edTPA Alabama

What the edTPA Is

The edTPA is a subject-specific, performance-based assessment that evaluates three dimensions of teaching practice: planning, instruction, and assessment. Unlike a sit-down standardized test, the edTPA requires you to submit a portfolio that includes video recordings of your classroom teaching, written lesson plans, student work samples, and written reflections analyzing your instructional decisions.

Pearson scores the portfolios nationally. It's not graded by your university or your district — it's an external, standardized evaluation.

Who Needs It in Alabama

The edTPA is mandatory for:

• Traditional program candidates completing an approved university teacher preparation program
• Alternative route candidates (PCTF, CCTF, IEC) with fewer than three years of full-time teaching experience

If you're going through a traditional Class B program, you'll complete the edTPA as part of your student teaching semester. If you're on an alternative route, complete the edTPA within the certificate terms for your route, or use the PLT option after three years of classroom experience.

When You Can Skip It

The edTPA has two legitimate alternatives in Alabama:

The three-year experience option — Alternative route candidates who complete a full three years of classroom teaching under their provisional or conditional certificate can choose to submit the Praxis Principles of Learning and Teaching (PLT) instead of the edTPA. The PLT is a computer-based exam (not a portfolio), which many experienced teachers find more straightforward.

No edTPA handbook exists — For teaching fields without a designated edTPA handbook — computer science, gifted education, health science, and technical education — the Praxis PLT is the default pedagogical assessment. You don't choose the PLT in this case; it's the only option.

The PLT costs $156 and tests general pedagogical and developmental knowledge across specific grade bands. Required passing scores: 160 for K–6 (test 5622) and 157 for grades 7–12 (test 5624).

Qualifying Scores

The ALSDE sets edTPA qualifying scores based on the number of rubrics in your subject-specific handbook:

• 15-rubric handbooks: minimum qualifying score of 37
• 13-rubric handbooks: minimum qualifying score of 32

Your edTPA handbook assignment depends on your teaching field — elementary education, secondary math, secondary English, etc. each have their own handbook with a specific number of rubrics.

Cost and Timeline

The edTPA portfolio evaluation fee is $300. This is a one-time fee paid when you submit your portfolio through the edTPA platform. If you don't meet the qualifying score and need to resubmit, you'll pay again.

Portfolio scoring takes 3 to 4 weeks from submission. Because scoring schedules align with national submission windows, submitting during peak periods (October–December and March–May, when most student teachers are submitting) can push toward the longer end of that range.

How It Fits Into Your Timeline

For traditional candidates, the edTPA is typically embedded in your student teaching semester — your university structures the portfolio requirements around your clinical placement. Your certification officer submits your results as part of the institutional recommendation.

For alternative route candidates, the timing is more flexible but still constrained by the certificate terms for the specific route. PCTF uses three one-year certificates; CCTF can be held for up to three one-year terms within a four-year window. Complete the edTPA or, after the required three years of experience, use the PLT alternative within the applicable route requirements. Many alternative-route teachers submit their edTPA during their second year, once they have enough classroom experience to produce a strong portfolio.

The portfolio requires authentic classroom footage — you need to be actively teaching in a school with permission to video-record lessons. Plan for this logistically. Some districts have policies around classroom recording that may require parent/guardian notification or consent forms.

The Strategic Question

If you're on an alternative route, you face a real decision: invest $300 and the significant effort of building an edTPA portfolio before your three-year mark, or teach for three years and take the $156 Praxis PLT instead. There's no wrong answer, but the considerations are practical:

• The edTPA costs more ($300 vs. $156) and requires substantially more preparation
• The PLT requires three full years of teaching experience — no shortcut
• If you want your standard certificate as quickly as possible, the edTPA lets you convert your provisional credential earlier

For a complete breakdown of how the edTPA and PLT fit into each certification route's timeline, the Alabama Teacher Certification Guide sequences the pedagogical assessment alongside your Praxis content tests and background clearance deadlines.

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