An Introduction

In 1998 the California Senate passed SB2042, comprehensive legislation that established new program standards for teacher preparation programs throughout the state. This legislation charted a new vision for teacher development in our state – from subject matter preparation (at the undergraduate level) through pedagogical preparation (in credential programs) through the first two years of professional practice (through induction programs like the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program- BTSA).

With SB2042 and subsequent legislation (e.g., SB1209), the Legislature and its attendant bodies, like the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC), have sought to bring coherence to pre-service and in-service teacher preparation and development in our state.

One strategy for bringing this vision to reality is through the assessment process. SB2042 established the Teaching Performance Expectations (TPEs), a set of 13 candidate outcomes that are meant to guide program content and experiences. The TPEs map directly on to the California Standards for the Teaching Profession (CSTPs) which outline 6 domains of performance for in-service teachers. Each teacher preparation program is mandated to implement a Teaching Performance Assessment where attainment of the TPEs is measured for each candidate. Districts and schools are creating similar tools for measuring CSTP attainment for in-service teachers. (TPEs and the relationship between TPEs and the CSTPs are detailed in Appendix A).

The PACT was designed and has been pilot-tested and refined by a consortium of 33 teacher preparation programs throughout the state. The consortium includes both private universities (such as Stanford University) and public universities (including 13 CSU campuses like ours and several UC campuses) as well as school districts that offer statefunded intern programs.

The PACT meets the assessment standards (19-21) of SB2042 and is designed as an authentic, summative performance assessment, administered to candidates in the final stage of their teacher preparation program.