Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1512793
valuable teacher prep activities, taking time away "from preparing to student teach, from your time in your class- room, your time observing teachers, completing assignments and learning content standards. Instead of course- work you're working on the TPA's very high-stakes assignments." She recalls having to make "life choices." "My TPA class ended at 7 p.m. so I would get home between 8:30 and 9. I had to decide whether to do home- work or eat dinner or go to bed." Manzanedo was a "COVID candi- date," unable to complete the TPA due to the pandemic. Gov. Gavin Newsom granted these candidates a preliminary credential to help with the teacher shortage, and Manzanedo's first year of teaching was online. In July 2023, Newsom signed off on SB 114, which exempted the candidates from having to pass the TPA if they had participated in an induction program or had been teaching for two years. Both Manzanedo and Githens say they did not experience hardship while working on the TPA, but they saw oth- ers who did. "I had way more privileges than my BIPOC peers," Githens says. "I noticed my BIPOC peers were taking on more, many were caregivers, had outside jobs, and some even had housing and food insecurity. Historically school is not designed for them or those seeking second careers." Manzanedo feels that BIPOC edu- cators did not get the additional help they needed. "[ The TPA program] assumed they knew what candidates need to succeed. They did not reach out to BIPOC educators, they did not ask candidates 'what do you need in this moment.'" CTA surveyed 1,284 members with 10 or fewer years of teaching about requirements for their credential, including the TPA. Highlights from survey results: 5% 17% 31% 47% Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Q12: Completing a Teacher Performance Assessment (TPA) helped prepare me to meet the needs of students in California schools. 47% of CTA survey participants "strongly disagreed" and 31% "disagreed" with the statement "Completing a TPA helped prepare me to meet the needs of students in California schools." 3% 21% 44% 31% The TPA had a strong positive impact The TPA had a positive impact The TPA had a negative impact The TPA had a strong negative impact Q14: How did the Teacher Performance Assessment (TPA) impact your teacher preparation coursework? A total of 75% of survey participants felt the TPA had a "strong negative impact" or "negative impact" on their teacher preparation coursework. 2% 9% 33% 56% The TPA had a strong positive impact The TPA had a positive impact The TPA had a negative impact The TPA had a strong negative impact Q16: How did the Teacher Performance Assessment (TPA) impact your personal life as you completed your teacher preparation program? 89% of CTA survey participants felt the TPA had a "strong negative impact" or "negative impact" on their personal lives as they completed their teacher preparation program. 29 D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 3 / J A N U A R Y 2 0 24