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Newly proposed legislation sponsored by the California Teachers Association would eliminate all performance assessments teachers are required to pass, including one for literacy that it supported three years ago. The result could leave in place an unpopular written test that the literacy performance assessment was designed to replace.
Senate Bill 1263, authored by state Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton, would do away with the California Teaching Performance Assessment, known as the CalTPA, through which teachers demonstrate their competence via video clips of instruction and written reflections on their practice.
Eliminating the assessment will increase the number of effective teachers in classrooms, as the state continues to contend with a teacher shortage, said Newman, chairman of the Senate Education Committee.
“One key to improving the educator pipeline is removing barriers that may be dissuading otherwise talented and qualified prospective people from pursuing a career as an educator,” Newman said in a statement to EdSource.
The bill also would do away with a literacy performance assessment of teachers and oversight of literacy instruction in teacher preparation programs mandated by Senate Bill 488, authored by Sen. Susan Rubio, D-West Covina, in 2021.
The literacy performance assessment is scheduled to be piloted in the next few months. It is meant to replace the Reading Instruction Competence Assessment set to be scrapped in 2025.
The proposed legislation appears to leave in place a requirement that candidates for a preliminary multiple-subject or education specialist credential pass a reading instruction competence assessment, said David DeGuire, a director at the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
“At this time, it is unclear what that assessment would look like, but it could be that the state continues to use the current version of the RICA,” he said.
Newman will present the legislation to the Senate Education Committee in the next few months. Discussions about whether the RICA remains in use are likely to take place during the legislative process.
Rubio recently became aware of the new legislation and had not yet discussed it with Newman.
“For three years, I worked arduously and collaboratively with a broad range of education leaders, including parent groups, teacher associations and other stakeholders to modernize a key component of our educational system that in my 17 years as a classroom teacher and school administrator I saw as counterproductive to our students’ learning,” Rubio said of Senate Bill 488.
The California Teachers Association, which originally supported Senate Bill 488, now wants all performance assessments, including the literacy performance assessment, eliminated.
“We are all scratching our heads,” said Yolie Flores, of Families in Schools, a Los Angeles-based education advocacy organization. “We were really blindsided by this (legislation), given the momentum around strengthening our teacher prep programs.”
The results of a survey of almost 1,300 CTA members last year convinced the state teachers union to push for the elimination of the CalTPA, said Leslie Littman, vice president of the union. Teachers who took the survey said the test caused stress, took away time that could have been used to collaborate with mentors and for teaching, and did not prepare them to meet the needs of students, she said.
“I think what we were probably not cognizant of at that time, and it really has become very clear of late, is just how much of a burden these assessments have placed on these teacher candidates,” Littman said.
Teacher candidates would be better served if they were observed over longer periods of time, during student teaching, apprenticeships, residencies and mentorship programs, to determine if they were ready to teach, Littman said. This would also allow a mentor to counsel and support the candidate to ensure they have the required skills.
California has joined a national effort to change how reading is being taught in schools. States nationwide are rethinking balanced literacy, which has its roots in whole language instruction or teaching children to recognize words by sight, and replacing it with a method that teaches them to decode words by sounding them out, a process known as phonics.
Smarter Balanced test scores, released last fall, show that only 46.6% of the state’s students who were tested met academic standards in English.
Last week Assemblymember Blanca Rubio, D-Baldwin Park, introduced Assembly Bill 2222, which would mandate that schools use evidence-based reading instruction. California, a “local control” state, currently only encourages school districts to incorporate fundamental reading skills, including phonics, into instruction.
“It (Newman’s SB 1263) goes against not only the movement, but everything we know from best practices, evidence, research, science, of how we need to equip new teachers and existing teachers, frankly, to teach literacy,” Flores said. “And that we would wipe it away at this very moment where we’re finally getting some traction is just very concerning.”
Lori DePole, co-director of DeCoding Dyslexia California, said the proposed legislation would cut any progress the state has made “off at the knees.”
Among her concerns is the elimination of the requirement, also authorized by Senate Bill 488, that the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing certify that teacher preparation programs are teaching literacy aligned to state standards and a provision that requires the commission to report to the state Legislature annually on how stakeholders are meeting the requirements of the law.
“It would be going away,” DePole said. “Everyone agreed with SB 488, all the supporters agreed, this was the direction California needed to go to strengthen teacher prep with respect to literacy. And before it can even be fully implemented, we’re going to do a 180 with this legislation. It makes no sense.”
Flores said teachers want to be equipped to teach reading using evidence-based techniques, but many don’t know how.
“We know that reading is the gateway, and if kids can’t read, it’s practically game over, right?” said Flores. “And we are saying with this bill that it doesn’t matter, that we don’t really need to teach and show that teachers know how to teach reading.”
California has been moving away from standardized testing for teacher candidates for several years as the teacher shortage worsened. In July 2021, legislation gave teacher candidates the option to take approved coursework instead of the California Basic Education Skills Test, or CBEST, or the California Subject Examinations for Teachers, or CSET. In January’s tentative budget, Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed eliminating the CBEST and allowing the completion of a bachelor’s degree to satisfy the state’s basic skills requirement.
Littman disagrees with the idea that there will be no accountability for teachers if the legislation passes. “There’s always been, and will continue to be, an evaluation component for all of our teachers in this state,” she said. “It just depends on what your district does and how they implement that. There’s always been a system of accountability for folks.”
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Comments (20)
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John 1 week ago1 week ago
Will this remove the EDTPA? Or just the CALTPA… because the EDTPA is seriously confusing, time consuming, & way too stressful when we are working full time with no pay, full course load of units, & little to no help with the EDTPA. It’s also expensive to take the EDTPA multiple times if you fail.
Mike 1 month ago1 month ago
How can I track the status of this? I'm a full-time teacher in the local district, a part-time teacher at Cal Poly, and founded a music education nonprofit in Northern California. The effects of theseTPAs has been negative in all areas of my life (including taking away my already limited time with kids and wife). I've passed Cycle 1 (they are actually quite easy, but just incredibly time-consuming!!!), and am still working through Cycle 2, … Read More
How can I track the status of this? I’m a full-time teacher in the local district, a part-time teacher at Cal Poly, and founded a music education nonprofit in Northern California. The effects of theseTPAs has been negative in all areas of my life (including taking away my already limited time with kids and wife). I’ve passed Cycle 1 (they are actually quite easy, but just incredibly time-consuming!!!), and am still working through Cycle 2, but I would like to follow this bill closely!
Su 1 month ago1 month ago
CALTPA is a money grab, nothing about this assessment applies to real life teaching. It holds back to many teachers, it is not a skills test, it is a time waste and many many teachers I know would never do what they did in the classroom that was required on the CALTPA. Also recording the students is not great.
Kelley Burns 2 months ago2 months ago
"I made the decision to return to school and obtain my teaching credentials during the COVID pandemic. I have been working as a substitute teacher while finishing the credential process with my emergency credentials. I worked as a dental hygienist for 25 years, but I am now questioning my decision as the amount of student loans I have taken out and my expected salary do not match up. I believe this is a major issue … Read More
“I made the decision to return to school and obtain my teaching credentials during the COVID pandemic. I have been working as a substitute teacher while finishing the credential process with my emergency credentials. I worked as a dental hygienist for 25 years, but I am now questioning my decision as the amount of student loans I have taken out and my expected salary do not match up. I believe this is a major issue in attracting more teachers. Additionally, I have been experiencing issues with some of the students, particularly the 7th and 8th graders, who have been very mean.”
Dr. Judith Gollette 2 months ago2 months ago
As a sibling and parent of individuals with learning disabilities, I question the desire to escape teacher excellence! Teacher assessments are a necessary tool for all candidates into our profession. I am a product of three CA teaching credentials (Multi-subject supplement in English, M/M & M/S) combined with four Masters (Ed, Ed Tech, & Admin Tier 1), along my EdD in Higher Ed, I cannot imagine leaving the finishing touches in teacher prep to local … Read More
As a sibling and parent of individuals with learning disabilities, I question the desire to escape teacher excellence! Teacher assessments are a necessary tool for all candidates into our profession. I am a product of three CA teaching credentials (Multi-subject supplement in English, M/M & M/S) combined with four Masters (Ed, Ed Tech, & Admin Tier 1), along my EdD in Higher Ed, I cannot imagine leaving the finishing touches in teacher prep to local districts. We all know some districts do not provide accountable PD. Every teacher candidate must be prepared to enter a class and not expect local districts to finalize the credential with mismatched preparation.
Yes, the RICA was stressful to some, but if you wanted to teach, this was a necessary tool. And now that we know so much more about reading, there should be no excuse to certify a candidate without clearing a thorough assessment on reading. I am so against SB 1263 knowing this is another excuse to cheat out students of a valuable education for all. Please do not support SB 1263!
FG 2 months ago2 months ago
At this point why not remove driver’s license requirements from drivers, residency from doctors and remove any kind of engineering requirement to build bridges, infrastructure etc ? If the senator wants to lower the standards, maybe we can lower his salary as well.
Linda Lessner 2 months ago2 months ago
To further complicate teacher shortages: The requirement for out-of-state teachers with many years experience to take additional college classes to get a "clear credential" for California does not help our teacher shortage. It is disrespectful to not recognize our work and credentials earned from the other states. And, the classes cost teachers thousands of dollars out of their own pockets. As a special education teacher closer to retirement, I could work many more years … Read More
To further complicate teacher shortages: The requirement for out-of-state teachers with many years experience to take additional college classes to get a “clear credential” for California does not help our teacher shortage. It is disrespectful to not recognize our work and credentials earned from the other states. And, the classes cost teachers thousands of dollars out of their own pockets.
As a special education teacher closer to retirement, I could work many more years but may opt out because the time and cost to clear my credential for California don’t outweigh the benefits of continuing to work.
Marie Britski 2 months ago2 months ago
As a teacher who was required to take all those tests in order to earn a credential, I understand the stress of having to pass the tests. But I met soooo many hopeful teachers in my prep classes and on the test day who had flunked the test several times and got many chances to pass it. I can't imagine we want teachers teaching our kids who can't pass a basic literacy test. I think … Read More
As a teacher who was required to take all those tests in order to earn a credential, I understand the stress of having to pass the tests. But I met soooo many hopeful teachers in my prep classes and on the test day who had flunked the test several times and got many chances to pass it.
I can’t imagine we want teachers teaching our kids who can’t pass a basic literacy test. I think it is frightening they would be allowed to instruct our children if they themselves can’t pass the most basic of tests like the CBEST or RICA. Lowering our standards for those who instruct lowers the possibility that those kids will learn to read, write and be successful in their school careers.
rafael reyes 2 months ago2 months ago
As a teacher currently undergoing the credentialing process, I am deeply concerned about the validity and effectiveness of teacher performance assessments such as the EDTPA and CalTPA. These assessments, which often involve submitting lesson plans and recordings of classroom instruction, fail to accurately reflect the true potential and effectiveness of educators. One of the primary reasons why teacher performance assessments are not necessary is that during the credential program, candidates are already subjected to rigorous observation … Read More
As a teacher currently undergoing the credentialing process, I am deeply concerned about the validity and effectiveness of teacher performance assessments such as the EDTPA and CalTPA. These assessments, which often involve submitting lesson plans and recordings of classroom instruction, fail to accurately reflect the true potential and effectiveness of educators.
One of the primary reasons why teacher performance assessments are not necessary is that during the credential program, candidates are already subjected to rigorous observation and evaluation by supervisors. These evaluations provide valuable feedback and support for professional growth throughout the year. It is redundant and unnecessary for an outsider, such as Pearson, to determine an educator’s fitness for a credential based on standardized assessments that do not take into account the unique context of our schools, students, and communities.
Furthermore, the emphasis on standardized assessments like the EDTPA and CalTPA overlooks the individualized needs and strengths of educators. Many teachers, myself included, find these assessments to be counterproductive and disconnected from the reality of our classrooms. Numerous articles and teacher testimonies attest to the detrimental impact of these assessments on teacher morale and instructional quality.
Jenny Ramaswamy 2 months ago2 months ago
Credentialing is a process we use for all forms of professional practice from food handling to financial planning. Why wouldn’t we want to make sure that educators are prepared to teach reading? Literacy is a linchpin in our society and we need educators who have a demonstrated competency in this important area. I hope we don’t take a step backward on this issue.
Renee Webster-Hawkins 2 months ago2 months ago
Wait. After agreeing (with great reluctance) to SB 488 to include a teacher performance assessment to the credentialing process for new teachers to demonstrate their proficiency with teaching the science of reading in lieu of the reading assessment, the teacher's union is now Lucy Van Pelt and pulling away that agreement in the form of SB 1263 to do away with all teacher performance assessments? It is truly hard to stomach, thinking that the teachers … Read More
Wait. After agreeing (with great reluctance) to SB 488 to include a teacher performance assessment to the credentialing process for new teachers to demonstrate their proficiency with teaching the science of reading in lieu of the reading assessment, the teacher’s union is now Lucy Van Pelt and pulling away that agreement in the form of SB 1263 to do away with all teacher performance assessments?
It is truly hard to stomach, thinking that the teachers who are entrusted by the public to teach 6,000,000 students in California are playing political games with those students’ civil rights and right to learn to read by pulling the football away before it even gets teed up. Where is the moral compass in CTA?
Karla Karina Valdez 2 months ago2 months ago
As a current student in a credential program, I can testify to how burdensome and unnecessary the edTPA is. The last two months have being the worst day of my life with stress levels that resulted in lack of sleep and interfered in my 60% internship position. No day goes by that I ask myself if this is all worth it , like many other teacher candidates I'm working by myself with very little to … Read More
As a current student in a credential program, I can testify to how burdensome and unnecessary the edTPA is. The last two months have being the worst day of my life with stress levels that resulted in lack of sleep and interfered in my 60% internship position. No day goes by that I ask myself if this is all worth it , like many other teacher candidates I’m working by myself with very little to none support from my mentor teacher.
On top of that, many of my classmates express that there is a disconnect with mentor teachers who completed their credentials many years ago and aren’t up to date with new standards and methods of teaching. Making this process is extra difficult because if we try to get support with some of the things we have to answer they have no clue how to answer.
In my opinion in both cases of student teachers and internship teachers, some observations have to be done by the school administrator. Those should be used as guidelines or references if the student candidate has the skills or potential to be a teacher. I think there is so many other resources that can be used in replacement to the edTPA that could be more adequate and productive. With less stress impacting the health of all those of us trying to do our part as we serve the 21-st century student.
SD Parent 2 months ago2 months ago
We have a shortage of medical practitioners in rural areas, but no one is suggesting that we allow physicians who haven't passed the US Medical Licensing Exam to practice medicine. Why should education be different? I strongly disagree with Littman: There is not an effective educator evaluation system or any meaningful accountability for the education of California UTK-12 students. More than half the students in California do not meet standards in any subject tested … Read More
We have a shortage of medical practitioners in rural areas, but no one is suggesting that we allow physicians who haven’t passed the US Medical Licensing Exam to practice medicine. Why should education be different?
I strongly disagree with Littman: There is not an effective educator evaluation system or any meaningful accountability for the education of California UTK-12 students. More than half the students in California do not meet standards in any subject tested by the SBAC, and CTA and its subsidiary teacher unions have fought very hard to squash anything that could possibly link these poor student outcomes to educator effectiveness (including any effort to improve the instructional practices of educators whose students are struggling).
I think we can all agree that education is critical to personal success –particularly for the most disadvantaged students – and the future of our society, so why do the powers in education and the Legislature never hold anyone accountable for the poor outcomes for the majority of students?
If CTA wants to eliminate teacher certification exams, then let’s get serious about evaluating educator effectiveness and improving instructional practices where needed.
Mayra Guerra 2 months ago2 months ago
Hi! I really think that this is a great idea because I just finished the teacher prep program and the masters in December and the TPAs were a struggle for me to keep going including the negative experience I had during student teaching so I was under a lot of stress at the same time and the coworkers at the school site didn’t even work with me at all. I did get to collaborate more … Read More
Hi! I really think that this is a great idea because I just finished the teacher prep program and the masters in December and the TPAs were a struggle for me to keep going including the negative experience I had during student teaching so I was under a lot of stress at the same time and the coworkers at the school site didn’t even work with me at all. I did get to collaborate more with my mentor and it helped me to know which way I would teach these kids.
K M Flynn 2 months ago2 months ago
The continued dumbing down of the United States. In fact, the pace has accelerated significantly in recent years. By the way, I hold 2 credentials. The #1 reason teachers are taking early retirement and students are choosing careers other than teaching is unruly student behavior. There are no longer any boundaries, consequences, or punishment for misbehavior. Civility, manners, and respect have disappeared.
Malaika 2 months ago2 months ago
This article fails to adequately convey how burdensome and unnecessary the TPAs actually are, and how many states have already done away with them for these reasons. The two required CalTPAs are longer than my Master’s thesis yet add nothing to my experience, training or knowledge in classroom instruction. That’s because TPAs attempt to measure the same standards already evaluated by credential program mentors and site and district admin, all of whom were certificated … Read More
This article fails to adequately convey how burdensome and unnecessary the TPAs actually are, and how many states have already done away with them for these reasons. The two required CalTPAs are longer than my Master’s thesis yet add nothing to my experience, training or knowledge in classroom instruction. That’s because TPAs attempt to measure the same standards already evaluated by credential program mentors and site and district admin, all of whom were certificated by the state of California to do just that!
TPAs require teachers to submit multiple annotated video clips of their instruction which can just be staged; in-person observation and feedback from admin or teacher leaders is far more useful, informative, and often more valid as well-being .
Joe 2 months ago2 months ago
Seriously? Do we honestly believe that there should be no literacy test for teachers? Why not do as Florida and hire ex-military. I was in the military, and I taught, but I’ll be damned if I can figure out how the military training benefitted my teaching. This isn’t the way to solve the teacher shortage.
Stacey Lichter 2 months ago2 months ago
So ... Yale is now requiring the SAT as part of its undergraduate admissions process again. Do you know why? Because although the admissions office received thousands more applications as a result of eliminating the SAT, studies conducted by the university showed that students who opted not to take it did not perform as well academically at Yale. They were under-prepared. The quantity of applicants went up, but not the quality. Just because being a … Read More
So … Yale is now requiring the SAT as part of its undergraduate admissions process again. Do you know why? Because although the admissions office received thousands more applications as a result of eliminating the SAT, studies conducted by the university showed that students who opted not to take it did not perform as well academically at Yale. They were under-prepared. The quantity of applicants went up, but not the quality.
Just because being a teacher is a thankless profession with a ridiculously low paycheck does not mean that the bare minimum of requirements should apply to potential educators. Yes, it’s a lot of effort to pass those CSET tests. Yes, the EdTPA was a lot of work and I resented the heck out of it when I was doing it. But I think the bigger problem here is why we are treating teaching as something one need not be qualified in one’s own subject for.
Would you remove these roadblocks for law school? Get rid of the LSAT? Tell lawyers they don’t need to know “all the laws?” Removing credentialing requirements is not the answer.
For my part, I think my credentialing program should have put more effort into instruction about classroom management, as that is the skill new teachers will be using the most. But I am grateful to be a qualified, credentialed California teacher.
Brian A. Foster 2 months ago2 months ago
As someone who went through the process of becoming a teacher over a decade ago, I can agree that most of the CalTPAs are essentially busywork. The State will not even allow local colleges to include in their evaluations the proper employment of grammar and spelling! (I know that because in consultation with my local teacher credentialing professors, I petitioned state legislators to change the rules to allow the inclusion of grammar and spelling in … Read More
As someone who went through the process of becoming a teacher over a decade ago, I can agree that most of the CalTPAs are essentially busywork. The State will not even allow local colleges to include in their evaluations the proper employment of grammar and spelling! (I know that because in consultation with my local teacher credentialing professors, I petitioned state legislators to change the rules to allow the inclusion of grammar and spelling in the grading rubric, but no one would take on this issue.)
On the other hand, getting rid of CBEST is ridiculous. Any middle school student should be able to pass the basic levels of English and math included on this test. We already have a plethora of teachers who do not know basic grammar. Every time I hear a teacher start a sentence like “Me and him are going …” I cringe. They are modeling for our students. Instead of dropping the CBEST requirement, teacher candidates should be held to a much higher standard of English before qualifying as a teacher.
The CSETs are very difficult content-based exams. Essentially, they test each teacher candidate on everything any teacher in that subject matter area should ever teach, regardless of grade level. Requiring teachers to know all content comprehensively is daunting since most teachers brush up on the content prior to conducting classroom instruction. For me, those exams were more difficult than the GRE exam I had to pass in order to enroll in a master’s degree program.
Our current process of approving teacher candidates is clearly the result of incremental laws, rules, procedures, processes, etc. As such, they are a haphazard set of requirements. As someone who came into teaching as a second career, I was thoroughly dismayed to learn that all of my real world experience from my first career was instantly deemed worthless. Is there any other profession that does not allow for outside expertise to be exchanged for other hiring requirements? Do you want to bring in teachers who know about the real world? Provide those with outside careers credit for their acquired expertise.
If the state lowers qualifications for new teachers, then classroom instruction quality will only suffer. At a time when California and the nation continue to decline relative to the highest-performing countries, we should be making it more difficult to become a teacher, not easier. The root of the problem is that teachers are simply not paid enough to attract them from other professions. Also, the instant devaluation of skills acquired from other professions is insulting.
Todd Maddison 2 months ago2 months ago
So.. I'm not sure I really care much about the lack of a "teacher test," but given we eliminated the high school graduation tests years ago and eliminated any meaningful consequence of poor performance on the SBACs, it appears our state is doing everything it can to make sure no one will ever actually know if our school districts are doing a good job of educating kids. No demonstration of proficiency to teach and no requirement … Read More
So.. I’m not sure I really care much about the lack of a “teacher test,” but given we eliminated the high school graduation tests years ago and eliminated any meaningful consequence of poor performance on the SBACs, it appears our state is doing everything it can to make sure no one will ever actually know if our school districts are doing a good job of educating kids.
No demonstration of proficiency to teach and no requirement for district performance … Everyone gets a participation trophy.
Seems like everyone would know that doesn’t work from their own private lives, but apparently not?