Continuum of Teaching Practice (CSTP) 2025
California's Continuum of Teaching Practice is built on the California Standards for the Teaching Profession (CSTP). The 2025 edition defines six standards that describe what effective teaching looks like across a developmental continuum, from emerging to innovating. It is widely used in teacher induction, evaluation, and professional development across California districts.
Used statewide across California school districts for teacher evaluation and professional development.
Framework Domains
CSTP at a Glance
Standard 1: Engaging and Supporting All Students in Learning
Connecting instruction to students' prior knowledge, interests, and experiences while promoting active engagement for all learners.
Standard 2: Creating and Maintaining Effective Environments for Student Learning
Establishing a physically, emotionally, and intellectually safe environment that promotes respect and student responsibility.
Standard 3: Understanding and Organizing Subject Matter for Student Learning
Demonstrating deep content knowledge and organizing curriculum to support student understanding across disciplines.
Standard 4: Planning Instruction and Designing Learning Experiences for All Students
Using knowledge of students, content, and pedagogy to design differentiated, standards-aligned instruction.
Standard 5: Assessing Students for Learning
Applying a range of formative and summative assessment strategies to monitor student progress and inform instruction.
Standard 6: Developing as a Professional Educator
Reflecting on practice, engaging in professional learning, and collaborating with colleagues and the broader school community.
Rating Scale
CSTP Rating Levels
How Observation Copilot Helps
AI-powered CSTP feedback in seconds
- Organizes observation notes by the six CSTP standards
- Generates feedback aligned to the CSTP developmental continuum
- Maps evidence from your notes to specific CSTP elements and indicators
- Creates targeted next steps tied to specific California teaching standards
- Reduces post-observation write-up time for California principals
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