In this critical bifocal case study, the author examines how the Obama administration's Race to the Top education reform agenda was enacted into policy that gave rise to the Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA), which was in turn embodied by a single MA English education teacher preparation program in New York State. Drawing on Weis and Fine's (2012) critical bifocality as a theory and method, the author traces and braids the interplay between stories told at the macro (i.e. political and economic structures) and micro (i.e. lived experiences of faculty and students in one MA program) levels. She finds that although New York State politicians and policymakers implemented their reform agenda--including the edTPA--without sufficient clarity, time, or resources, faculty and students in the author's MA program resisted though ultimately complied with new policies. In addition, the author cautions that private companies were afforded inappropriate decision-making authority, that New York State's adoption and mandated implementation of the edTPA ignored teacher education research and the voices of educators in favor of political agendas, and that the edTPA should be removed as a teacher certification requirement in New York State or considered for the issuance of professional rather than for initial state certification. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]