International Teaching Assistant Evaluations

About the evaluations

The state of Washington requires international teaching assistants be evaluated before their teaching assignments can be approved.

The Intensive American Language Center provides these exams for the WSU Graduate School. Questions regarding exemptions from the exam should be directed to the WSU Graduate School.

You will be asked to prepare a 20-minute lecture. The lesson taught must be in your field, but not necessarily what you will be teaching as a TA. The lesson should be at the introductory level. It is fine to teach a short lesson on a basic, special-interest topic, such as “Why is the sky blue?” or “Why are whales and bats classified as mammals?”

The candidates are rated on their:

• Language (pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary)
• Communication ability (use of white board, communication of information)
• Question handling (comprehending idiomatic questions and responding appropriately)

You should expect to be interrupted with questions during your lecture. The questions are not used to gauge your knowledge of your field, but instead to determine English comprehension and how well you speak without a script.

Recommendations from the exams will not prevent you from receiving an assistantship. These recommendations are used to identify the kind of work you will be assigned to do in your ITA position.

Please note that your ITA exam will be video recorded. The video is used during the evaluation process.

ITA workshop

Held periodically, ITA workshops are open to anyone who is interested in learning more about the ITA exam. However, the focus is on preparing students who will be taking the exam in the near future. To register for the workshop, please email IALC.

Topics covered

General information on ITA exams

1. Ratings
2. Timeline
3. Best topics
4. ITA test via Zoom
5. Best practices
6. Allowable visual aids

Practice (one on one feedback)

1. Screen sharing
2. Introducing self and possible topic

Discussion

Concerns and difficulties

For video with transcript, go to the video posted on YouTube.

Retaking the ITA evaluation

Only 1 ITA test may be taken in each academic session (fall, spring, summer). ITA tests may be retaken every 12 months. A different topic must be used for each subsequent ITA test.

Requests for retesting within the same 12-month period must be accompanied by the section of the registration form explaining work done, such as:

• Courses taken (name and duration)
• Tutors (topics covered and total hours of instruction)
• Materials used (websites, books, audio/visual, etc.)
• Hours/day of practice (details of what was done, log)
• Other relevant factors