edTPA and Physical Education: Tips for Success for All Stakeholders

Overview & Synopsis

Many teacher candidates, cooperating teachers, school administrators, and physical education teacher education (PETE) programs have increased responsibilities and needs related to teacher performance assessments (TPA). One TPA in particular is increasing in usage across all content subject areas in the United States: the Education Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA). This performance-based measure from the Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning and Equity is an authentic and sometimes high-stakes test of a teacher candidate's pedagogical skills in planning, instruction and assessment. This article presents three combined PETE programs' experiences over a period of three years. As both instructors in higher education and national edTPA scorers, the authors provide suggestions and strategies for success that may help three levels of stakeholders related to the edTPA. The purpose for presenting these perspectives is to help teacher candidates, school personnel, and PETE faculty to successfully implement, appreciate and embrace this approach to teacher performance assessment.