About CalTPA

Pursuant to Education Code Section 44320.2, the California Teaching Performance Assessment (CalTPA) meets one of the requirements for earning a Preliminary Multiple Subject, PK–3 Early Childhood Education, or Single Subject Teaching Credential. The Commission recently updated both its Teaching Performance Assessment Design Standards and Teaching Performance Expectations (TPEs). The CalTPA was then updated to align with these changes.

Timeline of the redevelopment effort:

2021: Senate Bill 488 (Chap. 678, Stats. 2021) mandated significant reforms to literacy instruction and educator preparation.
2022: Approval of PK–3 ECE regulations.
2023: Pilot of the Literacy Performance Assessment (LPA) for Multiple Subject (MS) and Education Specialist (MMSN, ESN, ECSE, DHH, VI) candidates.
2024: Field test of the Math Cycle for PK–3 and Education Specialist (ECSE, DHH, VI) programs.
2025: Field test of the Literacy Performance Assessment (LPA) for PK–3 ECE, Multiple Subject (MS) and Education Specialist (MMSN, ESN, ECSE, DHH, VI) candidates.
2025: Operational Administration of Version 1 (V1) for PK–3 ECE, Multiple Subject, Single Subject and Education Specialist (MMSN, ESN, ECSE, DHH, VI) candidates.

graphic illustrating the TPA cycle of plan teach reflect apply

CalTPA Design

The CalTPA includes two full instructional cycles based on the pedagogical sequence of plan, teach and assess, reflect, and apply, each conducted within a school placement. The complete sequence is addressed by each instructional cycle, with candidates providing evidence of instructional practice for each step. Acceptable evidence may be in a variety of forms, including video clips with written or verbal commentary. The CalTPA is designed to address subject-specific teaching and learning. Candidates complete each instructional cycle within the context of their clinical placement.

+− Math Cycle and Cycle 1

Math Cycle and Cycle 1 focuses on developing an engaging content-specific lesson for one group and three focus students based on what you learn about their diverse assets and/or interests, including their knowledge, skills, and abilities.

In this cycle, candidates demonstrate how they select an appropriate state standard, develop one learning goal, one academic language goal, determine what they expect students to know and be able to do, and assess that learning. Candidates will develop content-specific student activities and instructional strategies to develop their students' thorough understanding of the content being taught. This cycle also focuses on how candidates monitor student understanding during the lesson and make appropriate adaptations to support individual student learning needs. As candidates teach and video-record the lesson, they demonstrate how they establish a positive and safe learning environment, provide social and emotional supports through positive interactions with students, and use materials to enhance content-specific learning.

+− Literacy Cycle and Cycle 2

Literacy Cycle and Cycle 2 focuses on developing an engaging content-specific lesson series (3–5 lessons) for one group and one focus student based on what they have learned about their diverse assets and/or interests, including their knowledge, skills, and abilities. This cycle emphasizes the interaction between standards, assessment, and instructional decision making through a three-to-five content-specific lesson series. While standards describe what students are expected to know, understand, and be able to do, assessment is the ongoing process of gathering evidence from multiple sources to determine what each student actually knows, understands, and can demonstrate.

In this cycle, candidates gather assessment data about their students, plan instruction that addresses students' academic and English language development (ELD) learning goals, deliver that instruction, and assess students on their learning. Candidates then analyze the assessments and use their findings to plan future instruction. Throughout, candidates provide feedback to students about their academic performance(s) based on summative and formative assessment results.

Together, these instructional cycles and the related rubrics assess a range of the TPEs.

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