Introduction
“It is only as we develop others that we permanently succeed.” - Harvey S. Firestone.
Every one of you is successful because you pride yourself on helping develop future educators. The educators in turn develop hundreds of thousands of students each year. As we strive to support you in your endeavors, we have compiled the most up-to-date information concerning what you need to know that impacts your candidates in the coming weeks. Please thoroughly read all the sections for reminders, upcoming events, to dos,
and FAQs.
We hope that this newsletter provides clarity and platform for access to all the important updates.
| Topic |
Description |
Event Date |
Event Time |
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Data Reporting Mid-Year Reminders |
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10:00 - 11:00 am (more information below)
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ECOS will be unavailable due to a system update |
March 26, 2021 -
March 28, 2021
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Hosted by Westat to review the IPRC report process
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10:00 - 11:00 am (more information below)
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Upcoming
edTPA 101
Session |
Overview for faculty, instructors, and P-12 partners new to edTPA
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| Topic |
Action Item |
Due Date |
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Deadline for PASL Task Submission
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April 13, 2021,
1:00 PM CT
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Waiver Probationary (WPRO) or Waiver Intern (WINT) Certificate
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Complete all Testing Requirements
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Before the WPRO or WINT certificate expires
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Updates related to Educator Preparation Program Management
New: ASEP Mid-Year Data Sets
In order to provide data updates to EPPs, TEA will be distributing mid-year data sets to EPP data contacts. We are targeting this data distribution for Wednesday, March 24th to coincide with the ASEP Mid-Year Update Webinar. As in years past, these data sets will include updated observation data, pass rate data, and data to enable you to update your finisher records list.
ASEP Mid-Year Update Webinar
Please join us for the ASEP mid-year update webinar on Wednesday, March 24th at 10:00 am. This webinar is for EPPs and will cover mid-year reminders about data reporting. TEA will also provide information about mid-year data sets during this webinar, which will be distributed that day. Please reference the ASEP Mid-Year Data Sets item above for additional information. The intended audience for this webinar is those who report
program data for ASEP. Once you register for the webinar, you will receive an email confirmation.
Upcoming ECOS Outage 3/26-3/28
Due to an update in the system, the Educator Certification Online System (ECOS) will be unavailable for programs and candidates from Friday, March 26, 2021 through Sunday, March 28, 2021. During this time, the system will not be available for any actions, including a candidate’s ability to register for an exam. Please complete any necessary actions in ECOS by the end of the day on Thursday, March 25, 2021, and log out of the system to ensure that all your work has saved.
Save the Date: Title II Webinar
On Thursday, April 1st, at 10:00 am there will be a webinar hosted by Westat to directly support Texas EPPs in the completion of the IPRC Title II report. This report is due April 30th. This webinar is designed for individuals at EPPs who complete the IPRC report. If you would like to learn more about the reporting process, you may register for the webinar. Once you register for the webinar, you will receive an email confirmation.
Updates related to Educator Standards and Certification Testing
Reminder: Upcoming ECOS Outage Impact on Educator Testing - 3/26-3/28
During the ECOS outage on Friday, March 26 – Sunday, March 28, candidate test eligibility and demographic updates will be unavailable. This means candidates and programs will not be able to:
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register, cancel, or reschedule exams
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create new Pearson accounts
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confirm test approvals
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submit last minute name change requests on Friday, March 26th
We recommend that you review your candidate Test Registration Report in
ResultsAnalyzer and confirm your candidates have the correct first and last name in ECOS. Name change requests can be submitted here.
New: Scorers Needed for STR
Pearson is seeking experienced educators and administrators to work on a temporary basis as professional scorers. At this time, remote scoring is available. In particular, they are seeking additional scorers for the Science of Teaching Reading (293) exam that launched in January 2021. For information on scorer qualifications and the application for current opportunities, please visit this link and share with colleagues and alumni who might be qualified and interested.
New: Certification Exam Testing Center Masking Policy Update
As of March, educators will have the opportunity to choose the masking policy that suits them best, as Pearson-owned testing centers will continue to require masks, while partner testing sites will implement policies appropriate for their location. Educators with specific masking requirements should check with their test center before arriving for their testing appointment.
New: STR Text Comprehension and Analysis Deep Dive: Training Resources
Thank you for attending the most recent STR Deep Dive Series training. As always, we appreciated the opportunity to collaborate with you. We have attached the training deck, participants’ materials, and the asynchronous recording (passcode: nLSr?3^b). Additionally, please complete this survey to provide us valuable feedback to inform future trainings.
This session’s training materials will also be available on the new STR EPP Resource Page, along with past training resources and other useful information and tools.
edTPA 101 Sessions
Beginning this month, all Texas EPPs will have the opportunity to attend an “edTPA 101:
Orientation to Performance-Based, Subject-Specific Assessment” webinar. This webinar is for faculty, instructors, and P-12 partners who support teacher candidates and are new to the edTPA. In this webinar, participants will be provided with an overview of the purpose,
development, and design of the edTPA. Additionally, participants will examine what candidates provide as evidence for each of the edTPA tasks, engage in a review of the scoring process, and learn how to access key resources.
Reading Academies Participant Responsibilities for Program Completion
As a gentle reminder, please complete all course activities and communicate directly with your cohort leader. Your cohort leader can support you with all course completion questions. Participants will not achieve course completion until all course activities have been submitted.
DID YOU KNOW?
If your candidate’s PASL score falls below the passing score for the assessment, they are eligible to resubmit any or all three tasks for a fee. Only one resubmission per task is permitted during the resubmission window. The resubmission window immediately follows the reporting of the total assessment scores.
To register for resubmission, candidates will select their appointment number from the "View Scores" page. Next, they will select the "Resubmit Appointment" link under the Actions heading. Finally, they will select the assessment submission window. They will be presented with a list of the three tasks, where they will select the task(s) for which they wish to register and proceed to checkout.
Updates related to actions by the State Board for Educator Certification, the State Board of Education, and the Legislature.
Every newsletter we take this space to highlight questions that we have heard from EPPs.
Q: Can an EPP award CPE hours to cooperating teachers and mentors while they are supporting a candidate during clinical teaching or internship?
A: If the EPP is a TEA-approved CPE provider, up to 30% of the required hours can be obtained through mentoring. When renewing a teacher certificate within a five-year period, 45 of the required 150 clock-hours can be obtained as a cooperating or mentor teacher. To renew a principal certificate within a five-year period, 60 of the required 200 clock-hours can be obtained as a cooperating teacher, mentor teacher, or site supervisor. Please see 19 TAC §232.11 and 19 TAC §232.15 for more information.
Q: When will the 293 Science of Teaching Reading representative exam and interactive practice test be available to the field?
A: The STR interactive practice test and representative exam will be made available to the field in April 2021. Pearson has information about ordering the representative exams
here. For additional questions about the exam, please refer to the STR Exam Requirement FAQ document now located on the STR EPP Resource Page. The resource page also includes links to STR preparation resources.
Your best source for information and support at the TEA
As an Educator Preparation Program, your main point of contact is your Program Specialist.
To view a list of EPPs and their associated Program Specialist, please click here.
Information regarding the Science of Teaching Reading Exam can be accessed at tea.texas.gov/str.
Information regarding edTPA 2020-2021 information opportunities can be accessed here.
Information and updates regarding the Performance Assessment for School Leaders (PASL) can be accessed at the Important Updates link.
Updated information related to the COVID-19 response can be accessed here.
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Practice based preparation resources for virtual field-based experience: Provides model lessons and video of instructional delivery.
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Practice based preparation resources for virtual field-based experience: Provides content neutral pedagogical skill building through observing a model of and practicing the same high leverage skill.
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Full scope and sequence of upcoming edTPA training opportunities.
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New: Get Connected—Collaborative STR Preparation Networking Group
Are you interested in joining a collaborative network for learning about and preparing teachers for the STR exam? Share your contact information on this form to get the conversation started! Thank you to Melissa Stewart at Region 13 for driving this opportunity.
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