As of May 2014, all candidates for teacher certification in New York State must successfully complete the teacher performance assessment (edTPA). This article describes an assignment piloted in an early childhood literacy class as an embedded signature assessment and has three goals: to explain the context that led to the development of the assignment, to describe how the assignment was created and piloted, and to describe the methodology and results of an action research project intended to collect data on candidates' perceptions of the challenges and value of the assignment. Implications for candidates' understanding and utilization of developmentally appropriate practice, academic language, and self-reflection, as well as for the design of embedded signature assessments are discussed.