Chapter 9: edTPA Steps to Success: Elementary Education Literacy Tasks 1–3

The edTPA measures a teacher candidate’s ability to plan, implement, and assess, which are all essential skills for the classroom. Compared to past preservice teacher assessments, the edTPA offers a great opportunity for teacher candidates to be evaluated on these skills in a highly authentic way. For many teacher candidates, the edTPA can seem daunting when it is simply an opportunity to demonstrate best practices in teaching. As a result, teacher preparation programs are searching for effective supports in their implementation of the edTPA. This chapter outlines a 10-step plan that helps programs organize fair and impactful candidate support for the three literacy tasks that are part of the Elementary Education Literacy Handbook. These resources have been created by faculty in our teacher education program and in other programs to support teacher candidates in the completion of the edTPA. In the edTPA Steps to Success, candidates are supported with manageable goals and materials to scaffold their work on Tasks 1-3. With these supports, the edTPA will provide another opportunity for teacher candidates to grow in their practice while demonstrating their readiness for the classroom.