SXU's School of Education announces students teachers received 100% pass rate on edTPA
Saint Xavier University's (SXU) School of Education (SOE) is proud to announce that all 47 aspiring teachers that took the edTPA in the fall semester have passed! The EdTPA is a culminating subject-specific, performance test that pre-service teachers take while student teaching. It builds off of all their pre-service educator coursework and is required by Illinois Law to graduate. In order to pass the EdTPA, candidates must show competency in interacting with students, lesson planning, analysis of student learning, planning and assessment documentation, and reflection commentaries.
Both SXU faculty and students agree that while the EdTPA may be challenging it is beneficial. One SXU student was quoted stating, "Although it [the EdTPA] was hard, I believe it was a worthy experience that prepared me for my first teaching job."
Student teachers are required to compile a portfolio that focuses on three tasks: planning, instruction and assessment. The contents of the portfolio include written work, student work samples, as well as unedited video recordings of themselves teaching students in a classroom.
One of the most important challenges facing public education is to ensure that the nation's increasingly young and inexperienced teacher workforce is prepared to meet the academic needs of all students. Teachers must be ready to teach, with the necessary skills needed to support student learning, from the first day they enter the classroom.
That is why Stanford University and the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) formed a partnership to develop and share edTPA, formerly the Teacher Performance Assessment. For the first time, edTPA gives teacher preparation programs access to a multiple-measure assessment system aligned to state and national standards – including Common Core State Standards and the Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC) – that can guide the development of curriculum and practice around the common goal of making sure new teachers are able to teach each student effectively and improve student achievement.
"A 100% pass rate for the edTPA affirms that our teacher candidates are very well prepared and supported in this important licensure exam," said Maureen Spelman, associate professor and director of Initial Licensure Programs. "Students intending to major in education would be well served at SXU."
For more information on the edTPA, please go online. To learn more about SXU’s School of Education, please visit the SXU Website.