Initial Teacher Education Assessment

The iTEA gives you the opportunity to reflect on your strengths and motivations before stepping into the teaching profession.

Under AITSL and government requirements, Australian Initial Teacher Education programs are required to assess both academic and non-academic suitability for teaching as part of our course entry requirements. iTEA is designed to assesses your non-academic suitability by looking beyond your academic grades and instead focusing on your various characteristics, dispositions and personal attributes that are important for success in teaching and in studying to teach. These attributes are aligned to those captured within the Victorian Teaching Profession’s Code of Conduct and Code of Ethics. Teaching is a demanding, people-focused profession. The iTEA helps ensure that everyone entering our programs has had the opportunity to reflect on their strengths and motivations as they begin their journey into teaching.

Key competencies

The iTEA uses targeted questions to assess a candidate’s motivation to teach, communication skills, willingness to learn, self‑efficacy, resilience, and organisational and planning abilities. It evaluates key competencies, dispositions, and personal traits relevant to being a teaching student and future teacher.

  • All you need to complete iTEA is a computer with a web cam, a working internet connection and a valid government issued photo ID. iTEA can be completed at home or any other location of your choice as long as you feel like you’re in a quiet space where you can focus completely.

  • You will complete a short online questionnaire where you are asked to choose statements that best describe you, your values, and your motivations for becoming a teacher. There are no right or wrong answers. The purpose is to give you space to think honestly about why you want to teach, how you respond to challenges, and how you relate to yourself and others. The format is designed to support authentic responses, rather than rehearsed or coached answers.

  • As iTEA is designed to assess your personal attributes, there is no need to study ahead, and it’s not really a test you can study for. The assessment includes a practice question that will help familiarise you with its format.

  • You should plan for about 30–45 minutes to complete iTEA. The assessment must be completed within a 3-hour time window.

  • You will complete iTEA as part of the application process for your course. It must be completed for your application to be considered.

  • The iTEA is a required part of applying to our teaching degrees and helps the Faculty meet national teacher-education program accreditation standards. It is not designed to be a high-stakes test. Instead, it complements your academic results by giving a fuller picture of your readiness for teacher education and acts as a personal self-reflection tool, helping you consider how your skills, motivations, and dispositions align with the teaching profession.