Arizona/'s Professional Teacher Standards Standard 1: The Teacher ...
Arizona’s Professional Teacher Standards
Standard 1: The teacher designs and plans instruction that develops students’
abilities to meet Arizona’s academic standards and the district’s
assessment plan.
The performance assessment shall measure the extent to which the
teacher’s planning:
1. Focuses instruction on Arizona’s academic standards
2. Focuses instruction on the school’s and district’s academic standards
3. Aligns curriculum with the student assessments
4. Addresses any physical, mental, social, cultural, and community differences
among learners
5. Addresses prior knowledge of individual and group performance
6. Indicates short and long term curriculum goals
7. Includes appropriate use of a variety of methods, materials, and resources
8. Includes learning experiences that are developmentally appropriate for learners
9. Includes learning experiences that address a variety of cognitive levels
10. Includes learning experiences that are appropriate for curriculum goals
11. Includes learning experiences that are based upon principles of effective
instruction
12. Includes learning experiences that accurately represent content
13. Incorporates appropriate assessment of student progress
Standard 2: The teacher creates and maintains a learning climate that supports
the development of students’ abilities to meet Arizona’s academic
standards.
The performance assessment shall measure the extent to which the
teacher:
1. Establishes and maintains standards of mutual respect
2. Displays effective classroom management
3. Encourages the student to demonstrate self-discipline and responsibility to self
and others
4. Respects the individual differences among learners
5. Facilitates people working productively and cooperatively with each other
6. Provides a motivating learning environment
7. Promotes appropriate classroom participation
8. Listens thoughtfully and responsively
9. Organizes materials, equipment, and other resources appropriately
10. Applies to daily practice the ethics of the profession
Standard 3: The teacher implements and manages instruction that develops
students’ abilities to meet Arizona’s academic standards
The performance assessment shall measure the extent to which the
teacher:
1. Appropriately implements a teacher-designed lesson plan
2. Communicates to students specific standards and high expectations for learning
3. Links learning with students’ prior knowledge, experiences, and backgrounds
4. Models the skills, concepts, attributes, or thinking processes to be learned
5. Demonstrates effective written and oral communication
6. Uses appropriate language to communicate with learners clearly and accurately
7. Uses strategies that are appropriate to students’ developmental levels
8. Incorporates strategies which address the diverse needs of learners, and
demonstrates multicultural sensitivity
9. Encourages critical thinking
10. Connects lesson content to real life situations when appropriate
11. Uses technology and a variety of instructional resources appropriately
12. Uses a variety of effective teaching strategies to engage students actively in
learning
13. Maximizes the amount of class time students are engaged in learning which
results in a high level of success for students
14. Provides opportunities for students to use and practice what is learned
15. Adjusts instruction based on feedback from students
Standard 4: The teacher assesses learning and communicates results to
students, parents and other professionals with respect to students’
abilities to meet Arizona’s academic standards.
The performance assessment shall measure the extent to which the
teacher:
1. Promotes student self-assessment
2. Uses a variety of appropriate formal and informal assessments aligned with
instruction
3. Maintains records of student work and performance and uses them to guide
instructional decisions
4. Offers students and parents appropriate feedback on progress toward learning
expectations
5. Maintains privacy of student records and performance
Standard 5: The teacher collaborates with colleagues, parents, the community
and other agencies to design, implement, and support learning
programs that develop students’ abilities to meet Arizona’s academic
standards and transition from school to work or post-secondary
education
The performance assessment shall measure the extent to which the
teacher:
1. Works with parents to enhance student learning at home and school
2. Collaborates with other professionals and agencies to improve the overall
learning environment for students
3. Accesses community resources and services to foster student learning
4. Demonstrates productive leadership and team membership skills that facilitate
the development of mutually beneficial goals
5. Collaborates with colleagues to achieve school and district goals
Standard 6: The teacher reviews and evaluates his or her overall performance and
implements a professional development plan
The performance assessment shall measure the extent to which the
teacher:
1. Reviews his or her practices and evaluates the influences of his or her practices
on student growth and learning
2. Designs and continually adapts a professional development plan for improving
instruction and student learning
3. Engages in activities that implement the professional development plan
4. Uses employer’s documentation of his or her performance to develop a
professional development plan
5. Pursues professional activities to support development as a learner and a
teacher
Standard 7: The teacher has general academic knowledge as demonstrated by
the attainment of a bachelor’s degree. The teacher also has specific
academic knowledge in his or her subject area or areas sufficient to
develop student knowledge and performance to meet Arizona
academic standards
The subject knowledge assessment shall measure the extent to which the
teacher has knowledge of:
1. Skills and concepts related to the subject area
a. At the elementary level, the teacher demonstrates knowledge of
language arts and reading, math, science, social studies, and fine arts.
b. At the secondary level, the teacher demonstrates knowledge of the
subject area or areas he or she is being certified to teach.
2. Major facts and assumptions that are central to the discipline
3. Debates and the processes of inquiry that are central to the discipline
4. Integration of disciplinary knowledge with other subject areas
5. Connections between knowledge of the subject area and real life situations at
the level of the students being taught
Standard 8: The teacher demonstrates current professional knowledge sufficient
to effectively design and plan instruction, implement and manage
instruction, create and maintain an appropriate learning
environment, and assess student learning
The professional knowledge assessment shall measure the extent to
which the teacher has knowledge of:
1. A variety of methods for teaching language arts and reading, math, science,
social studies, and fine arts at the elementary level or a variety of methods for
teaching reading and the subject area or areas in which the teacher is seeking
certification at the secondary level
2. Interdisciplinary learning experiences that integrate knowledge, skills, and
methods of inquiry from several subject areas
3. Principles and techniques associated with various instructional strategies
4. Learning theories, subject matter, curriculum development, and student
development and how to use this knowledge in planning instruction to meet
curriculum goals
5. Methods for recognizing and accommodating exceptional children
6. Influences of individual development, experiences, talents, prior learning,
language, culture, gender, family, and community on student learning
7. Principles of human motivation and behavior and their implications for managing
the classroom and organizing individual and group work
8. Effective evaluation of curriculum materials and resources for accuracy,
comprehensiveness, and usefulness for representing particular ideas and
concepts
9. The characteristics, uses, advantages, and limitations of different types of
assessments for evaluating how students learn, determining what they know and
are able to do, and identifying what experiences will support their further growth
and development
10. Measurement theory, interpretation of test results, and assessment-related
issues, such as validity, reliability, bias, and scoring
11. Services and resources to meet the needs of exceptional children and how to
access the services and resources
12. Schools as organizations within the larger community context and the operations
of the relevant aspects of the educational system
13. Laws and ethics related to student, parent, and teacher rights and responsibilities
Standard 9: In collaboration with other professionals and parents, the special
education teacher participates in the design, implementation, and
assessment of individualized education programs
The performance assessment shall measure the extent to which the
special education teacher:
1. Demonstrates knowledge of disabilities and their educational
implications
2. Demonstrates knowledge of state and federal special education laws,
rules, and regulations
3. Demonstrates knowledge of and the ability to use a variety of assistive
devices that support student learning
4. Applies specialized diagnostic and assessment procedures to assist in
determining special education eligibility for all areas of suspected
disability
5. Assists in the design and implementation of individualized education
programs through diagnostic teaching, instructional adaptations, and
individual behavior management techniques
6. Utilizes paraeducators and paratherapists effectively through training
and supervision
