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Secondary English Language Arts

Assessment Handbook

Version 06.1

edTPA_SecELA_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 Secondary English Language Arts Assessment Handbook

Contents

Introduction to edTPA Secondary English Language Arts ....................................................1

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

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

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

edTPA Secondary 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? ...........................................................................12

Planning Rubrics ...................................................................................................................................................13

Instruction Task 2: Instructing and Engaging Students in Learning ...................................18

What Do I Need to Think About? ..........................................................................................................................18

What Do I Need to Do? .........................................................................................................................................18

What Do I Need to Write? .....................................................................................................................................20

How Will the Evidence of My Teaching Practice Be Assessed? ...........................................................................21

Instruction Rubrics ................................................................................................................................................22

Assessment Task 3: Assessing Student Learning ...............................................................27

What Do I Need to Think About? ..........................................................................................................................27

What Do I Need to Do? .........................................................................................................................................27

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

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

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

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

Secondary English Language Arts Context for Learning Information ................................38

Secondary 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

Secondary English Language Arts Glossary ........................................................................46

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Introduction to edTPA

Secondary English Language Arts

Purpose

The purpose of edTPA Secondary English Language Arts, a nationally available

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

secondary English Language Arts. 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 know

ledge of varied students’ needs

consider research and theory about

how students learn

reflect on and analyze evidence o

f t

he effects of instruction on student learning

As a performance-based asses

sment, edTPA is designed to engage candidates in

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

Overview of the Assessment

The edTPA Secondary 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 will first plan 3–5 consecutive English Language Ar

ts 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 Englis

h Language Arts

(2012),

a learning segment prepared for this assessment should provide opportunities for

students to use textual references to construct meaning from, interpret, or respond to

complex text

, AND to create a written product, interpreting or responding to complex

featu

res 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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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, cli

ps from your videorecording, assessment

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

have w

ritten 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.

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 student learning in English Language Arts. This evidence

includes both artifacts and commentaries:

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

include 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

behi

nd 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 rubri

cs frequently to guide

your thinking, planning, and writing. Refer to the

Secondary

English Language Arts

Evidence 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 Secondary 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.

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

Professional Responsibilities: gui

delines for the development of your evidence

Secondary

English Language Arts Context for Learning Information: prom

pts

used to collect information about your school/classroom context

Secondary

English Language Arts Evidence 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

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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 Secondary English Language Arts Glossary.

You should review the Mak

ing G

ood Choices document pri

or to beginning the planning of

the 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 Secondary 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,

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

learning segment. The central focus

should support students to use textual

references to construct meaning from,

interpret, or respond to complex text, as

well as to create a written product that

interprets or responds to a text.

Write and submit a lesson plan for each

esson in the learning segment.

Select and submit key instructional

mate

rials needed to understand what you

and the students will be doing.

Choose one language function and other

language demands important to

understanding secondary 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

eaching the learning segment.

Submit copies of all written assessments

d/or 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

earning Segment

Part C: Instructional

Mate

rials

Part D: Assessments

Part E: Planning

Commen

tary

Evaluation Rubrics

Planning Rubrics

Rubric 1

: Planning for English

Language Arts Understandings

Rubr

ic 2: Planning to Support

Varied Student Learning Needs

Rubr

ic 3: Using Knowledge of

Students to Inform Teaching

and Learning

Rubric 4: Identifying and

upporting Language Demands

Rubric 5: Planning Assessments

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 the learning segment

you planned in Planning Task 1 to be

videorecorded. You should choose

lessons that show you interacting with

students to: 1) engage them in

constructing meaning from, interpreting, or

responding to a complex feature of a text,

and 2) discuss the text to support and/or

monitor students’ abilities to interpret the

text.

Videorecord your teaching and select 2

video clips

(no more than 10 minutes

each in total running time, but not less

than 3 minutes combined).

Analyze your teaching and your students’

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

Rubric 7: Engaging Students in

Lear

ning

Rubric 8: Deepening Student

Lear

ning

Rubric 9: Subject-Specific

dagogy: Using Textual

References

Rubric 10: Analyzing Teaching

Effecti

veness

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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

student performance at the end of the

Assessment Commentary.

Define and submit the evaluation criteria

you wi

ll use to analyze student learning.

Collect and analyze student work from the

sel

ected 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 student with specific learning

needs. These 3 students will be your

focus students.

Summarize the learning of the whole

class, refe

rring to work samples from the 3

focus students to illustrate patterns in

student understanding across the class.

Submit feedback for the work samples for

the 3 focus students in written, audio, or

video form.

Analyze evidence of students’ language

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 student learning and

pla

n 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

Commentar

Part D: Evaluation Criteria

Evaluation Rubrics

Assessment Rubrics

Rubric 11: Analysis of Student

Learning

Rubric 12: Providing Feedback

to G

uide Learning

Rubric 13: Student

Understanding and Use of

Feedback

Rubric 14: Analyzing Students’

Lang

uage Use and English

Language Arts Learning

Rubric 15: Using Assessment

to In

form 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 appropriate for the students 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

and c

ore concepts 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 tas

ks, and assessments will you design to

support student learning and language use?

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

deepens

content understanding?

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

tudents 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 Secondary English Language Arts Context for

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

emplate. 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

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

teaching 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

students to use textual references to

constr

uct meaning from, interpret, or respond to complex text

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

e just beyond your students’ current skill levels

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Identify and plan to support language demands. Select a key language function from

your learning objectives. Choose a learning task that provides opportunities for students

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 the 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 following 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

learning. (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 associated with the content standards

Informal and formal assessments 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) that support diverse student needs

Instructional resources and materials used to engage students 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 com

mentary prompts l

isted 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 you 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 Secondary

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

rections)

les

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

a commentary explaining 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

earning segment.

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

a par

agraph in length) 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,

ot, 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

ithin your learning segment address students’ abilities to use the textual

references to

construct meaning from, interpret, or respond to complex text

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

ext

d. Explain how your plans build on each other to help students make connections

bet

ween textual references, constructions of meaning from, interpretations of,

and responses to a text to deepen their learning of English Language Arts.

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2. Knowledge of Students to Inform Teaching

For each of the prompts below (2a–b), describe what you know about your students

with respect to the central focus of the learning segment.

Consider the variety of learners in your class who may require different

trategies/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. Pr

ior academi

c learning and prerequisite skills related to the central focus—Cite

evidence of what students know, what they can do, and what they are still

learning to do.

b. Personal, cultural, and community assets related to the central focus—What do

you know about your students’ everyday experiences, cultural and

language backgrounds and practices, and interests?

3. Supporting Students’ English Language Arts Learning

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

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

1. In addition, use principles from research and/or theory to support your

justifications.

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

personal, cultural, and community assets (from prompts 2a–b 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,

their assets, and research/theory.

Describe and justify why your instructional strategies and

planned supports

are

appr

opriate for the whole class, individuals, and/or groups of students with

specific learning needs.

onsider the variety of learners 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).

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

and how you will address them.

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 students 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.

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Analyze Argue Describe Evaluate

Explain Interpret Justify Synthesize

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

oppor

tunities 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

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

oral) students need to understand and/or use:

Vocabulary

Plus at least one of the following:

Syntax

Dis

course

d. Language S

uppor

ts. Refer

to your lesson plans and instructional materials as

needed in your response to the prompt.

Identify and describe the planned instr

uctional 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

he materials for Planning Task 1.

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

oduct, will provide direct evidence of students’ 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

tudents with specific needs to demonstrate their learning.

Consider the variety of learners 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).

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 commentaries, refer to the rubrics

frequently 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 students’ 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 connection to

• constructions of meaning

from,

• interpretation of, OR

• responses to a complex

text.

There are significant content

inaccura

cies that will lead to

student misunderstandings.

Standards, objectives, and

lea

rning tasks and materials

are not aligned with each

other.

Candidate’s plans for

instruction support student

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

instruction 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

instruction 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.

Level 4 plus:

Candidate explains how s/he

wil

l use learning tasks and

materials to lead students to

make clear and consistent

connections between textual

references AND

• constructions of meaning

from,

• interpretation of, OR

• responses to a complex

text.

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.

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 students 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 attend to

ANY

INSTRUCTIONAL

requirements in IEPs and

504 plans.

Planned supports are loosely

ied 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 students 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 OR

• personal, cultural, or

community assets.

Candi

date justifies why

learning tasks (or their

adaptations) are

appropriate using

examples of students’

• prior academic

earning OR

• per

sonal, cultural, or

community assets.

Candidat

e makes

superficial connections to

research and/or theory.

Candidate justifies why

earning tasks (or their

adaptations) are appropriate

using examples of students’

• pr

ior academic

learning AND

• per

sonal, cultural, or

community assets.

Candi

date makes

connections to research

and/or theory.

Level 4 plus:

Candidate’s justification is

upported by principles from

research and/or theory.

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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

mis

sing or are not aligned

with the language demand(s)

for the learning task.

Language supports

primarily a

ddress 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:

anguage supports are

designed t

o meet the needs

of students with different

levels of language learning.

Language demands include: language function, vocabulary, syntax, and discourse (organizational structures, text structure, etc.).

Language function refers to the learning outcome (verb) selected in prompt 4a (e.g., analyze, interpret).

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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 students’ 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

ASSESSMENT

requirements in IEPs and

504 plans.

The assessments provide

lim

ited evidence to monitor

students’ abilities to

• construct meaning from,

• interpret, OR

• respond to the text

during the learning segment.

The assessments provide

pecific evidence, including

a written product, to monitor

students’ 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 students’ progress

toward developing

• constructions of meaning

from,

• interpretations of, OR

• responses to the text

throughout the learning

segment.

Level 4 plus:

The assessments are

trategically 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 students in

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

What kind of learning environment do you want to develop in order to establish

respect and rapport, and to support students’ engagement in learning?

What kinds of learning tasks actively engage students in the central focus of

the

learning segment?

How

will you elicit and build on student responses in ways that develop and deepen

content understanding?

In what ways will you connect new content to your students’ prior academic learning

and personal, cultural, or community assets during your instruction?

How will you use evidence from your instruction to examine and change your

eaching practices to more effectively meet a variety of student 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 for 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 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 in length, but not less

than 3 minutes combined) that demonstrate how you interact with students in a

positive learning environment to develop their ability to construct meaning from,

interpret, or respond to a complex text

The first clip should demonstrate how you engage students in constructing

eaning 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.

The second clip should show interactions between you and at least three

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

construct meaning from, interpret, and respond to the text.







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(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 students

(minimum of 4 students) within the class.

Videorecord your classroom teaching. Tips for videorecording 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 clips 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 responses,

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 video 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 individuals appearing in the video.

Respond to the prompts listed 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

Secondary 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

tudents with varied needs and backgrounds, and challenge students to engage

in learning?

3. Engagi

ng Students in Learning

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

a. Explain how your instruction engaged students in constructing meaning from,

interpreting, or responding to a complex text.

b. Describe how your instruction linked students’ prior academic learning and

per

sonal, cultural, and community 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, 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 student

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

Consider the variety of learners in your class who may require different

trategies/support (such as 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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b. Why do you think these changes would improve student learning? Support your

explanation with evidence of student learning AND principles from theory and/or

research.

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 commentaries, refer to the rubrics

frequently 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 students’ engagement in

learning?

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

The clips reveal evidence of

disrespectful interactions

between teacher and students

or between students.

Candidate allows disruptive

beha

vior to interfere with

student learning.

The candidate demonstrates

spect for students.

AND

Candidate provides a

learning environment that

serves primarily to control

student behavior, and

minimally supports the

learning goals.

The candidate demonstrates

pport with and respect for

students.

AND

Candidate provides a positive,

low

-risk learning environment

that reveals mutual respect

among students.

The candidate demonstrates

rapport with and respect for

students.

AND

Candidate provides a

hallenging learning

environment that promotes

mutual respect among

students.

The candidate demonstrates

rapport with and respect for

students.

AND

Candidate provides a

allenging learning

environment that provides

opportunities to express

varied perspectives and

promotes mutual respect

among students.

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Rubric 7: Engaging Students in Learning

How does the candidate actively engage students in developing their abilities to construct meaning from,

interpret, OR respond to complex text?

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

Students are participating in

tasks that are vaguely or

superficially related to the

central focus.

Students are participating in

learning tasks or activities

primarily focused on literal

comprehension of text with

little attention to developing

interpretive skills.

Students are engaged in

learning tasks that address

their abilities to

• construct meaning from,

• interpret, OR

• respond to a complex text.

Stude

nts are engaged in

learning tasks that develop

their abilities to

• construct meaning from,

• interpret, OR

• respond to a complex text.

Stude

nts are engaged 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

students’ prior academic

learning or personal,

cultural, or community

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, or community

assets to new learning.

Candidate prompts students

to link prior academic learning

AND personal, cultural, or

community assets to new

learning.

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Rubric 8: Deepening Student Learning

How does the candidate elicit student 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 students

provide few responses.

Candidate responses include

signif

icant content

inaccuracies that will lead to

student misunderstandings.

Candidate primarily asks

surface-level questions and

evaluates student responses

as correct or incorrect.

Candidate elicits student

responses related to

• constructing meaning from,

• interpreting, OR

• responding to a complex

text.

Can

didate elicits and builds

on students’ responses to

develop

• constructions of meaning

from,

• interpretations of, OR

• responses to a complex

text.

Level 4 plus:

Candidate facilitates

int

eractions among students

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 students understand how to construct meaning from,

interpret, OR respond to a complex text?

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

Candidate stays focused 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

student misunderstandings.

Candidate makes vague or

superficial use of textual

references to help students

• construct meaning from,

• interpret, OR

• respond to a complex

text.

Candidate uses textual

ferences in ways that help

students to

• construct meaning from,

• interpret, OR

• respond to a complex text.

Candidate selects textual

ferences for students to

use to check or justify their

• constructions of meaning

from,

• interpretations of, OR

• responses to a complex

text.

Candi

date facilitates

interactions among students

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 students’ varied

learning needs?

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

Candidate suggests changes

unrelated to evidence of

student 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 students’

collective learning needs

related to the central focus.

Candidate makes superficial

connections to research

and/or theory.

Candidate proposes changes

that address individual and

collective learning needs

related to the central focus.

Candidate makes

connections to research

and/or theory.

Level 4 plus:

Candidate justifies changes

using principles from

research and/or theory.









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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 make 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

teps in instruction?

How will you identify evidence of and explain students’ use of language that

dem

onstrates 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 students to

demonstrate their ability to

construct meaning from complex text

interpret OR respond to complex text

Define and submit the evaluation criteria you will use to analyze student learning

related to the English Language Arts understandings described above.

Collect and analyze student work from the selected assessment to identify

quant

itative and qualitative patterns of learning within and across learners in the class.

ou 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

ndividuals or groups generally understood and what a number of students were still

struggling to understand) you identified in your assessment analysis. These students will

be your focus students for this task. At least one of the focus students must have

specific learning needs, for example, a student with an IEP (Individualized Education



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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 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 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).

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

students 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

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

the end of the Assessment Commentary.

Provide evidence of students’ understanding and use of the targeted academic

language function and other language demands. You 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

Secondary 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?

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

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

or your 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

sum

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

differences for groups or individual learners relative to

constructing meaning from complex text

interpreting OR responding to complex text

Consider what students understand and do well, and where they continue to

truggle (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),

ovide 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

ocus students. Choose one of the following:

Written directly on work samples or in separate documents that were

ovided to the focus students

In audio files

In video clips from Instruction Task 2 (provide a time-stamp reference) or in

eparate video clips

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

learly 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

trengths and needs relative to the learning objectives measured.



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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.

3. Evidence of Language Understanding and Use

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

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

THREE of the following sources:

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

evidence of language use.

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

minutes 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

language 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

discourse or syntax

to develop content understandings.

4. Using Assessment to Inform Instruction

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

next steps for instruction to impact student learning:

For the whole class

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

Consider the variety of learners 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).

b. Explain how these next steps follow from your analysis of student learning.

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

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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 commentaries, refer to the rubrics

frequently to guide your thinking, planning, instruction, assessment, and writing.

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Assessment Rubrics

Rubric 11: Analysis of Student Learning

How does the candidate analyze evidence of student 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

student work samples or the

summary of student

learning.

The evaluation criteria,

earning objectives, and/or

analysis are not aligned with

each other.

The analysis focuses on what

udents did right OR

wrong.

The analysis focuses on what

students did right AND wrong.

AND

Analysis includes some

dif

ferences in whole class

learning.

Analysis uses specific

xamples from work samples

to demonstrate patterns of

learning consistent with the

summary.

AND

Patterns of learning are

des

cribed for whole class.

Analysis uses specific

vidence 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

signif

icant content

inaccuracies.

No feedback is provided to

e or more focus students.

Feedback is general and

addre

sses 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

ocus 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 provides limited or

no f

eedback to inform

student learning.

Candidate provides vague

des

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

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

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

Candidate identifies student

language use that is

superficially related or

unrelated to the language

demands (function,

vocabulary, and additional

demands).

Candidate’s description or

explanat

ion of language use

is not consistent with the

evidence submitted.

Candidate describes how

students

use only one

language demand

(vocabulary, function,

syntax, discourse).

Candidate explains and

provides evidence of

students’ use of

• the language function

AND

• one or more additional

language demands

(vocabulary, syntax,

discourse).

Candidate explains and

provides evidence of students’

use of

• the language function,

• vocabulary, AND

• additional language

demand(s) (syntax,

discourse)

in ways that develop content

underst

anding.

Level 4 plus:

Candidate explains and

provides evidence

language use and content

learning for students with

varied needs.

Previous footnote is now obsolete and has been deleted.

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Rubric 15: Using Assessment to Inform Instruction

How does the candidate use the analysis of what students 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 to

he learning objectives

assessed.

Next steps are not described

in s

ufficient detail to

understand them.

Next steps primarily focus on

cha

nges to teaching practice

that are superficially related

to student 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

onnected with research

and/or theory.

Next steps provide targeted

upport to individuals or

groups to improve their

learning relative to

• constructing meaning from,

• interpreting, OR

• responding to complex

text.

Next steps a

re connected with

research and/or theory.

Next steps provide targeted

pport to individuals AND

groups to improve their

learning relative to

• constructing meaning from,

• interpreting, OR

• responding to complex

text.

Next steps a

re justified with

principles from research

and/or theory.



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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

our 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

publ

icly 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.com

The rel

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

campus 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.

Ther

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

adherence with certain statements, such as the following:

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

ofiled 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

students/class profiled in the evidence submitted.

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

he learning segment documented in this assessment.

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

ssessment.

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

e from published text, the Internet, or other educators.

edTPA Secondary English Language Arts Assessment Handbook

38 of 50

Secondary English Language Arts

Context for Learning Information

Use the 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.)

Middle school: _____

High school: _____

Other (please describe): _____

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

appropriate description.)

City: _____

Suburb: _____

Town: _____

Rural: _____

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

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

pacing plan, use of specific instructional strategies, or standardized tests.

About the Class Featured in this Learning Segment

1. How much time is devoted each day to English Language Arts instruction in your

classroom? What is the name of this course?

2. What is the length of this 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)?

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.

edTPA Secondary English Language Arts Assessment Handbook

39 of 50

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 white board, online resources) you use for

English Language Arts instruction in this class.

About the Students in the Class Featured in this Learning Segment

1. Grade level(s): _______________________________

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 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.

edTPA Secondary English Language Arts Assessment Handbook

40 of 50

Students with IEPs/504 Plans

IEPs/504 Plans:

Classifications/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

lear

ners 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-taught 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

Other 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

edTPA Secondary English Language Arts Assessment Handbook

41 of 50



Secondary 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

Requirements, those translations should be added to the original materials as part of the same file or, if applicable, to the end of

he 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

page

s, including

prompts

Use Arial 11-point type.

Single space with 1" margins on all sides.

Part B: Lesson

lans 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

lanning Commentary and removed from lesson plans.

Part C:

structional

Materials

.doc; .docx; .odt; .pdf

1 1 No more than 5

page

s of KEY

instructional materials

per lesson plan

Submit all materials in 1 file.

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

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

Order materials as they are used in the learning segment.

Part D:

ssessments

.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.

Part E: Planning

Commen

tary

(template provided)

.doc; .docx; .odt; .pdf

1 1 No more than 9

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.

edTPA Secondary English Language Arts Assessment Handbook

42 of 50



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 record your video, obtain permission from the

par

ents/guardians of your students and from adults who appear on

the video.

Refer to Instruction Task 2,

What Do I Need to Do? for video clip

content 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; .pdf

1 1 No more than 6

pages of

mmentary,

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

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

e not clearly visible in the video

you chose to submit a transcript for occasionally inaudible

portions 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.

edTPA Secondary English Language Arts Assessment Handbook

43 of 50



(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

samples: flv, asf,

wmv, qt, mov, mp

avi, mp3, wav, mp4,

wma

For video work

samples: flv, asf, qt,

mov, mpg, mpe

g, avi,

wmv, mp4, m4v

3 3

No page limit for

wri

tten 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

udents’ 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

audi

o 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.



edTPA Secondary English Language Arts Assessment Handbook

Assessment Task 3: Artifacts and Commentary Specifications (continued)

What to

Submit

Supported File

Types

Number of Files

Response

Length

Additional Information

Min Max

(Continued on next page)

44 of 50

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 and/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 focus

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

Assessment 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, upload 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.

edTPA Secondary English Language Arts Assessment Handbook

Assessment Task 3: Artifacts and Commentary Specifications (continued)

What to

Submit

Supported File

Types

Number of Files

Response

Length

Additional Information

Min Max

45 of 50



Part C:

Assessment

Commentary

(template

pro

vided)

.doc; .docx; .o

dt; .pdf 1 1 No more than 10

pages of commentary,

including prompts

Plus

no more than 5

additional pages

for the chosen

assessment

if necessary, no

more than 2

additional pages

total 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: Insert a copy of the chosen assessment, including

directions/prompts provided to students.

Part D: Evaluation

Criteria

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



edTPA Secondary English Language Arts Assessment Handbook

46 of 50

Secondary 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 or 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

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



edTPA Secondary English Language Arts Assessment Handbook

47 of 50

communicated.

In English Language Arts, language structures include text

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

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 structures (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

the 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, for example, quizzes, homework assignments, journals,

projects, and performance tasks.

assets (knowledge of students):

personal: Refers to specific background information that students 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 the 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.

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-

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

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.

edTPA Secondary English Language Arts Assessment Handbook



48 of 50

community: Refers to common backgrounds and experiences that students bring

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

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

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 Secondary 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 a theme within

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

language and characterization, citing evidence, and appropriate reasoning.

commentary: Submitted as part 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 i

nstructional 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

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

49 of 50

edTPA Secondary English Language Arts Assessment Handbook

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

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

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.

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. A sample English Language Arts learning task 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 a 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”).

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.

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-specific 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

edTPA Secondary English Language Arts Assessment Handbook

50 of 50

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).

variety of learners: Students in your class who may require different strategies or support.

These students 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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