In 1998, California state legislation called for significant reform in the preparation of teachers. As a result, institutions of higher learning must now conduct a formal performance-based assessment. All teacher candidates must participate in the assessment at the end of the program for receipt of the preliminary teaching credential. The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC) contracted with Educational Testing Service to develop a performance assessment that institutions could adopt in response to the requirement. The legislation also allowed institutions to develop alternative assessment designs, although they had to adhere to required standards and were subject to a formal review. However, there currently is a moratorium on performance assessments until state funding is secured to pay for the program. The Performance Assessment for California Teachers (PACT) consortium emerged in fall 2001 with a decision by deans and directors of teacher-education programs in the University of California (UC) system to explore the creation of an alternative proposal. This article discusses the PACT design and Embedded Signature Assessments (ESS) and contains the following sections: The PACT Design; Collaboration; The ESA Component; Selection Criteria for ESAs; ESA Scoring System; Two Case Studies; Benefits and Costs of the ESA Component; Benefits for Teacher Candidates; Benefits for Teacher-Education Programs; and Benefits for the PACT Consortium.