The Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators® (GACE
) is Georgia’s state-approved educator certification assessment program (see "Speech and Language Pathology" exception below). The purpose of the GACE is to help the Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC) ensure that candidates have the knowledge and skills needed to perform the job of an educator in Georgia's public schools. These computer-delivered assessments have been developed by the GaPSC and Educational Testing Service (ETS).
All GACE assessments are aligned with the state standards for the P-12 curriculum and with state and national content standards. Each GACE test was developed with diverse representation of Georgia educators from across the state, including the participation of committees of Georgia educators, educator preparation faculty, and other content and assessment specialists, including individuals from school systems, local schools, institutions of higher education (public and private), and other stakeholders. In other words, each GACE was developed by Georgia educators to measure competency on what is taught in Georgia's P-12 classrooms.
The GACE assessments are criterion-referenced, objective-based assessments designed to measure a candidate's knowledge and skills in relation to an established standard rather than in relation to the performance of other candidates. Test questions were reviewed and approved by three committees of Georgia educators and educator preparation faculty, which includes a bias review to ensure all test questions, are bias-free. The passing score for each test is established by the agency Commissioners and is based on the professional judgments and recommendations of Georgia educators.
For information about preparation, registration, test dates and sites, rules of test participation, etc., of the GACE program, access www.gace.ets.org
. For information on Georgia-accepted assessments and passing scores, including the Speech and Language Pathology exception, click here
edTPA is a performance-based effectiveness assessment for pre-service teachers that was designed by the Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning and Equity (SCALE) with input from teachers and teacher educators. It is subject-specific and requires teacher candidates to submit evidence such as lesson plans, video clips, student work samples, and extensive commentary to demonstrate their ability to effectively teach their chosen subject. These artifacts are then submitted for scoring to Evaluation Systems group of Pearson (ES) and assessed by external evaluators who are P-12 teachers and those who prepare teacher candidates. edTPA’s detailed rubrics measure the entry level teaching skills that are critical to effective instruction. edTPA draws from experience gained from a 25-year history developing performance-based assessments of teaching, including the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. edTPA is designed by educators to answer the question: “Is this new teacher ready for the job?”
The edTPA was designed by teachers and those that prepare teachers. The edTPA is designed to be educative to inform each candidate as to his/her strengths and areas for growth; to inform programs of Educator Preparation Providers’ (EPP); and to inform school and school districts’ induction programs provided for inservice teachers during their first years of practice. edTPA will also be one element of the Preparation Program Effectiveness Measures (PPEM). The GaPSC, in collaboration with University System of Georgia (USG) and Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) has formed a representative edTPA Policy and Implementation Advisory Committee for the purpose of informing educative implementation of edTPA for teacher candidates, EPPs, and P-12 schools.
For more information on edTPA, visit www.edtpa.aacte.org
For registration or technical assistance, visit www.edtpa.com