State board phases out edTPA; requires four formal clinical observations for licensure

The State Board of Education's Educator Licensure Review Committee heard that the edTPA pedagogical assessment will be phased out beginning July 1, 2026, and that stronger clinical-practice requirements will take its place.

Michael Durnlein, deputy executive director of policy and research with the State Board of Education, said, "the edTPA will be phased out beginning on 07/01/2026. In place of this pedagogical assessment requirement, we are setting stronger requirements for clinical practice." He told committee members the approved changes require that candidates be observed "4 times during clinical practice using an observation tool that is either approved for use in our educator evaluation policy or reviewed and approved for use by the Tennessee Department of Education."

Why this matters: The edTPA has been a statewide pedagogical assessment used in educator preparation. The board's change replaces that single summative product with repeated, formally observed clinical practice intended to provide actionable feedback to candidates and preparation programs.

Key details and implementation steps

- Observation requirement: The approved policy language sets a minimum of four formal observations during clinical practice. Durnlein said those observations must use an approved observation tool.

- Job-embedded observations allowed with safeguards: The policy allows district supervisor evaluations to count toward the minimum four observations when certain conditions are met. Durnlein said EPPs and districts must have "a formal data sharing agreement in place or the candidate must provide written consent to share that data with the EPP, and data must be shared at the indicator level." The department emphasized indicator-level data (not only overall ratings) so preparation programs can use the detail for continuous improvement.

- EPP submission timeline and review: Jennifer Nelson, senior director of educator preparation at the Tennessee Department of Education, said the department hosted a webinar on June 17 and opened a submission window July 1. She said, "July 1 opens the window for submissions" and that the department will review submissions between July 1 and Sept. 1 and provide "notification within 60 days of submission." Nelson added that the department expects some programs to submit revised models later and will work with EPPs on second submissions.

- Department support and expectations: Officials told the committee they will work to ensure EPPs and licensing staff have the tools and training to implement the changes before any rollout.

Context and stakeholder reaction

Representatives from educator preparation programs on the call generally welcomed the change as restoring job-embedded evaluation and usable feedback. One participant who described themself as an early edTPA advocate said the new approach would bring "a lot more of that...authenticity" and provide "meaningful feedback to the candidates on their preparation journey." Other EPP representatives thanked the department for the webinar and the timeline, saying the approach and deadlines felt intentional and practical.

What the committee directed or decided

This meeting was informational and implementation-focused. The board previously approved the policy changes (discussed as approved in May). At this meeting the department laid out the implementation timeline and technical requirements for EPPs.

Ending

Committee members asked the department to continue stakeholder outreach and to ensure vendor and platform changes are completed before implementation. The department said it will accept EPP observation model submissions beginning July 1, will review initial requests through Sept. 1, and will notify programs within 60 days of each submission.