As of spring 2015 in the states of New York, Tennessee, Washington, and Wisconsin all pre-service teacher candidates are required to pass the Education Teaching Performance Assessment to earn initial teaching certification. California, Georgia, Ohio and Massachusetts are planning to adopt the edTPA while eighteen other states are considering adopting this policy in the near future.Beat the Test!: A Guidebook for Elementary Teacher Candidates is designed to assist elementary candidates with an educational methodology to pass the Education Teaching Performance Assessment. The methodology can be used to plan, implement, and assess student learning during instruction. Additionally, this method will assist elementary teacher candidates in using the Common Core Standards to design lessons to assess student learning while managing classroom instruction. Candidates who have used this method have successfully beat the tests.

Kathleen G. Velsor, EdD, is associate professor and lecturer in the School of Education at SUNY College at Old Westbury. Dr. Velsor has developed , demonstrated, and refined the methodology presented in this book to help candidates pass the edTPA and other licensing exams.

ForewordIntroductionChapter 1 Instructional PlanningChapter 2 Instructional Planning for the edTPAChapter 3 Lesson PlanningChapter 4 Unit PlanningChapter 5 AssessmentChapter 6 edTPA Response by Jessica SperoGlossary of Academic LanguageAppendix