PASL 368: The Complete Guide

The PASL 368 is the second exam Texas requires for principal certification, and it confuses more candidates than the 268 ever will. It is not a test you sit for. It is a portfolio you build: three tasks of written commentary and artifacts, submitted online through ETS, including one 15-minute video of you leading a team. This guide walks through exactly how it works and the single strategy that makes it manageable, written by a working assistant principal who passed it while running a campus.

What is the PASL 368?

The Performance Assessment for School Leaders is a performance-based assessment created by ETS and required in Texas alongside the TExES 268 for Principal as Instructional Leader certification. Instead of answering questions, you document real leadership work on your actual campus across three tasks. Each task asks for written commentary responding to guiding prompts, plus artifacts: pages of data, plans, communication, and student work that prove the story you are telling.

The three tasks are Problem Solving in the Field (Task 1), Supporting Continuous Professional Development (Task 2), and Creating a Collaborative Team (Task 3). Task 3 includes the video and counts double in your score.

A clarification that trips up nearly every candidate: there are three tasks, not four. Each task contains four steps, twelve steps total across the assessment, and the guiding prompts are numbered by task and step (1.1.1 through 1.4.1 in Task 1, for example). If you've seen fours floating around, that's the steps within each task, or the four constructed response questions on the 268, which is a different exam entirely.

How is the PASL scored?

Each task is scored by a different trained rater, step by step. Your task scores add up to a cumulative score, with Task 3 weighted twice. Texas sets the passing requirement (verify the current cumulative score requirement with your EPP or on the TEA site, as states set their own). Two details work in your favor: raters score tasks independently, so a weak Task 1 does not drag down your Task 3, and if you fall short, you can resubmit any or all tasks for a fee during two resubmission windows, with your highest task score counting on the final report.

A step scores zero only if the commentary is missing entirely or does not address the prompts at all. Answer every prompt, reference your artifacts, and you are on the scoreboard.

How much does the PASL cost?

The assessment runs $375 through ETS, with additional fees for resubmitting individual tasks. Compare that to retaking: Texas Education Code limits you to five total attempts on any certification exam, so a focused first submission is worth every hour of planning. Scores are valid for ten years but only stay in your ETS account for two, so download your report.

What is Task 1: Problem Solving in the Field?

Task 1 asks you to identify a significant problem on your campus, back it with longitudinal data, research and build a plan, implement it, and analyze results. The written commentary responds to prompts across four steps, and the artifacts include a page of longitudinal data, research materials, the plan and timeline, stakeholder communication, an adjustment or results document, and student work showing growth.

The scoring pattern rewards a chain: problem, evidence, plan, result. Name the problem plainly, quantify it with three years of campus-versus-district-versus-state data, and show a realistic anticipated result. (Full walkthrough: PASL Task 1 Examples and Walkthrough )

What is Task 2: Supporting Continuous Professional Development?

Task 2 asks you to work with colleagues to build a data-driven prioritized list of professional development needs, design and facilitate research-based PD, and then prove impact by following three participants of different experience levels through walkthroughs, student work, and a feedback survey.

The rater is checking whether your PD is a cycle or an event. Show the loop: data identified the need, the team prioritized it, PD was delivered, walkthroughs confirmed the change, student work confirmed the learning, and the survey fed the next round. (Full walkthrough: PASL Task 2 Examples and Walkthrough )

What is Task 3: Creating a Collaborative Team?

Task 3 is double-weighted, so it deserves double your attention. You form a collaborative team of three to five colleagues with varied experience, use data to pick an instructional focus, build and implement a plan together, and reflect. The signature requirement is the 15-minute video: roughly five minutes showing planning or implementation and roughly ten minutes showing reflection and feedback.

Team selection needs a rationale per person. Team structure needs specifics: regular documented meetings, defined roles, co-constructed norms. And everything connects back to school culture. (Full walkthrough: PASL Task 3 and the Video Requirements )

What are the PASL video requirements?

The Task 3 video is 15 minutes total, typically split between a planning or implementation segment and a longer reflection segment. Practical rules that save submissions: get signed permission forms from every adult on camera before recording, record more footage than you need across multiple meetings and select the strongest segments, and do a test recording first, because poor audio is the most common video failure. You facilitate; the camera just needs to catch it.

The strategy: one project powers all three tasks

Here is what most candidates never realize. You do not need three separate projects. One significant, data-backed campus problem generates the artifacts for all three tasks at once.

Move	Feeds
Form a 3-5 person team with varied experience	Task 3 team and member spreadsheet
Pull 3 years of longitudinal data and name the problem	Task 1 anchor artifact, Task 3 data tool
Team builds a prioritized PD list from the data	Task 2 anchor artifact
Plan, timeline, stakeholder communication	Tasks 1, 2, and 3 plan pages
Deliver PD, walkthroughs with 3 teachers, student work	Tasks 1 and 2 evidence
Record team meetings	Task 3 video
Reflect in writing	All three tasks

One coherent semester of work you were probably already doing on your campus, counted three times. This is the backbone of the full PASL Playbook workbook, which includes task planners, artifact checklists, writing frames, and a 16-week master timeline.

How long does the PASL take?

Plan for one semester of campus work plus two to three weeks of writing and assembly. ETS offers submission windows during the year; you register for a window, work on drafts anytime, and submit when your window opens. Draft all commentary outside the ETS system, watch the character limits on every textbox, and never name your school, district, or city anywhere in the submission.

PASL FAQ

Is the PASL hard to pass? The pass rate is high for candidates who submit complete, prompt-aligned work. The failure modes are preventable: missing prompts, thin artifacts, unusable video audio, and naming your district. Follow a checklist and the odds are strongly in your favor.

What happens if I fail one PASL task? You resubmit just that task for a fee during one of the two resubmission windows tied to your registration. The higher score between your original and resubmission counts.

Can I use the same project for all three tasks? Yes, and you should. The tasks were designed around overlapping leadership work, and one strong data-driven campus project produces artifacts for all three.

Do I need to be an administrator to complete the PASL? No. Candidates complete it during their preparation program, usually while teaching or serving in a support role, in collaboration with a supervising administrator on their campus.

How long are PASL scores valid? Ten years, though reports only remain in your ETS account for two years, so download and save yours.

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