FAQs
To which of the Australian Program Standards does a Teaching Performance Assessment (TPA) apply?
A teaching performance assessment (TPA) is a tool used to assess the practical skills and knowledge of pre-service teachers against the Graduate Teacher Standards in the final year of their initial teacher education program.
Program Standard 1.2 requires that a TPA be situated in a classroom environment in order to demonstrate a range of authentic teaching practices. The TPA must be a requirement of successful completion of the program and must be completed during the final year.
Why are Teaching Performance Assessments being introduced?
The Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group (TEMAG) identified a number of opportunities to improve the quality of graduating pre-service teachers. Before graduation, all pre-service teachers (regardless of their program or mode of study) must reach the Graduate Career Stage of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. The introduction of a TPA before pre-service teachers complete their ITE program will form part of the process to ensure they meet that standard.
Has the AfGT been assessed by AITSL’s Expert Panel?
The Expert Panel found the evidence provided by the Consortium demonstrates that the AfGT is a valid method for assessing whether a teacher’s performance meets the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers at the Graduate Teacher level.
The panel noted that this is a very well designed and executed project. The Expert Panel endorses the AfGT as meeting the requirements of Standard 1.2 of the National Program Standards at this time.
What does ‘classroom ready’ mean?
According to the CEO of AITSL, Ms Lisa Rogers (2018, May 30), “no matter where a student completes an ITE course in Australia, the number one focus needs to remain on supporting a pre-service teacher’s practice, skills and knowledge so that the highest quality graduates are entering the profession, ready to teach from day one.”
This means that graduate teachers must be able to demonstrate the complex skills, knowledge and capabilities required for teaching. Once they enter the profession, graduate teachers must then be supported to continue to develop their capabilities so that they are able to reach proficiency.
How much does the AfGT cost?
Because the AfGT is embedded within the subjects that the PST studies, there are no additional costs associated with the AfGT.
Who is responsible for assessing the AfGT?
Teacher educators from the PST’s university are responsible for assessing the AfGT. (See also ‘What is the role of University Teacher Educators?’)
Does the PST need to pass all four elements of the AfGT?
Yes, it is a requirement that all four elements must be passed in order for the PST to satisfactorily complete the AfGT.
What happens if a PST fails either the AfGT or the professional experience placement?
The AfGT does not take the place of the mentor teacher’s placement report/s, but exists as a companion assessment of the PST’s ability to plan, teach and assess the impact on students’ learning.
The PST must pass both the mentor teacher’s placement report and the AfGT. Institutions will have identified plans in their accreditation documents regarding the processes that they follow in their institution for PSTs who fail practice-related components of their course.
Will introducing the AfGT to schools lead to more work for teachers?
The introduction of TPAs in school won’t necessarily mean more work for schools that take pre-service teachers, but more likely a difference in some aspects of the professional experience process.
What is the role of the Mentor Teacher who supervises the PST while on placement?
The role of the Mentor Teacher is to support the PST during professional experience placement by:
- Providing advice on lesson planning and preparation.
- Observing teaching and providing feedback through professional conversations and written feedback.
- Preparing placement reports, including the final practicum placement report.
As the PST’s teaching performance will also be assessed through the AfGT, mentor teachers will indirectly have a role in supporting the PST to undertake the AfGT during their final practicum placement. The PST is ultimately responsible for completing this summative, capstone teaching performance assessment.
What is the role of the School’s Professional Experience Co-ordinator?
The school’s professional experience co-ordinator will be principally involved in supporting mentor teachers who are supervising pre-service teachers who are on their final placement in the school.
Their role is very similar to that of the mentor teacher, and it is possible that the school’s professional experience co-ordinator might also participate in the moderation of school students’ work, as required in Element 3.
The school’s professional experience co-ordinator will be the school’s main point of contact with the university and will be well-placed to advise on how the mentor teacher’s report and the PST’s progress through the AfGT align with each other.
What is the role of the School Principal?
The role of the School Principal in the research component of the AfGT is to consider permitting, via an Opt-In Protocol, for the research to proceed.
The School Principal will be made aware of the Opt-Out Consent Protocol in place for all other participants in the research.
What is the role of University Teacher Educators?
The role of the teacher educator is to support PSTs to successfully complete professional experience placements and related assessment tasks, including the AfGT.
Given the significance of the AfGT as a summative, capstone teaching performance assessment, the role of the teacher educator is to ensure that PSTs understand all aspects of the AfGT.
The teacher educator supporting PSTs will also indicate ways in which the University will support PSTs during placement and on campus.
The teacher educator will also be responsible for assessing the AfGT, and participating in within-institution and cross-institution moderation of assessments.
What is the role of the University Professional Experience Personnel?
The university’s professional experience personnel will be principally involved in ensuring that schools are aware that the AfGT is the assessment instrument that PSTs will be addressing during and following their placement, and that it exists as an additional assessment instrument alongside the mentor teacher’s final report.
The university’s professional experience co-ordinator will be ensuring that the school principal has received the documentation enabling them to consider providing their consent for the school to participate in the research aspect of the AfGT.
Does the AfGT assess all of the Professional Standards for Teachers?
The AfGT assesses most, but not all, of the Graduate Teacher Standards. Refer to the Matrix of Graduate Teacher Standard Descriptors against Elements of the AfGT for a summary. The standards that are not assessed in the AfGT will be assessed elsewhere in the course of study.
A number of standards are assessed on more than one occasion, such as Graduate Teacher Standard 1.2, which requires the pre-service teacher to “demonstrate their knowledge of research into how students learn and the implications for teaching” (AITSL, 2012). This is intentional, for it emphasises the importance of these Standards in the process of teaching.
What changes to our Initial Teacher Education program need to occur?
Program Standard 1.1 (AITSL 2016, p. 6) requires that “pre-service teachers demonstrate successful performance against all of the Graduate Teacher Standards prior to graduation”.
As shown in the Matrix of Graduate Teacher Standard Descriptor against Elements of the AfGT , the AfGT, as an assessment of teaching performance, assesses twenty-six of the thirty-seven Graduate Teacher Standards, which means that institutions must provide opportunities for the outstanding eleven standards to be taught, practised and assessed elsewhere in the PST’s course of study.