Written Public Comment Submission Detail

Public Comment Details

Meeting
RDI-TPA Workgroup Meeting-October 2024

Agenda Item
3B: Performance Assessment Improvement Opportunities

Name
Taylor Macias

Organization
San Francisco Unified School District

Comments
It has taken me 13 years to fully complete the bachelors degree and training program to become a certified teacher in the state of California. Becaiuse I didnt have family support, was homeless at times, had 3 jobs to support myself, and was in a domestic violence situation, I had to overcome a lot of challenges to acheive my dream of becoming an art teacher.
I signed up for cal state TEACH in the spring of 2021 because I found a school willing to let me intern when the great exodus of teachers occurred after 2020.
This program was woefully underprepared to train teachers, ironically they were already an online school, but their homework modules were out of date and didnt alighn with the website. The PDF for the handbook was impossible to read, and I couldn't get anyone to email me back when I had any questions about hours, what constituted hours, what the homework was, how to do and exemplify certain things on the TPA exams, and what sort of writing was expected. My 'coach' told me they don't dictate that sort of thing because people depended too much on an example and ended up copying it, and wanted us to adopt an attitude towards the program and th4e exam that we could also use for our students: to trust ourselves and interpret the assignments, and do the best possible work we could in terms of what we thought was being asked of us.
After attempting the calTPA exam 8 times, this method has not worked yet. I have failed the exam by one point repeatedly, and after receiving 'tutoring', attempting the exam again, editing my responses, rereading the handbook for how to write the exam, and spending every winter, fall, spring, and summer break rewriting, editing videos, and submitting paperwork to the Pearson website, I still don't have a guarantee of my job next year, and I make $10,000 less than my colleagues.
I so deeply hopes that the recent senate bill would pass so that I could remain in my job, but after this year, I have no more opportunities to stay in the profession. I am going to attempt it a final time, but the tutoring that cal state TEQCH is offering is dismal, with the last tutor I had leaving the computer for 45 minutes and emailing me a document she asked me to read while she cooked something in her kitchen off screen.
Please listen to people in education when they tell you something, instead of making decisions based on what 'experts' say. Ten states have eradicated similar tests from their requirements to become a credentialed teacher, and many teachers from out of state become credentialed in California without having to take this exam. It no longer makes any sense.
Taylor Macias

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