The current study investigated candidate predictors of performance on the Educative Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA) special education teacher portfolio at a rural university in the southeastern region of the United States. As educator preparation programs across the United States continue to grapple with common standards for licensure, certification, and entry into the teaching profession, many states and universities now use the edTPA teacher portfolio as a standardized assessment to determine teacher certification. This study examined observable variables to seek predictors of candidate performance on the special education edTPA assessment in a rural university. A multiple regression analysis was run to determine if (a) grade point average (GPA), (b) scores on state-mandated certification exams, (c) sex, (d) race, (e) socioeconomic status, (f) degree and major, (g) age at graduation, or (h) year the edTPA was taken served as predictors for special education edTPA total scores. Results indicate that the variables explained 16.6% of the variation of scores. However, only candidate GPA was a significant predictor of edTPA performance. The implications for special education teacher preparation for edTPA are discussed. Directions for future research are proposed.