Teacher Certification Texas – A Guide to the Teacher Certification Texas Examination
You must complete an accredited training program and pass an examination in order to obtain teacher certification Texas. You should definitely learn more about the eligibility requirements for taking the test, its nature and administration and how to prepare for it. The information will help you obtain your certification and find a well-paid job easily and quickly.
The eligibility criteria for taking the teacher certification Texas examination vary depending on the training program that you have completed. In most cases, graduates from accredited bachelor’s degree programs and post-baccalaureate programs are eligible for taking the exam directly. If you have chosen an alternative or accelerated program, you may need to undergo a review in order to become eligible for taking the exam. It is best for you to check the criteria applicable to you personally either with your program coordinator or with the Educational Testing Service (ETS) administering the examination.
The teacher certification Texas examination is not a single test. In fact, there is a separate exam for each subject and grade level that you would like to teach in. Currently, there are over 60 subject areas that you can choose from. It is a matter of personal choice which subject areas you will take Texas Examinations of Educator Standards (TExES) in. Usually, accredited educational programs have special counselors working with the students and helping them to decide which of these exams to take.
As part of the set of TExES exams, you will have to take the Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities (PPR) exam. This test is mandatory for each aspiring teacher to obtain teacher certification Texas. As its name suggests, this test is designed to evaluate your knowledge and skills in teaching and not your academic knowledge.
The teacher certification Texas examinations consist of multiple choice questions primarily. This is applicable to both academic subject test and the PPR test. Still, in some subject areas, such as literature, for instance, you will have to demonstrate writing and speaking skills. Preparation materials for TExES are available on the ETS website for free. These include exam manuals and studying tips. Individual preparation may be available through your school. In general, you should have got the knowledge and skills for passing the exam as part of your undergraduate degree program and teacher training program.
You can choose to take a paper-based or a computer-based teacher certification Texas test in any subject area. The same applies to the PPR exam. The computer-based testing option is more flexible since you can take the exam any time.
After passing each of the tests in an academic subject, also called content tests, you will become Highly Qualified (HQ) in it. This allows you to teach the subject at a certain grade in any public school in the state. Provided that you pass the PPR test, you will obtain your certification. After passing the PPR test, you can continue taking content tests for expanding your qualifications, if this is what you want.
Now you know the most important things about teacher certification Texas examinations, so you can register and pass the exam to become a certified teacher in this state.