UNA Teacher Candidates Achieve 100 Percent First-Time Pass Rate on edTPA
Jun. 02, 2026
Michelle R. Eubanks , UNA, at meubanks@una.edu, 256.765.4392
FLORENCE, AL – Teacher candidates in the University of North Alabama’s Spencer College of Education and Human Sciences achieved a 100 percent first-time pass rate on the Education Teacher Performance Assessment, or edTPA, for the 2025-2026 academic year. All 152 candidates in the College exceeded the Alabama State Department of Education’s required score on their first attempt, demonstrating their readiness to enter the classroom and serve students across a range of teaching fields.
“This achievement speaks volumes about the quality of our teacher candidates and the faculty and staff who prepare and support them,” said Dr. Katie Kinney, Dean of the Spencer College. “A 100 percent first-time pass rate reflects our commitment to preparing classroom-ready educators who can make an immediate impact in schools and communities.”
edTPA is a performance-based, subject-specific assessment and support system used by teacher preparation program across the United States to measure and strengthen the skills and knowledge teachers need from their first day in the classroom. The assessment focuses on three core areas: planning, instruction, and assessment.
As part of the edTPA, teacher candidates prepare a portfolio during their student teaching clinical experience. The portfolio includes lesson plans, instructional materials, student assessment evidence, and unedited video recordings of candidates teaching in real classrooms. Candidates also demonstrate their ability to support students’ strengths and needs, engage students in meaningful learning, analyze student progress, and adjust instruction to improve effectiveness. Portfolios are scored by trained educators across the U.S.
This milestone highlights the strength of UNA’s teacher preparation programs and the College’s ongoing commitment to preparing educators for the realities of today’s classrooms.
About The University of North Alabama
The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs through the colleges of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; the Sanders College of Business and Technology; the Spencer College of Education and Human Sciences; and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. UNA Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of NCAA Division I as part of the Atlantic Sun and United Athletic conferences. The University of North Alabama is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: una.edu and una.edu/unaworks/.