Within a global context of more standardization of teacher preparation, programs in the USA are increasingly using standardized teacher performance assessments such as edTPA to evaluate prospective teachers’ instructional effectiveness and readiness for their own classroom. This study was conducted in a state recently requiring successful completion of edTPA for initial teacher certification. Phenomenological methodology was used to examine the lived experiences of six elementary prospective teachers completing Elementary Education edTPA: Assessing Students’ Mathematics Learning (i.e., Math Task 4) during student teaching. Data were collected via 24 individual, phenomenological interviews at specific phases during the student teaching semester. Whole-Part-Whole analysis revealed the prospective teachers found themselves in a state of elusiveness as they engaged in Math Task 4. Three themes provide the structure for elusiveness, including juggling Math Task 4 in student teaching classrooms, from relying on experts to standing alone, and navigating edTPA processes. Understanding prospective teachers’ lived experiences with Math Task 4 provides insights into both needed supports for their successful completion of the task and some of the issues with a high stakes teacher performance assessment embedded in the student teaching semester.

在教师准备更加标准化的全球背景下，美国的计划越来越多地使用标准化的教师绩效评估，如 edTPA 来评估未来教师的教学效率和他们自己课堂的准备情况。这项研究是在最近要求成功完成 edTPA 以获得初始教师认证的州进行的。现象学方法被用来检查六名小学准教师在学生教学期间完成基础教育 edTPA：评估学生的数学学习（即数学任务 4）的生活经历。数据是通过学生教学学期特定阶段的 24 次个人现象学访谈收集的。整体-部分-整体分析显示，未来的教师发现自己处于一种状态难以捉摸，因为他们从事数学任务 4。三个主题提供了难以捉摸的结构，包括在学生教学课堂中处理数学任务 4，从依赖专家到独立，以及导航 edTPA 流程。了解未来教师在数学任务 4 中的生活经验，可以深入了解他们成功完成任务所需的支持，以及在学生教学学期中嵌入的高风险教师绩效评估的一些问题。