts 2b–c above) guided your choice or

adaptation of learning tasks and materials. Be explicit about the connections

between the learning tasks and students’ assets and research/theory.

c. Describe and justify why your instructional strategies and planned supports

are

appropriate for

the whole class, individuals, and groups of young

adolescents with specific learning needs.

Consider the variety of young adol

escent learners in your class who may require

different strategies/support (e.g., young adolescents with IEPs or 504 plans,

English language learners, struggling readers, underperforming students or those

with gaps in academic knowledge, and/or gifted students).

d. Describe common student errors or misunderstandings within your central focus

and how you will address them.

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4. Supporting English Language Arts Development Through Language

As you respond to prompts 4a–d, consider the range of students’ language assets

and needs—what do students already know, what are they struggling with, and/or

what is new to them?

a. Language Function. Using information about your students’ language assets

and needs, identify one language function essential for your young adolescents

to construct meaning from, respond to, or interpret text. Listed below are some

sample language functions. You may choose one of these or another more

appropriate for your learning segment.

Analyze Argue Describe Evaluate

Explain Interpret Justify Synthesize

b. Identify a key learning task from your plans that provides young adolescents with

opportunities to practice using the language function identified above. Identify the

lesson in which the learning task occurs. (Give lesson/day number.)

c. Additional Language Demands. Given the language function and learning task

identified above, describe the following associated language demands (written or

oral) young adolescents need to understand and/or use:

Vocabulary

Plus at least one of the following:

Synt

Discourse

d. Language S

upports. Re

fer to

your lesson plans and instructional materials as

needed in your response to the prompt.

Identify and describe the planned instruc

tional supports (during and/or prior to

the learning task) to help students understand, develop, and use the

identified language demands (language function, vocabulary, discourse, or

syntax).

5. Monitoring Student Learning

In response

to the prompts below, refer to the assessments you will submit as part of

the materials for Planning Task 1.

a. Describe how your planned formal and informal assessments, including a written

product, will provide direct evidence of young adolescents’ abilities to construct

meaning from, interpret, OR respond to a complex text throughout the learning

segment.

b. Explain how the design or adaptation of your planned assessments allows young

adolescents with specific needs to demonstrate their learning.

Consider the variety of young adolescent learners in your class who may require

different strategies/support (e.g., young adolescents with IEPs or 504 plans,

English language learners, struggling readers, underperforming students or those

with gaps in academic knowledge, and/or gifted students).

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How Will the Evidence of My Teaching Practice Be

Assessed?

For Planning Task 1, your evidence will be assessed using rubrics 1–5, which appear on the

following pages. When preparing your artifacts and c

ommentaries, refer to the rubrics

equently to guide your thinking, planning, and writing.

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Planning Rubrics

Rubric 1: Planning for English Language Arts Understandings

How do the candidate’s plans build young adolescents’ abilities to use textual references to construct meaning

from, interpret, OR respond to complex text?

Level 1

Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

Candidate’s plans for

instruction focus solely on

literal comprehension of text

with little or no connections

• constructions of meaning

from,

• interpretation of, OR

• responses to a complex

text.

There are significant content

inaccuracies that will lead to

student misunderstandings.

Standards, objectives, and

lea

rning tasks and materials

are not aligned with each

other.

Candidate’s plans for

instr

uction support young

adolescents’ learning of

facts and procedures with

vague connections between

textual references AND

• constructions of meaning

from,

• interpretation of, OR

• responses to a complex

text.

Candidate’s plans for

instr

uction build on each

other to support learning of

meanings of complex text with

clear connections between

textual references AND

• constructions of meaning

from,

• interpretation of, OR

• responses to a complex

text.

Candidate’s plans for

instr

uction build on each other

to support learning of

meanings of complex text with

clear and consistent

connections between textual

references AND

• constructions of meaning

from,

• interpretation of, OR

• responses to a complex

text.

Plans support English

Language Ar

ts learning and

imply interdisciplinary

connections.

Level 4 plus:

Candidate explains how s/he

wil

l use learning tasks and

materials to lead students to

make clear and consistent

connections within English

Language Arts as well as

explicit and relevant

interdisciplinary

connections.

Text representing key differences between adjacent score levels is shown in bold. Evidence that does not meet Level 1 criteria is scored at Level 1.

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Planning Rubrics continued

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Rubric 2: Planning to Support Varied Student Learning Needs

How does the candidate use knowledge of his/her young adolescents to target support for students to construct

meaning from, interpret, or respond to complex text?

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

There is no evidence of

planned supports.

Candidate does not at

tend to

ANY INSTRUCTIONAL

requirements in IEPs and 504

plans.

Pla

nned supports are loosely

tied to learning objectives or

the central focus of the

learning segment.

Planned supports are tied

to learning objectives and

the central focus with

attention to the

characteristics of the

class as a whole.

Planned supports are tied to

learning objectives and the

central focus. Supports

address the needs of specific

individuals or groups with

similar needs.

Level 4 plus:

Supports include specific

strategies to identify and

respond to common errors

and misunderstandings.

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Rubric 3: Using Knowledge of Students to Inform Teaching and Learning

How does the candidate use knowledge of his/her young adolescent learners to justify instructional plans?

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

Candidate’s justification of

learning tasks is either

missing OR represents a

deficit view of students and

their backgrounds.

Candidate justifies learning

tasks with limited attention to

students’

• prior academic learning

• personal, cultural,

community, or

developmental assets.

Candidate justifies why

earning tasks (or their

adaptations) are appropriate

using examples of students’

• prior academic learning

• personal, cultural,

community, or

developmental assets.

Candidate makes superficial

onnections to research

and/or theory.

Candidate justifies why

earning tasks (or their

adaptations) are appropriate

using examples of students’

• prior academic learning

AND

• personal, cultural,

community, or

developmental assets.

Candidate makes

onnections to research

and/or theory, including young

adolescent development.

Level 4 plus:

Candidate’s justification is

support

ed by principles

from research and/or theory,

including young adolescent

development.

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Rubric 4: Identifying and Supporting Language Demands

How does the candidate identify and support language demands associated with a key English Language Arts

learning task?

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

Language demands identified

by the candidate are not

consistent with the selected

language function OR task.

Language supports are

issing or are not aligned

with the language demand(s)

for the learning task.

Language support

s primarily

address one language

demand (vocabulary, function,

syntax, discourse).

General language supports

address use of two or more

language demands

(vocabulary, function, syntax,

discourse).

Targeted language supports

address use of

• vocabulary,

• language function, AND

• one or more additional

language demands

(syntax, discourse).

Level 4 plus:

Language supports are

designed t

o meet the needs

of students with different

levels of language learning.

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Rubric 5: Planning Assessments to Monitor and Support Student Learning

How are the informal and formal assessments selected or designed to monitor young adolescents’ progress

toward the standards/objectives?

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

The assessments only

provide evidence of students'

literal comprehension of text.

Candidate does not attend to

ANY AS

SESSMENT

requirements in IEPs and 504

plans.

The assessment

s provide

limited evidence to monitor

young adolescents’ abilities

• construct meaning from,

• interpret, OR

• respond to the text

during the learning segment.

The assessments provide

spe

cific evidence, including

a written product, to monitor

young adolescents’ abilities to

• construct meaning from,

• interpret, OR

• respond to the text

during the learning segment.

The assessments provide

ultiple forms of evidence,

including a written product,

to monitor young adolescents’

progress toward developing

• constructions of meaning

from,

• interpretations of, OR

• resp

ses to the text

throughout the learning

segment.

Level 4 plus:

The assessments are

rategically designed to

allow individuals or groups

with specific needs to

demonstrate their learning.

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Instruction Task 2: Instructing and

Engaging Students in Learning

What Do I Need to Think About?

In Instruction Task 2, you will demonstrate how you support and engage young adolescents

in learning. Before you begin your instruction, you need to think about the following:

What kind of learning env

ironment do you want to develop in order to establish

espect and rapport, and to support youn

g adolescents’ engagement in learning?

What kinds of learning tas

ks actively engage young adolescents in the central focus

of the learning segment?

How will you elicit and build on young adolescents’ responses in ways that develop

and deepen c

ontent understanding?

In what ways will you connect new content to young adolescents’ prior academ

learning and personal, cultural, community, or development

al assets during your

nstruction?

How will you use evidence from

your instruction to examine and change your

teaching practices to more effectively meet a variety of young adolescent learning

needs?

What Do I Need to Do?

Obtain required permissions for videorecording. Before you record your video,

ensure that you have the appropriate permission from the parents/guardians of your

students and from adults who appear in the video. Adjust the camera angle to exclude

individuals from whom you do not have permission to film.

Examine your lesson plans for the learning segment and identify challenging

learning tasks in which you and students are actively engaged. The video clips you

select for submission should provide a sample of how you interact with students to

support their learning.

Identify lessons to videorecord.

Provide 2 video

clips (each no more than 10 minutes, but not less than 3 minutes

combined) that demonstrate how you interact with young adolescents in a positive

learning environment to develop their ability to construct meaning from, interpret, or

respond to a complex text.

The first clip should demonst

rate how you engage students in constructing meaning

from, interpreting, or responding to a complex feature of a text, for example,

historical context, figurative language, dense informational text, and/or visual

imagery in a film.

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The second clip should show interactions between you and at least 3 students

during a discussion of the text to support and/or monitor their abilities to interpret

the text.

(Optional)

Provide evidence of students’ language use. You may provide evidence of

language use with your video clips from Instruction Task 2, an additional video clip of

one or more students using language within the learning segment (no more than 5

minutes in length), AND/OR through the student work samples analyzed in

Assessment Task 3.

Determine whether you will feature the whole class or a targeted group of young

adolescents (minimum

of 4 students) within the class.

Videorecord your classroom teaching. Tips for videor

ecording your class are

available from your teacher preparation program.

Select video clips to submit and verify that

the clips meet the following requirements:

Check the video and sound quality to ensure that you and your students can be seen

and heard on the video c

lips you submit. If most of the audio in a clip cannot be

understood by a scorer, submit another clip. If there are occasional audio portions

of a clip that cannot be understood that are relevant to your commentary

respons

es,

do one of the following: 1) provide a transcript with time stamps of the inaudible

portion and refer to the transcript in your response; 2) embed quotes with time-stamp

references in the commentary response; or 3) insert captions in the video (captions

for this purpose will be considered permissible editing).

A vi

deo clip must be continuous and unedited, with no interruption in events.

If you have inadvertently included individuals for whom you do not have permission

to film in

the video clips you plan to submit, you may use software to blur the faces of

these individuals. This is not considered editing. Other portions of the submitted

video clips, including the classroom, your face, and the faces of individuals for whom

you have obtained permission to film, should remain unblurred.

Do not include the name of the state, school, or district in your video. Use first names

only for all indi

viduals appearing in the video.

Respond to the prompts lis

ted in the Instruction Commentary section below after

viewing the video clips.

Determine if additional information is needed to understand what you and the

students are doing in

the video clips. For example, if there are graphics, texts, or

images that are not clearly visible in the video, or comments that are not clearly heard,

you may insert digital copies or transcriptions at the end of the Instruction Commentary

(no more than 2 pages in addition to the responses to commentary prompts).

See the Instruction Task 2: Artifacts and Commentary Specifications in the Middle

Childhood English Language Arts Evidence Chart for instructions on electronic

submission of evidence. The evidence chart identifies templates, supported file

types, number of files, response length, and other important evidence specifications.

Your evidence cannot contain hyperlinked content. Any web content you wish to

include as part of your evidence must be submitted as a document file, which must

conform to the file format and response length requirements.

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What Do I Need to Write?

Instruction Commentary

In Instruction Task 2, you will write a commentary, responding to the prompts below. Your

commentary should be no more than 6 single-spaced pages, including the prompts. If

needed, insert no more than 2 additional pages of supporting documentation for the

videorecordings at the end of the commentary (e.g., digital copies of indiscernible materials

or transcriptions of inaudible comments). These additional pages do not count toward the

commentary page limit noted above.

1. Which lesson or lessons are shown in the video clips? Identify the lesson(s) by

esson plan number.

2. Promoting a Positive Learning Environment

Refer to scenes in the video clips where you provided a positive learning

env

ironment.

a. How did you demonstrate mutual respect for, rapport with, and responsiveness to

oung adolescents with varied needs (academic and developmental) and

backgrounds, and challenge young adolescents to engage in learning?

3. Engaging Students in Learning

Refer to examples from the video clips in your responses to the prompts.

a. Explain how your instruction engaged young adolescents in constructing

eaning from, interpreting, or responding to a complex text.

b. Describe how your instruction linked young adolescents’ prior academic learning

and per

sonal, cultural, community, or developmental assets with new learning.

4. Deepening Student Learning during Instruction

Refer to examples from the clips in your explanations.

a. Explain how you elicited and built on student responses to promote thinking

and dev

elop students’ abilities to construct meaning from, interpret, OR respond

to a complex text.

b. Explain how you supported students in using textual references (or, if a film,

isual references or dialogue) to check or justify their constructions of meaning

from or interpretations of or responses to complex text.

5. Analyzing Teaching

Refer to examples from the clips in your responses to the prompts.

a. What changes would you make to your instruction—for the whole class and/or for

tudents who need greater support or challenge—to better support young

adolescent learning of the central focus (e.g., missed opportunities)?

Consider the variety of young adolescent learners

n your class who may require

different strategies/support (such as students with IEPs or 504 plans, English

anguage learners, struggling readers, underperforming students or those with

gaps in academic knowledge, and/or gifted students).

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b. Why do you think these changes would improve student learning? Support your

explanation with evidence of young adolescent learning AND principles from

theory and/or research, including young adolescent development.

How Will the Evidence of My Teaching Practice Be

Assessed?

For Instruction Task 2, your evidence will be assessed using rubrics 6–10, which appear on

the following pages. When preparing your artifacts and c

ommentaries, refer to the rubrics

equently to guide your thinking, instruction, and writing.

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Instruction Rubrics

Rubric 6: Learning Environment

How does the candidate demonstrate a positive learning environment that supports young adolescents’

engagement in learning?

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

The clips reveal evidence of

disrespectful interactions

between teacher and young

adolescents or between young

adolescents.

Candidate allow

s disruptive

behavior to interfere with

young adolescent learning.

The candi

date demonstrates

respect for young

adolescents.

AND

Candidate provi

des a

learning environment that

serves primarily to control

young adolescent behavior

and minimally supports the

learning goals.

The candi

date demonstrates

rapport with and respect for

young adolescents.

AND

Candidate provides a

positiv

e, low-risk learning

environment that reveals

mutual respect among

young adolescents.

The candi

date demonstrates

rapport with and respect for

young adolescents.

AND

Candidate provides a

cha

llenging learning

environment that promotes

mutual respect among young

adolescents.

The cand

idate demonstrates

rapport with and respect for

young adolescents.

AND

Candidate provides a

chal

lenging learning

environment that provides

opportunities to express

varied perspectives and

promotes mutual respect

among young adolescents.

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Rubric 7: Engaging Students in Learning

How does the candidate actively engage young adolescents in developing their abilities to construct meaning

from, interpret, OR respond to complex text?

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

Young adolescents are

participating in tasks that

are vaguely or superficially

related to the central focus.

Young adolescents are

participating in learning tasks

or activities primarily

focused on literal

comprehension of text with

little attention to developing

interpretive skills.

Young adolescents are

ngaged in learning tasks

that address their abilities to

• construct meaning from,

• interpret, OR

• respond to a complex text.

Young adolescents are

ngaged in learning tasks that

develop their abilities to

• construct meaning from,

• interpret, OR

• respond to a complex text.

Young adolescents are

gaged in learning tasks that

deepen and extend their

development of deep

understanding of strategies to

• construct meaning from,

• interpret, OR

• respond to a complex text.

There is little or no evidence

that the candidate links

young adolescents’ prior

academic learning OR

personal, cultural,

community, or

developmental assets with

new learning.

Candidate makes vague or

superficial links between

prior academic learning and

new learning.

Candidate links prior

academic learning to new

learning.

Candidate links prior academic

learning AND personal,

cultural, community, or

developmental assets to new

learning.

Candidate prompts young

adolescents to link prior

academic learning AND

personal, cultural, community,

or developmental assets to

new learning.

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Rubric 8: Deepening Student Learning

How does the candidate elicit young adolescent learners’ responses to promote thinking and develop their

abilities to construct meaning from, interpret, OR respond to complex text?

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

Candidate does most of the

talking and young

adolescents provide few

responses.

Candidate responses include

significa

nt content

inaccuracies that will lead to

young adolescents’

misunderstandings.

Candida

te primarily asks

surface-level questions and

evaluates young adolescents’

responses as correct or

incorrect.

Candidate elicits young

adolescents’ responses

related to

• constructing meaning from,

• interpreting, OR

• responding to a complex

text.

Candidate elicits and builds

young adolescents’

responses to develop

• constructions of meaning

from,

• interpretations of, OR

• responses to a complex

text.

Level 4 plus:

Candidate fac

ilitates

interactions among young

adolescents so they can

evaluate their own abilities

to apply strategies for

• constructing meaning

from,

• interpreting, OR

• responding to a complex

text.

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Rubric 9: Subject-Specific Pedagogy: Using Textual References

How does the candidate use textual references to help young adolescents understand how to construct

meaning from, interpret, OR respond to a complex text?

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

The candidate focuses on

literal comprehension of the

text with little or no attention

• constructing meaning from,

• interpreting, OR

• responding to a complex

text.

Materials used in the clips

nclude significant content

inaccuracies that will lead to

young adolescents’

misunderstandings.

Candidate makes vague or

supe

rficial use of textual

references to help young

adolescents

• construct meaning from,

• interpret, OR

• respond to a complex text.

Candidate uses textual

ferences in ways that help

young adolescents to

• construct meaning from,

• interpret, OR

• respond to a complex text.

Candidate selects textual

ferences for young

adolescent learners to use to

check or justify their

• constructions of meaning

from,

•

interpretations of, OR

• responses to a complex

text.

Candidate facilitates

interactions among young

adolescents so they

strategically select textual

references to check or

justify their

• constructions of meaning

from,

•

interpretations of, OR

• responses to a complex

text.

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Rubric 10: Analyzing Teaching Effectiveness

How does the candidate use evidence to evaluate and change teaching practice to meet young adolescents’

varied learning needs?

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

Candidate suggests changes

unrelated to evidence of

young adolescent learning.

Candidate proposes changes

to teacher practice that are

superficially related to

student learning needs (e.g.,

task management, pacing,

improving directions).

Candidate proposes changes

that address young

adolescents’ collective

learning needs related to the

central focus.

Candidate makes superficial

connect

ions to research

and/or theory.

Candida

te proposes changes

that address individual and

collective learning needs

related to the central focus.

Candidate makes

conne

ctions to research

and/or theory, including young

adolescent development.

Level 4 plus:

Candidate just

ifies changes

using principles from

research and/or theory,

including young adolescent

development.

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Assessment Task 3: Assessing Student

Learning

What Do I Need to Think About?

In Assessment Task 3, you will analyze both student learning and student use of language.

Before you begin the analysis, you need to think about the following:

How will you gather evidence and m

ake sense of what students have learned?

How will you provide meaningful feedback to your students?

How will you use evidence of what students know and are able to do to plan next

eps in instruction?

How will you identify evidence of and explain student

s’ use of language that

demonstrates the development of content understanding?

What Do I Need to Do?

Select one assessment from your learning segment you will use to evaluate your

students’ developing knowledge and skills. It should be an assessment that is completed

by the whole class featured in the learning segment. (If you are teaching only a group

within the class for the learning segment, that group will be “the whole class.”) The

assessment should reflect the work of individuals, not groups, but may be individual

work from a group task. The assessment should provide opportunities for young

adolescents to demonstrate their ability to

comprehend and make meaning from complex tex

interpret and/or respond to complex text

Define and submi

t the evaluation criteria you will use to analyze young adolescent

earning related to the English Language Arts understandings described above.

Collect and analyze student work from the selected assess

ment to identify

quantitative and qualitative patterns of learning wi

thin and across learners in the class.

You may submit text files with scanned student work, a video or audio file of a student’s

oral work, OR a student-created video or multimedia file. For each focus student, a video

or audio work sample must be no more than 5 minutes in total running time.

Select 3 student work samples that represent the patterns of learning (i.e., what

individuals or groups generally understood and what a number of young adolescents

were still struggling to understand) you identified in your assessment analysis. These

young adolescents will be your focus students for this task. At least one of the young

adolescent focus students must have specific learning needs, for example, a

student with an IEP (Individualized Education Program) or 504 plan, an English

language learner, a struggling reader, an underperforming student or a student with

gaps in academic knowledge, and/or a gifted student needing greater support or

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challenge. Note: California candidates must include one focus student who is an English

language learner.

Document the feedback you gave to each of the 3 focus students on the work sample

itself, as an audio clip, or as a video clip. You must submit evidence of the actual

feedback provided to each focus student, and not a description of the feedback.

If you submit a student work sample or feedback as a video or audio cl

ip and comments

made by you or your focus student(s) cannot be clearly heard, do one of the following: 1)

attach a transcription of the inaudible comments (no more than 2 additional pages) to

the end of the Assessment Commentary; 2) embed quotes with time-stamp references in

the commentary response; or 3) insert captions in the video (captions for this purpose

will be considered permissible editing).

If you submit a student work sample or feedback as a video or audio clip and additional

udents are present, clearly identify which students are your focus students in the

relevant prompts (1d and 2a) of the Assessment Commentary (in no more than 2

sentences).

Respond to the prompts listed in the Assessment Commentary section below after

analyzing student work from the selected assessment.

Include and submit the chosen assessment, including the directions/prompts

prov

ided to students. Attach the assessment (no more than 5 additional pages) to

the end of the Assessment Commentary.

Provide evidence of young adolescen

ts’ understanding and use of the targeted

academic language function and other language demands. Y

ou may choose

evidence from the video clips submitted in Instruction Task 2, an additional video clip of

one or more students using language within the learning segment (no more than 5

minutes in length), AND/OR student work samples submitted in Assessment Task 3.

California candidates—If you do not have any English language learners, select a student who is challenged by academic

English.

See the Assessment Task 3: Artifacts and Commentary Specifications in the Middle

Childhood English Language Arts Evidence Chart for instructions on electronic

submission of evidence. The evidence chart identifies templates, supported file

types, number of files, response length, and other important evidence specifications.

Your evidence cannot contain hyperlinked content. Any web content you wish to

include as part of your evidence must be submitted as a document file, which must

conform to the file format and response length requirements.

What Do I Need to Write?

Assessment Commentary

In Assessment Task 3, you will write a commentary, responding to the prompts below. Your

commentary should be no more than 10 single-spaced pages, including the prompts.

Attach the assessment used to evaluate student performance (no more than 5 additional

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

pages) and, if necessary, a transcription of inaudible portions of a video or audio clip of

feedback or a student work sample (no more than 2 additional pages) to the end of the

Assessment Commentary. These additional pages do not count toward the commentary

page limit noted above.

1. Analyzing Student Learning

a. Identify the specific learning objectives measured by the assessment you chose

for analysis.

b. Provide a graphic (table or chart) or narrative that summarizes student learning

for y

our whole class. Be sure to summarize student learning for all evaluation

criteria submitted in Assessment Task 3, Part D.

c. Use evidence found in the 3 student work samples and the whole class

summary to analyze the patterns of learning for the whole class and

differences for groups or individual learners relative to

constructing meaning from complex text

int

erpreting OR responding to c

omplex text

Consider what young adolescents understand and do well, and where they

continue to struggle (e.g., common errors, confusions, need for greater

challenge).

d. If a video or audio work sample occurs in a group context (e.g., discussion),

provide the name of the clip and clearly describe how the scorer can identify the

focus student(s) (e.g., position, physical description) whose work is portrayed.

2. Feedback to Guide Further Learning

Refer to specific evidence of submitted feedback to support your explanations.

a. Identify the format in which you submitted your evidence of feedback for the 3

focus students. Choose one of the following:

Written directly on work samples or in separa

te documents that were

provided to the focus students

In audio files

In video clips fr

om Instru

ction Task 2 (provide a time-stamp reference) or in

separate video clips

If a video or audio clip of feedback occurs in a group context (e.g., discussion),

clearly describe how the scorer can identify the focus student (e.g., position,

physical description) who is being given feedback.

b. Explain how feedback provided to the 3 focus students addresses their individual

strengths and needs relative to the learning objectives measured.

c. Describe how you will support each focus student to understand and use this

feedback to further their learning related to learning objectives, either within the

learning segment or at a later time.

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

3. Evidence of Language Understanding and Use

When responding to the prompt below, use concrete examples from the video clip(s)

(

using time-stamp references) and/or student work samples as evidence. Evidence

from the clip(s) may focus on one or more students.

You may provide evidence of students’ language use from ONE, TWO, OR ALL

HREE of the following sources:

1. Use video clips from Instruction Task 2 and provide time-stamp references for

idence of language use.

2. Submit an additional video file named “Language Use” of no more than 5

inutes in length and cite language use (this can be footage of one or more

students’ language use). Submit the clip in Assessment Task 3, Part B.

3. Use the student work samples analyzed in Assessment Task 3 and cite

anguage use.

a. Explain and provide concrete examples for the extent to which your students

were able to use or struggled to use the

selected language function,

vocabulary, AND

discours

e or

syntax

to dev

elop content understandings.

4. Using Assessment to Inform Instruction

a. Based on your analysis of young adolescent learning presented in prompts 1b–c,

des

cribe the next steps for instruction to impact young adolescent learning:

For the whole class

For the 3 focus students and other individuals/groups with specific needs

Consider t

he variety of young adolescent learners in y

our class who may require

different strategies/support (e.g., students with IEPs or 504 plans, English

language learners, struggling readers, underperforming students or those with

gaps in academic knowledge, and/or gifted students).

b. Explain how these next steps follow from your analysis of young adolescent

earning. Support your explanation with principles from research and/or theory as

well as young adolescent development.

How Will the Evidence of My Teaching Practice Be

Assessed?

For Assessment Task 3, your evidence will be assessed using rubrics 11–15, which appear

on the following pages. When preparing your artifacts and c

ommentaries, refer to the rubrics

frequently to guide your thinking, pl

anning, instruction, assessment, and writing.

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Assessment Rubrics

Rubric 11: Analysis of Student Learning

How does the candidate analyze evidence of young adolescent learning related to constructing meaning from,

interpreting, or responding to complex text?

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

The analysis is superficial or

not supported by either work

samples or the summary of

young adolescent learning.

The evaluation criteria,

lea

rning objectives, and/or

analysis are not aligned with

each other.

The anal

ysis focuses on what

young adolescents did right

OR wrong.

The analysis focuses on what

young adolescents did right

AND wrong.

AND

Analysis includes some

differences in whole class

learning.

Analysis uses specific

examples from work samples

to demonstrate patterns of

learning consistent with the

summary.

AND

Patterns of le

arning are

described for whole class.

Anal

ysis uses specific

evidence from work samples to

demonstrate the connections

between quantitative and

qualitative patterns of learning

for individuals or groups.

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Rubric 12: Providing Feedback to Guide Learning

What type of feedback does the candidate provide to the focus students?

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

Feedback is unrelated to the

learning objectives OR is

developmentally

inappropriate.

Feedback contains

significant content

inaccuracies.

No feedback is provided to one

more focus students.

Feedback

is general and

addresses needs AND/OR

strengths related to the

learning objectives.

Feedback is specific and

addresses either needs OR

strengths related to the

learning objectives.

Feedback is specific and

addresses both strengths

AND needs related to the

learning objectives.

Level 4 plus:

Feedback for one or more

focus students

• provides a strategy to

address an individual

learning need OR

• makes connections to

prior learning or

experience to improve

learning.

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Rubric 13: Student Understanding and Use of Feedback

How does the candidate support focus students to understand and use the feedback to guide their further

learning?

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

Opportunities for

understanding or using

feedback are not described.

Candidate provide

s limited or

no feedback to inform young

adolescent learning.

Candida

te provides vague

description of how focus

students will understand or

use feedback.

Candidate describes how

focus students will understand

or use feedback related to the

learning objectives.

Candidate describes how s/he

will support focus students to

understand and use feedback

on their strengths OR

weaknesses related to the

learning objectives.

Candidate describes how s/he

will support focus students to

understand and use feedback

on their strengths AND

weaknesses related to the

learning objectives.

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Assessment Rubrics continued

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Rubric 14: Analyzing Students’ Language Use and English Language Arts Learning

How does the candidate analyze young adolescents’ use of language to develop content understanding?

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

Candidate identifies young

adolescents’ language use

that is superficially related

or unrelated to the language

demands (function,

vocabulary, and additional

demands).

Candidate’s description or

explanation of

language use

is not consistent with

evidence submitted.

Candidate describe

s how

young adolescents use only

one language demand

(vocabulary, function,

syntax discourse).

Candidate explains and

provi

des evidence of young

adolescents’ use of

• the language function

AND

• one or more additional

language demands

(vocabulary, syntax,

discourse).

Candidate explains and

provides evidence of young

adolescents’ use of

• the language function,

• vocabulary, AND

• additional language

demand(s) (syntax,

discourse)

in ways that develop content

understandings

Level 4 plus:

Candidate explains and

provides evidence of

nguage use and content

learning for young

adolescents with varied

needs.

Previous footnote is now obsolete and has been deleted.

edTPA Middle Childhood English Language Arts Assessment Handbook

Assessment Rubrics continued

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Rubric 15: Using Assessment to Inform Instruction

How does the candidate use the analysis of what young adolescents know and are able to do to plan next steps

in instruction?

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

Next steps do not follow from

the analysis.

Next steps are not relevant

the learning objectives

assessed.

Next steps are not described

in sufficient detail to

understand them.

Next steps primarily f

ocus on

changes to teaching practice

that are superficially related

to students’ learning needs,

for example, repeating

instruction, pacing, or

classroom management

issues.

Next steps propose general

support that improves

student learning related to

assessed learning

objectives.

Next steps are loosely

connect

ed with research

and/or theory.

Next steps provide

targeted

support to individuals or

groups to improve their

learning relative to

• constructing meaning from,

• interpreting, OR

• responding to complex

xt.

Next steps are connected

wit

h research and/or theory,

including young adolescent

development.

Next steps provide targeted

suppo

rt to individuals AND

groups to improve their

learning relative to

• constructing meaning from,

• interpreting, OR

• responding to complex

xt.

Next steps are justified with

principles

from research

and/or theory, including young

adolescent development.

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

Professional Responsibilities

Refer to the following table for an overview of your professional responsibilities in

developing evidence for edTPA. If you are submitting artifacts and commentaries for official

scoring, refer to www.edTPA.com, for complete and current information before beginning

your

work. Included here are important information and policies such as submission

requirements and deadlines, registration agreements, attestations, permissions, and

confidentiality. Whether or not you are submitting for official scoring, you should fulfill the

professional responsibilities described below.

Responsibility Description

Protect

confidentiality

To protect confidentiality, please remove your name and use pseudonyms or general

references (e.g., “the district”) for your state, school, district, and cooperating teacher. Mask

or remove all names on any typed or written materials (e.g., commentaries, lesson plans,

student work samples) that could identify individuals or institutions. During videorecording,

use students’ first names only.

To ensure confidentiality of your students and yourself, do not share your video on any

public

ly accessible platforms or websites (YouTube, Facebook, etc.).

Acquire

permissions

Before you record your classroom instruction, ensure that you have the appropriate

permission from the parents/guardians of your students and from adults who appear in the

videorecording.

Your program will provide you with procedures and necessary forms to obtain these

per

missions, according to agreements with the school or district in which you are student

teaching or completing your internship.

If your program does not provide the necessary forms, you may refer to the sample forms

found on www.edTPA.co

The release forms are not to be submitted with your materials, but you should follow your

cam

pus policy for retaining them.

Cite sources

Provide citations for the source of all materials that you did not create (e.g., published texts,

websites, and material from other educators). List all citations by lesson number at the end of

the Planning Commentary. Note: Citations do not count toward the commentary page limit.

Align instruction

with state

standards

As part of the assessment, you will document the alignment of your lesson plans with state-

adopted academic content standards that are the target of student learning. Refer to the

education agency website for your state to obtain copies of relevant standards for this

assessment.

Follow the

guidelines

for candidate

support at

www.edTPA.com

Follow the guidelines for candidate support found at www.edTPA.com as you develop your

evidence for edTPA. Although you may seek and receive appropriate support from your

university supervisors, cooperating/master teachers, university instructors, or peers during

this process, the ultimate responsibility for completing this assessment lies with you.

Therefore, when you submit your completed work, you must be able to confirm your

adh

erence with certain statements, such as the following:

I have primary responsibility for teaching the students/class during the learning segment

profiled in this assessment.

I have not previously taught this learning segment

to the students/class.

The video clips submitted are unedited (continuous) and show me teaching the

udents/class profiled in the evidence submitted.

The student work included in the documentation is that of my students, completed

duri

ng the learning segment documented in this assessment.

I am author of the commentaries and other written responses to prompts in this

asse

ssment.

Appropriate citations have been made for all materials in the assessment whose

sour

ces are from published text, the Internet, or other educators.

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_____

Middle Childhood English Language Arts

Context for Learning Information

Use the Middle Childhood English Language Arts Context for Learning Information to supply

information about your school/classroom context.

About the School Where You Are Teaching

1. In what type of school do you teach? (Type an “X” next to the appropriate

description; if “other” applies, provide a brief description.)

Elementary school (K-6):

Middle school (6–8):

K–8:

7–9:

Other (please describe):

2. Where is the school where you are teaching located? (Type an “X” next to the

appropri

ate description.)

City:

Suburb:

Tow

Rural:

3. List any special features of your school or classroom setting (e.g., charter, co-

teachi

ng, themed magnet, classroom aide, bilingual, team taught with a special

education teacher) that will affect your teaching in this learning segment.

4. Describe any district, school, or cooperating teacher requirements or expectations

that m

ight affect your planning or delivery of instruction, such as required curricula,

pacing plan, use of specific instructional strategies, interdisciplinary learning, or

standardized tests.

If you need guidance when making a selection, reference the NCES locale category definitions

(https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ruraled/definitions.asp) or

consult with your placement school administrator.

About the Class Featured in this Learning Segment

1. What is the name of this course?

2. What is the length of the course? (Type an “X” next to the appropriate description; if

“other” applies, provide a brief description.)

One semester:

One year:

Other (please describe):

3. What is the class schedule (e.g., 50 minutes every day, 90 minutes every other

day)?

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4. Is there any ability grouping or tracking in English Language Arts? If so, please

describe how it affects your class.

5. Identify any textbook or instructional program you primarily use for English Language

Arts instruction. If a textbook, please provide the title, publisher, and date of

publication.

6. List other resources (e.g., electronic whiteboard, online resources) you use for

English Language Arts instruction in this class.

About the Young Adolescents in the Class Featured in this

Learning Segment

1. Grade level(s): _______

Age range of students: _______

2. Number of

 students in the class: _____

 males: ______ females: ____

3. Complete the charts below to summarize required or needed supports,

accommodations, or modifications for your students that will affect your instruction in

this learning segment. As needed, consult with your cooperating teacher to complete

the charts. Some rows have been completed in italics as examples. Use as many

rows as you need.

Consider the variety of young adolescent learners in your class who may

require different strategies/supports or accommodations/modifications to

instruction or assessment.

For example, students

 With Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or 504 plans

 With specific language needs

 Needing greater challenge or support

 Who struggle with reading

 Who are underperforming students or have gaps in academic

knowledge

For Assessment Task 3, you will choose work samples from 3 focus students.

At least one of these students must have a specified learning need. Note:

California candidates must include one focus student who is an English

language learner.

California candidates—If you do not have any English language learners, select a student who is challenged by academic

English.

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Students with IEPs/504 Plans

IEPs/504 Plans:

Classi

fications/Needs

Number of

Students

Supports, Accommodations,

Modifications, Pertinent IEP Goals

Example: Visual processing 2 Close monitoring, use audio text

Students with Specific Language Needs

Language Needs Number of

Students

Supports, Accommodations,

Modifications

Example: English language

learners with only a few

words of English

2 Pre-teach key words and phrases

through examples and graphic

organizers (e.g., word cluster,

manipulatives, visuals)

Have students use pre-t

aught key words

and graphic organizers to

complete sentence starters

Example: Students who

speak a variety of English

other than that used in

textbooks

5 Make connections between the language

students bring and the language used in

the textbook

Students with Other Learning Needs

Othe

r Learning Needs Number of

Students

Supports, Accommodations,

Modifications

Example: Struggling readers 5 Provide oral explanations for directions,

extended time, and sentence frames to

support written responses

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

Middle Childhood English Language Arts Evidence Chart

Your evidence must be submitted to the electronic portfolio management system used by your teacher preparation program. Your

submission must conform to the artifact and commentary specifications for each task. This section provides instructions for all

evidence types as well as a description of supported file types for evidence submission, number of files, response lengths, and

other information regarding format specifications. Note that your evidence cannot contain hyperlinked content. Any web content

you wish to include as part of your evidence must be submitted as a document file, which must conform to the file format and

response length requirements. If you have materials that must be translated into English as per the

edTPA Submission

equirements, those translations should be added to the original materials as part of the s

ame file or, if applicable, to the end of

the commentary template. There is no page limit for required translations into English.

Planning Task 1: Artifacts and Commentary Specifications

What to

Submit

Supported File

Types

Number of Files

Response

Length

Additional Information

Min Max

Part A: Context for

Learning

Information

(template provided)

.doc; .docx; .odt; .pdf

1 1 No more than

4 pages, including

prompts

Use Arial 11-point type.

Sin

gle space with 1" margins on all sides.

Part B: Le

sson

Plans for Learning

Segment

.doc; .docx; .odt; .pdf

1 1 No more than 4

ages per lesson

Submit 3–5 lesson plans in 1 file.

Within the file, label each lesson plan (Lesson 1, Lesson 2, etc.).

All rationale or explanation for plans should be written in the

Planning Commentary and removed from lesson plans.

Part C:

structional

Materials

.doc; .docx; .odt; .pdf

1 1 No more than

pages of KEY

instructional materials

per lesson plan

Submit all materi

als in 1 file.

Within the file, label materials by corresponding lesson (Lesson 1

Instructional Materials, Lesson 2 Instructional Materials, etc.).

Order materials as they are used in the learning segment.

Par

t D:

Asse

ssments

.doc; .docx; .odt; .pdf

1 1

No limit

Submit assessments in 1 file.

Within the

file, label assessments by corresponding lesson

(Lesson 1 Assessments, Lesson 2 Assessments, etc.).

Order assessments as they are used in the learning segment.

Par

t E: P

lanning

Commentary

(template provided)

.doc; .docx; .odt; .pdf

1 1 No more than

pages of

commentary,

including prompts

Use Arial 11-point type.

Single space with 1" margins on all sides.

Respond to prompts before teaching the learning segment.

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

Instruction Task 2: Artifacts and Commentary Specifications

What to

Submit

Supported File

Types

Number of Files

Response

Length

Additional Information

Min Max

Part A: Video

Clips

flv, asf, qt, mov, mpg,

mpeg, avi, wmv, mp4,

m4v

2 2 Running time no

more than 10

minutes each (but

not less than 3

minutes combined)

Before you r

ecord your video, obtain permission from the

parents/guardians of your students and from adults who appear in

the video.

Refer to Instruction Task 2, What Do I Need to Do? for video clip

conte

nt and requirements.

When naming each clip file, include the number of the lesson

shown in the video clip.

Part B: Instruction

Commentar

(template

pro

vided)

.doc; .docx; .odt; .pd

1 1 No more than 6

pages

commentary,

including prompts

If needed, no more

than 2

additional

pages of supporting

documentation

Use Arial 11-point type.

Single space with 1" margins on all sides.

IMPORTANT:

Insert documentation at the end of the commentary file if

u or the students are using graphics, texts, or images that

not clearly visible in the video

you chose to submit a transcript for occasionally inaudible

por

tions of the video

If submitting documentation, include the video clip number, lesson

number, and explanatory text (e.g., “Clip 1, lesson 2, text from a

whiteboard that is not visible in the video,” “Clip 2, lesson 4,

transcription of a student response that is inaudible”).

Video file size requirements: The target file size is 200–300 MB or less. The Pearson ePortfolio System file size limit is 500 MB. Please note that each integrated platform

provider portfolio system may have additional constraints or requirements regarding video formats and file sizes. You may need to use video tools to compress or transcode your

video into smaller file sizes to facilitate uploading of the video. Refer to Recommended Video Formats and Settings on www.edtpa.com

for the current requirements.

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

(Continued on next page)

Assessment Task 3: Artifacts and Commentary Specifications

What to

Submit

Supported File

Types

Number of Files

Response

Length

Additional Information

Min Max

Part A: Student

Work Samples

For written work

samples: .doc; .docx;

.odt; .pdf

For audio work

sam

ples: flv, asf,

wmv, qt, mov, mpg,

avi, mp3, wav, mp4,

wma

For video work

sam

ples: flv, asf, qt,

mov, mpg, mpeg, avi,

wmv, mp4, m4v

3 3

No page limit for

itten work samples

No more than 5

minut

es per focus

student for video or

audio student work

samples

Use correction fluid, tape, or a felt-tip marker

to mask or remove

students’ names, your name, and the name of the school

before copying/scanning any work samples. If your students’

writing is illegible, write a transcription directly on the work sample.

On each work sample, indicate the student number (Student 1

Work S

ample, Student 2 Work Sample, or Student 3 Work Sample).

If more than one focus student appears in a video or audio work

sample, upload the same work sample separately for each focus

student who is seen/heard and label appropriately. Describe how to

recognize each of the focus students in the clip and provide the label

associated with the clip in prompt 1d of the Assessment

Commentary.

When naming each work sample file, include the student number.

If you submit a

student work sample or feedback as a video or audio

clip and comments made by you or your focus student(s) cannot be

clearly heard, do one of the following: 1) attach a transcription of the

inaudible comments (no more than 2 additional pages) to the end of

the Assessment Commentary; 2) embed quotes with time-stamp

references in the commentary response; or 3) insert captions in the

video (captions for this purpose will be considered permissible editing).

Video file size requirements: The target file size is 200–300 MB or less. The Pearson ePortfolio System file size limit is 500 MB. Please note that each integrated platform

provider portfolio system may have additional constraints or requirements regarding video formats and file sizes. You may need to use video tools to compress or transcode your

video into smaller file sizes to facilitate uploading of the video. Refer to Recommended Video Formats and Settings on www.edtpa.com

for the current requirements.

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

Assessment Task 3: Artifacts and Commentary Specifications (continued)

What to Supported File

Number of Files

Response

Additional Information

Submit Types Length

Min Max

(Continued on next page)

Part B: Evidence

of Feedback

And, if included,

video evidence of

academic

language use

For written feedback

not written on the

work samples: .doc;

.docx; .odt; .pdf

For audio feedback:

flv, asf, wmv, qt,

mov,

mpg, avi, mp3, wav,

mp4, wma

For video clips

(feedback or

language use): flv,

asf, qt, mov, mpg,

mpeg, avi, wmv, mp4,

m4v

0 4 No page limit for

written

feedback

No more than 3

minutes per f

ocus

student for video or

audio feedback

No more than 5

minutes for video

evidence of student

language use

Document the location of your evidence of feedback in the

Assessmen

t Commentary.

If feedback is not included as part of the student work samples or

recorded

on the video clip(s) from Instruction Task 2, submit only 1

file for each focus student—a document, video file, OR audio file—

and label the file with the corresponding student number (Student 1

Feedback, Student 2 Feedback, or Student 3 Feedback).

If more than one focus student appears in a video or audio clip of

feedback, upl

oad the same clip separately for each focus student

who is seen/heard and label appropriately.

When naming each feedback file, include the student number.

If you submit a

student work sample or feedback as a video or audio

clip and comments made by you or your focus student(s) cannot be

clearly heard, do one of the following: 1) attach a transcription of the

inaudible comments (no more than 2 additional pages) to the end of

the Assessment Commentary; 2) embed quotes with time-stamp

references in the commentary response; or 3) insert captions in the

video (captions for this purpose will be considered permissible editing).

For Academic Language – If you choose to submit a video clip of

student language use, it should be no more than 5 minutes. You

may identify a portion of a clip provided for Instruction Task 2 or

submit an entirely new clip.

Video file size requirements: The target file size is 200–300 MB or less. The Pearson ePortfolio System file size limit is 500 MB. Please note that each integrated platform

provider portfolio system may have additional constraints or requirements regarding video formats and file sizes. You may need to use video tools to compress or transcode your

video into smaller file sizes to facilitate uploading of the video. Refer to Recommended Video Formats and Settings on www.edtpa.com

for the current requirements.

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

Assessment Task 3: Artifacts and Commentary Specifications (continued)

What to Supported File

Number of Files

Response

Additional Information

Submit Types Length

Min Max

Part C:

Assessment

Commentary

(template

pro

vided)

.doc; .docx; .odt; .pdf 1 1 No more than 10

pages of commentary,

including prompts

Plus

no more than

5 a

dditional

pages for the

chosen

assessment

if necessary,

no more than

2 additional

total pages of

transcription of

video/audio

evidence for a

work sample

and feedback,

and/or video

evidence of

language use

Use Arial 11-point type.

Single space with 1" margins on all sides.

IMPORTANT: In

sert a copy of the chosen assessment, including

directions/prompts provided to students.

Part D: E

valuation

Criteria

oc; .docx; .odt; .pdf 1 1 No limit

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

Middle Childhood English Language Arts

Glossary

Source citations for glossary entries are provided as footnotes in this section.

academic language: Oral and written language used for academic purposes. Academic

language is the means by which students develop and express content understandings.

Academic language represents the language of the discipline that students need to learn

and use to participate and engage in the content area in meaningful ways. There are

language demands that teachers need to consider as they plan to support student learning

of content. These language demands include language functions, vocabulary,

discourse, and syntax.

language demands:

Specific ways that academic language (vocabulary, functions,

discourse, syntax) is used by students to participate in learning tasks through

reading, writing, listening, and/or speaking to demonstrate their disciplinary

understanding.

language functions: The content and language focus of the learning task,

represented by the active verbs within the learning outcomes. Common language

functions in English Language Arts include reading/listening for main ideas and

details; analyzing and interpreting characters and plots; writing narrative,

informational, or poetic text; using presentation skills to present a play, deliver a

speech, or do a dramatic reading; evaluating and interpreting an author’s purpose,

message, and use of language choice, setting, mood, tone, and other literary

strategies; comparing ideas within and between texts; and making sense of

unfamiliar vocabulary through pictures, word parts, and contextual clues.

vocabulary: Includes words and

phrases that are used within disciplines, including:

(1) words and phrases with subject-specific meanings that differ from meanings used

in everyday life (e.g., table); (2) general academic vocabulary used across disciplines

(e.g., compare, analyze, evaluate); and (3) subject-specific words defined for use in

the discipline.

discourse: Discourse includes the structures of written and oral language, as well as

how members of the discipline talk, write, and participate in knowledge construction.

Discipline-specific discourse has distinctive features or ways of structuring oral or

written language (text structures) that provide useful ways for the content to be

communicated.

In English Language Arts, language structures include text

structures or rhetorical patterns, and genres. If the language function is to persuade,

O'Hara, S., Pritchard, R., & Zwiers, J. (2012). Identifying academic language demands in support of the common core

standards. ASCD Express, 7(17). Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol7/717-ohara.aspx

Quinn, H., Lee, O., & Valdés, G. (2012). Language demands and opportunities in relation to next generation science

standards for ELLs. Retrieved from http://ell.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/pdf/academic-papers/03-

Qui

nn%20Lee%20Valdes%20Language%20and%20Opportunities%20in%20Science%20FINAL.pdf

Quinn, H., Lee, O., & Valdés, G. (2012). Language demands and opportunities in relation to next generation science

standards for ELLs. Retrieved from http://ell.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/pdf/academic-papers/03-

Qui

nn%20Lee%20Valdes%20Language%20and%20Opportunities%20in%20Science%20FINAL.pdf

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

then appropriate language structures (discourse) within that genre include claims,

supporting evidence, and counterarguments.

syntax: The set of conventions for organizing symbols, words, and phrases together

into struct

ures (e.g., sentences, graphs, tables).

language supports: The scaffolds, representations, and pedagogical strategies

teachers provide to help learners understand, use, and practice the concepts and

language they need to learn within disciplines (Santos, Darling-Hammond, Cheuk,

2012).

The language supports planned within the lessons in edTPA should directly

support learners to understand and use identified language demands (vocabulary,

language function, and discourse or syntax) to deepen content understandings.

aligned: Consistently addressing the same/similar learning outcomes for students.

artifacts: Authentic work completed by you and your students, including lesson plans,

copies of instructional and assessment materials, video clips of your teaching, and student

work samples. Artifacts are submitted as part of your evidence.

assessment (formal and informal): “[R]efer[s] to all those activities undertaken by

teachers and by their students . . . that provide information to be used as feedback to modify

teaching and learning activities.”

Assessments provide evidence of students’ prior

knowledge, thinking, or learning in order to evaluate what students understand and how they

are thinking. Informal assessments may include such things as student questions and

responses during instruction and teacher observations of students as they work or perform.

Formal assessments may include such things as quizzes, homework assignments, journals,

projects, and performance tasks.

assets (knowledge of students):

personal: Refers to

specific background information that young adolescents bring to

the learning environment. Students may bring interests, knowledge, everyday

experiences, family backgrounds, and so on, which a teacher can draw upon to

support learning.

cultural: Refers to t

he cultural backgrounds and practices that students bring to the

learning environment, such as traditions, languages and dialects, worldviews,

literature, art, and so on, that a teacher can draw upon to support learning.

community: Refers to comm

on backgrounds and experiences that students bring

from the community where they live, such as resources, local landmarks, community

events and practices, and so on, that a teacher can draw upon to support learning.

developmental: Refers to spec

ific background information about cognitive, physical,

and social and emotional development that a teacher can draw upon to support

student learning. See below for definitions of each aspect of development.

Zwiers, J. (2008). Building academic language: Essential practices for content classrooms. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Santos, M., Darling-Hammond, L., & Cheuk, T. (2012). Teacher development to support English language learners in the

context of common core state standards. Stanford University Understanding Language. Available at

http://ell.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/pdf/academic-papers/10-Santos%20LDH%20Teacher%20Development%20FINAL.pdf

Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Inside the black box: Raising standards through classroom assessment. Phi Delta Kappan,

80(2), 139–148.

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central focus: A description of the important understandings and core concepts that you

want students to develop within the learning segment. The central focus should go beyond a

list of facts and skills, align with content standards and learning objectives, and address the

subject-specific components in the learning segment. For example, the subject-specific

components for Middle Childhood English Language Arts include construction of explicit and

inferred meaning from text and analysis of themes and ideas. A central focus for the

learning segment might be analyzing the author’s use of language to develop theme within a

complex text. The learning segment would focus on conceptual understanding of figurative

language and characterization, citing evidence and appropriate reasoning.

cognitive development: Refers to the changes and advancement that occur in intellectual

development during adolescence, such as the shift from concrete operational thinking to

formal abstract thinking.

commentary: Submitted as par

t of each task and, along with artifacts, make up your

evidence. The commentaries should be written to explain the rationale behind your teaching

decisions and to analyze and reflect on what you have learned about your teaching practice

and your students’ learning.

complex text: Complex text can be written text, speech (oral text), or other media. Can be

measured by three dimensions:

(1) The qualitative dimensions which include the meaning,

purpose, structure, language conventions, and knowledge demands of the text for the

reader; (2) The quantitative dimensions, such as word length or frequency, sentence length,

and text cohesion of the text; and (3) The reader and task dimensions, which are variables

specific to the readers, such as motivation, prior knowledge and experience, and the

particular purpose of and tasks to be done with the texts.

engaging students in learning: Using instructional and motivational strategies that

promote students’ active involvement in learning tasks that increase their knowledge, skills,

and abilities related to specific learning objectives. Engagement in learning contrasts with

student participation in learning tasks that are not well designed and/or implemented and do

not increase student learning.

evaluation criteria: Performance indicators or dimensions that are used to assess evidence

of student learning. They indicate the qualities by which levels of performance can be

differentiated and that anchor judgments about the learner’s degree of success on an

assessment. Evaluation criteria can be represented in various ways, such as a rubric, a

point system for different levels of performance, or rules for awarding full versus partial

credit. Evaluation criteria may examine correctness/accuracy, cognitive complexity,

sophistication or elaboration of responses, or quality of explanations.

evidence: Consists of artifacts that document how you planned and implemented

instruction AND commentaries that explain your plans and what is seen in the

videorecording(s) or examine what you learned about your teaching practice and your

students’ learning. Evidence should demonstrate your ability to design lesson plans with

instructional supports that deepen student learning, use knowledge of your students to

inform instruction, foster a positive learning environment that promotes student learning,

National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers. (2010). Common Core

State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects Appendix A:

Research Supporting Key Elements of the Standards and Glossary of Terms. Retrieved from

http://www.corestandards.org/assets/Appendix_A.pdf

edTPA Middle Childhood English Language Arts Assessment Handbook

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monitor and assess student progress toward learning objectives, and analyze your teaching

effectiveness. Your evidence must be submitted electronically using the electronic portfolio

management system used by your teacher preparation program.

integrative: The A

ssociation for Middle Level Education (AMLE) encourages middle grades

teachers to design curriculum and select materials that are integrative, challenging, and

grounded in the ideas, interests, and experiences of all young adolescents. In an integrative

curriculum, a problem or issue, often initiated by the learners, is the driving force for

organizing the curriculum.

interdisciplinary: An int

erdisciplinary curriculum makes connections across several

disciplines through a theme that crosses curricular lines. The learning experiences require

that knowledge from several disciplines be utilized to explore the concepts and skills of the

curriculum.

learning environment: The designed physical and emotional context, established and

maintained throughout the learning segment to support a positive and productive learning

experience for students.

learning objectives: Student learning outcomes to be achieved by the end of the lesson or

learning segment.

learning segment: A set of 3–5 lessons that build one upon another toward a central focus,

with a clearly defined beginning and end.

learning task: Includes activities, discussions, or other modes of participation that engage

students to develop, practice, and apply skills and knowledge related to a specific learning

goal. Learning tasks may be scaffolded to connect prior knowledge to new knowledge and

often include formative assessment. Sample English Language Arts learning tasks for

students working with poetry could be: Identify examples of figurative language (e.g.,

metaphors, similes, personification); generate alternate examples of figurative language in

opposition to those presented in the text; small-group discussions about how the meaning of

the poem changes when alternate examples are inserted; individual analysis of new poem in

terms of how figurative language helps the reader interpret the poem.

patterns of learning: Includes both quantitative and qualitative patterns (or consistencies)

for different groups of students or individuals. Quantitative patterns indicate in a numerical

way the information understood from the assessment (e.g., 10 out of 15 students or 20% of

the students). Qualitative patterns include descriptions of understandings,

misunderstandings, and/or partial understandings that could explain the quantitative

patterns (e.g., “given that most students were able to . . . it seems that they understand”).

physical development: Refers to the growth and development of skeletal, structural, and

muscular systems that includes the changes brought about by puberty.

planned supports: Instructional strategies, learning tasks and materials, and other

resources deliberately designed to facilitate student learning of the central focus.

prior academic learning and prerequisite skills: Includes students’ content knowledge

and skills as well as academic experiences developed prior to the learning segment.

rapport: A close and harmonious relationship in which the people or groups understand

each other’s feelings or ideas and communicate well with each other.

edTPA Middle Childhood English Language Arts Assessment Handbook

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respect: A positive feeling of esteem or deference for a person and specific actions and

conduct representative of that esteem. Respect can be a specific feeling of regard for the

actual qualities of the one respected. It can also be conduct in accord with a specific ethic of

respect. Rude conduct is usually considered to indicate a lack of respect, disrespect,

whereas actions that honor somebody or something indicate respect. Note that respectful

actions and conduct are culturally defined and may be context dependent.

rubrics: Subject-s

pecific evaluation criteria used to score your performance on edTPA.

These rubrics are included in the handbook following the directions for each task. The

descriptors in the five-level rubrics address a wide range of performance, beginning with the

knowledge and skills of a novice not ready to teach (Level 1) and extending to the advanced

practices of a highly accomplished beginner (Level 5).

social and emotional development: Refers to the ways in which adolescents develop

unders

tandings of self and others. Milestones at various levels of development include

identity formation, self-awareness/self-concept, pro-social behavior, peer relationships,

social responsibility, and moral reasoning.

variety of young adolescent learners: Students in your class who may require different

strategies or support. These young adolescents include but are not limited to students with

IEPs or 504 plans, English language learners, struggling readers, underperforming students

or those with gaps in academic knowledge, and/or gifted students.

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