Candidate Preservice Assessment of Student Teaching (CPAST)

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Candidate Preservice Assessment of Student Teaching (CPAST)

Beginning in the Fall of 2025, we will use the Candidate Preservice Assessment of Student Teaching (CPAST) as our new student teaching assessment tool. CPAST will replace the edTPA and our previous student teaching evaluation form. We ask that you please view this brief YouTube video (11 min) on the CPAST instrument prior to its use in the fall.

The CPAST forms will be completed electronically and compiled in an assessment system called Student Learning & Licensure (SLL). SLL has replaced TK20 at St. Olaf College.

St. Olaf Faculty will lead the assessment process using the following resources. Cooperating teachers will be given access to these resources during in-person visits in order to respect the intellectual property rights of the makers of CPAST. They will be described fully during the first welcome meeting with the St. Olaf Generalist Supervisor:

  1. CPAST(with the more detailed CPAST look fors) – led by St. Olaf Specialist Supervisors
  2. St. Olaf Supplementary Evaluation – led by St. Olaf Generalist Supervisors

The assessment process will include the following main action items:

  • Introductory Meeting – familiarization with the assessment tools and goals for student teacher
  • Mid-Term Meeting (or Final Meeting of 1st placement for K-12 licensure processes with two sites) – St. Olaf Supervisor will facilitate a triad meeting with the purpose of coming to consensus on assessment data and to create 1-3 goals for the student teacher based on the data
  • Final Meeting – St. Olaf Supervisor will facilitate a triad meeting with the purpose of coming to consensus on assessment data and to create 1-3 goals for the student teacher’s first year of teaching based on the data 

Kindly note: It is unlikely that student teachers will achieve “exceeds expectations” on the CPAST for many criteria until later in their career. All student teachers will be familiar with these learning goals and will aim to achieve “meets expectations” by the final meeting for all criteria.

We look forward to implementing these research-based assessment practices and processes at St. Olaf College.

More Detailed St. Olaf CPAST Information for Cooperating Teachers

Before reading, please watch the following video on the CPAST 

What is the CPAST?

The Candidate Preservice Assessment of Student Teaching (CPAST) is a formative and summative assessment aligned to student teaching standards that candidates must demonstrate they’ve met prior to being recommended for licensure. The CPAST replaces most of the previous student teaching evaluation and the edTPA.

We will provide paper copies and email electronic version of the forms listed below; please do not share either with others due to copyright restrictions:

  • St. Olaf CPAST Form (the evaluation form; this will be completed in our online assessment system)
  • St. Olaf Look Fors (example sources of evidence for each criteria)
  • St. Olaf CPAST Supplement (additional evaluation form)

What does the CPAST evaluate?

There are two sections to the CPAST: pedagogy (13 rubrics) and dispositions (8 rubrics). Each rubric has four levels of performance. It is expected that midterm scores will be low (0-1 points) and highlight growth areas for the student teacher; all criteria must be rated (there can be no “N/A” scores). It is important that team members provide evidence to support their scores; see the Look Fors document for suggestions.

Who completes the CPAST?

The CPAST is completed by the student teacher, cooperating teacher(s), and the St. Olaf specialist supervisor(s). Scores from these three team members are compared during a triad conference, and a consensus score is reached that will be utilized for both formative feedback and summative evaluation.

When is the CPAST completed?

The CPAST is completed at the midpoint (formative) and end (summative) of student teaching. For 14-week placements, the midterm assessment occurs near week seven. For student teachers with two 7-week placements, the midterm is completed near the end of the first placement. The summative evaluation occurs in the final few weeks of student teaching for all candidates.

How are results utilized?

Formative results are utilized to help candidates set goals as they begin their second seven weeks of student teaching. Summative results provide evidence of whether or not the student teacher has met the standards required for licensure. In order to be recommended for licensure, on the summative evaluation student teachers must earn a consensus average score of “2” within a task and no “0” scores. The tasks are:

  • Planning for Instruction and Assessment (Rubrics A, B, C, D)
  • Instructional Delivery (Rubrics E, F, G, H, I)
  • Assessment and Analysis of Teaching (Rubrics J, K, L, M)
  • Dispositions (Rubrics N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U)

What is a 3-way conference?

The purpose of the 3-way conference is to ensure the perspectives of each member of the team are taken into consideration when evaluating the student teacher using the CPAST. This process not only supports more accurate evaluation, but also provides a student teacher with feedback from multiple perspectives they can use for improvement. Conferences occur twice during student teaching.

At both the midterm and end of student teaching, the student teacher, cooperating teacher, and St. Olaf specialist supervisor each complete the CPAST independently in Student Learning and Licensure (SLL), St. Olaf’s online assessment system. The student teacher should draft 2-3 goals based on their self-assessment which they may revise based on the feedback from the conference. All three members of the team then meet to review CPAST criteria and scores, discuss evidence for scores, establish a consensus score, and set 2-3 goals for the remainder of student teaching.

How/when will 3-way conferences occur?

Three-way conferences should be scheduled when all participants are available and will likely take 45-60 minutes. The specialist supervisor will reach out to schedule these meetings near the beginning of the student teaching placement. These meetings must be synchronous but not necessarily in person, and they do not need to occur immediately after an observation from the supervisor. It is important that the formative meeting be scheduled midway through the 14-weeks of student teaching so the candidate has time to develop strategies to meet their goals.

Questions?

Contact the Director of Student Teaching: Nancy Veverka (veverk1@stolaf.edu)

Access the CPAST midterm via SLL by following the directions in this training video (7 min) or these written instructions:

  1. Check your email for the direct link to CPAST midterm from “noreply@watermarkinsights,com.” If you do not have an email, see instructions below.
  2. Copy and paste the link in your email into a browser. Click on “Education 389” if you see a list of courses on the home screen.
  3. Click on “CPAST Midterm,” and then the student’s name.
  4. You will see tabs at the top for student teacher, cooperating teacher, and college supervisor. Click on the tab for cooperating teacher.
  5. The rubric you complete appears on the screen. Each element of the rubric is listed with the four possible ratings. Likely, student teachers will receive ratings of 0-1 with a few 2’s. To earn a “2,” student teachers must meet ALL criteria listed. As the midterm evaluation is formative, student teachers will use this feedback to set goals for the remainder of their student teaching placement. At the final CPAST evaluation, student teachers should achieve predominately at the “Meets Expectations” level (a score of 2).
  6. For each rating, jot down a few notes for evidence that supports your rating. This will be helpful during your three-way meeting with the student teacher and the college supervisor. You can use the “CPAST Look Fors” document for likely sources of evidence for each criteria.
  7. Once you have completed all criteria in the rubric, submit your response.
  8. To view student teachers’ self evaluations, click on the  Student Teacher tab. Please complete your ratings before reviewing theirs.

If you do not receive the email from Watermark:

  1. Please check your spam folder and/or try logging on using this general link. 
  2. Select “Forgot Password,” enter your email address, and select the “Send Link” button. After selecting the “Send Link” button, you should see a confirmation message stating that the link was sent. If you do not see this message, try selecting the “Send Link” button again. You will then receive an email from Watermark to set up your password and access the system.
  3. If you do not receive a “Password Reset” email, it may be that an account has not yet been created for you. Please contact St. Olaf College’s education department at education@stolaf.edu for assistance.
  4. If your account has been created in SLL (if you have received an email to this effect from the SLL administrator), please contact us at education@stolaf.edu to ask Watermark to manually reset your password. Unfortunately, the St. Olaf administrators do not have control over the password reset process.