The Teaching Performance Assessment (TPA) is an assessment of reflective practice completed by the pre-service teacher in the final year of their professional placement in a school. It’s an important step for both new teachers and principals to gain confidence in the teacher’s ability to manage and exceed in a classroom successfully. 

The completion of a TPA was first introduced in 2019 as part of the Initial Teacher Education (ITE) program offered as part of a university’s four-year education degree. It is an essential part of each pre-service teacher’s education on their journey to becoming a registered teacher in Queensland.

The TPA provides a level of confidence that teachers beginning their career are classroom ready, and through judgements made against the Australian Standard for Teachers by their supervising teacher - there is consistency of judgement at the Graduate level. As it is a mandatory requirement, all newly graduated teachers who work under the Townsville Catholic Education Office have completed and satisfied a teaching performance assessment with flying colours.

Teacher Performance Assessments — what are they?

Each pre-service teacher is required to collect evidence of their practice during the final professional placement in the school. The TPA is designed to provide the opportunity for pre-service teachers to engage in authentic classroom practices that all teachers would be familiar with across all school contexts.

The university where the student is completing their education degree is responsible for assessing the TPA prior to the student graduating and being awarded their education degree.

Who needs to undergo a Teacher Performance Assessment?

All students who are studying for their education degree at a university in Queensland are required to complete a TPA. The supervising teacher of the pre–service teacher is responsible for assessing the suitability of the pre–service teacher’s classroom readiness using the Australian Professional Standards for teachers at the graduate level. The supervising teacher plays a crucial role in supporting the pre-service teacher in collecting authentic evidence of their practice and the impact of their practice on student learning. 

It is important for those teachers in our Catholic schools who volunteer their time to supervise pre-service teachers in their final year to have a knowledge of and understanding of the Australian Professional Standards for teachers.

The completed TPA provides both teachers and principals reassurance that new educators are well-equipped to handle their new roles and manage a classroom.

How are Teacher Performance Assessments conducted?

During the pre-service teacher’s final professional placement, they will engage in collecting evidence of their teaching practice. 

This will include evidence of their planning for the learners in the class, teaching a sequence of lessons in a particular subject area, collecting and using evidence of learning to monitor progress, making adjustments to their teaching and providing feedback to the students on their learning. These are the practices that effective teachers engage in each day in the classroom. 

The final step in the process is the reflect on their teaching so that they can plan for the next steps in student learning. This is what is known as the learning and teaching cycle, and it is clear that when teachers undertake this process of planning, teaching, assessing, and reflecting, it has a positive impact on student learning. 

Which educational providers are implementing Teacher Performance Assessments?

The Teaching Performance Assessment has been introduced as part of the initial teacher education for all universities in Queensland that offer a four-year education degree.

At the Australian Catholic University, Christian Heritage College, Central Queensland University, Griffith University, James Cook University, Southern Cross University, University of Queensland, and the University of Southern Queensland, the TPA is known as the Graduate Teaching Performance Assessment (GTPA), and at the Queensland University of Technology and the University of the Sunshine Coast, it is known as the Quality Teaching Performance Assessment (QTPA).