Texas
wants to ensure that each educator in public schools has the necessary
content and professional knowledge to perform satisfactorily,
so Texas law requires every person seeking educator certification
to perform satisfactorily on a minimum of two comprehensive examinations.
The new Texas Examinations of Educator Standards (TExES) was developed
in 2000 for this purpose.
The
Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the State Board for Educator
Certification (SBEC), the state agencies in Austin, are responsible
for educator certification in Texas. The TExES tests are one component
of the certification process.
State
certification paper/pencil tests are offered five times a year.
All tests are offered during each test administration. Students
register for the particular certification test(s) they need. Additionally,
some tests are offered as computer tests.
Please
visit the ETS web site for more information. Registration booklets
are only available online.
TExES
Certification levels are:
*Early
Childhood - 4th Grades
4th
- 8th Grades
8th
- 12th Grades
Early
Childhood - 12th Grades
*September,
2007, the SBOE adopted an amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 233, Categories
of Classroom Teaching Certificates, §233.2, Generalist. The
amendment to 19 TAC §233.2 created a new certificate for
Generalist: Early Childhood-Grade 6 to be issued no earlier than
September 1, 2008.
Holders
of EC-4 certificates would have a choice of renewing their EC-4
standard certificate or taking the new EC-6 TExES.
The
first test administration for the Generalist EC-6 will be on June
17, 2009. Registration will open March, 2009 for this exam.
Anyone
seeking certification in the state of Texas must take a pedagogy
examination and a content examination. Other examinations may
be required, so students should check their certification plan
for required exams.
TYPE
OF TEST
All
TExES examinations are criterion referenced multiple choice tests.
They are designed to measure your knowledge in relation to an
established standard of competence (criterion) rather than to
the performance of other test takers.
Tests
may be taken via PBT (paper based testing) or some are offered
as CATs (computer administered tests.)
TAMUCC
is a site for paper based testing.
Each
TExES, whether PBT or CAT, costs $120.00.
Five
hours are allowed for each testing session, whether PBTs or CATs.
PBT
sessions for all tests are offered five times a year:
The
morning session begins at 7:30 AM and the test runs from 8 AM
to 1 PM
The
afternoon session begins at 1:30 PM and the test runs from
2 PM to 7 PM
CAT
session times may vary by date
Tests
may be taken as many times as necessary in order to obtain a passing
score.
Each
time a test is retaken, the TAMUCC student is responsible for
obtaining approval, submitting requests to test via TAR, setting
up accounts with SBEC and ETS, registering and making payment.
Texas
A&M University Corpus Christi may require additional remediation
before issuing approval for a retake.
Pbts
may be taken any time they are offered. CATS may not be repeated
for 60 days, i.e., if you take the PPR EC-4 as a CAT and fail
it, you cannot re-take the PPR EC-4 as a CAT for 60 days, but
you can take the next available pbt PPR EC-4.
Test
scaled score range 100-300
Passing
score=scaled 240
Scaled scores represent performance on a scale that is common
to all forms of a test. Scaled scores are not the percentage
of questions answered correctly.
Domains
on the tests are weighted differently (this information may
be obtained from the SBEC or ETS web site)
You
should receive your scores approximately four weeks after the
pbt test date. CAT scores are received two weeks after testing.
Your scores will not be faxed, emailed or given over the phone
for confidentiality reasons.
Test
scores may be checked online at www.texes.ets.org.
You
will receive a score report for each test you take which will
include:
*Whether
you passed or failed
*Scores of your performance in the major content domains and in
the specific content competencies
Your
score is based on the number of questions you answer correctly.
No points are subtracted for questions answered incorrectly.
If
you are uncertain about an answer, it is better to guess than
not respond at all.
Take
your admission ticket(s).
Please
reviews testing rules at the ETS website. Be sure to bring a valid
picture identification. www.texes.ets.org
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