Until 2014, admission requirements for the educator preparation program at a university in the north central United States included a minimum competency level on the Praxis I basic skills writing test and completion of one general education writing course. However, evidence from the university's ETS reports showed that less than 60% of students as…

Ensuring that students are reading proficiently by third grade is a key component of keeping students on track to graduate high school and pursue college and careers. Because of the magnitude of this academic milestone, states typically pursue policies that promote early identification and intervention for struggling readers. However, teachers are…

Automated scoring models were trained and evaluated for the essay task in the "Praxis I"® writing test. Prompt-specific and generic "e-rater"® scoring models were built, and evaluation statistics, such as quadratic weighted kappa, Pearson correlation, and standardized differences in mean scores, were examined to evaluate the…

Researchers (Sandarg & Schomber, 2009; Wilkerson, Schomber, & Sandarg, 2004) have urged the profession to develop a new subject-matter licensure test to reflect the best practices in the foreign language classroom. In October 2010, the Praxis II: World Language Test joined the Praxis Series. Given that this standards-driven test differs…

Teacher preparation programs in U.S. colleges and universities have been forced to re-evaluate curricular and student teaching requirements due to federal reform initiatives to support accreditation standards. A state-determined assessment must be passed to earn teaching credentials and in the state of Missouri candidates must pass the appropriate…

The purpose of this study was to examine whether licensed in-service teachers of English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) in K-12 schools are more knowledgeable in the area of applied linguistics than their nonlicensed counterparts, and whether the ESOL-licensed teachers who have taken courses toward their licensure are more knowledgeable in…

Since 2006, the National Education Association (NEA) and Educational Testing Service (ETS) have been working collaboratively to support teacher candidates in preparing for "The Praxis Series"[TM] of teacher licensure assessments, currently used in 41 states and territories. Their focus has been particularly targeted to assisting minority…

This essay discusses the author's encounter with PRAXIS II test preparation questions that distort and misrepresent complex reading processes. Three sample test items are presented and discussed.

This article describes how the design of digital learning objects can spark professional learning. The challenge was to build learning objects that would help experienced special education teachers, who had been teaching in math classes, to demonstrate their proficiency in middle and secondary school mathematics on the PRAXIS examination. While…

Discusses the Praxis II exam, "English Language, Literature, and Composition: Content Knowledge," a two-hour multiple-choice exam with questions on American, British, and world literature, literary terms, grammar and usage, and teaching. Suggests that knowledge of subject matter seems to be related to successful teaching, but whether…

In the past, evaluation of teacher performance often focused on generic behaviors related to common instructional strategies (Medley, Coker, & Soar, 1984). More recently, educational researchers and test developers have focused more on teachers' subject matter knowledge as tested through tools like the Praxis and California's Single Subject…

Investigates the Praxis II, the standardized teacher examination required for teacher certification in Georgia. Considers why African American teacher candidates were less successful than their white colleagues in passing this exit exam for teacher licensure. Concludes that assessment must account for the cultural realities that teacher candidates…

The author posits that testing teacher quality will not improve education unless people realize how current means of teacher testing could eliminate from teacher preparation the utopian elements that foundations courses present through material from authors such as Maxine Greene, Samuel Bowles, and Herbert Gintis. He presents a history of the…

This paper reports on an independent review of two examinations designed to assess teacher competencies: the Praxis Series and the Content Mastery Examinations for Educators (CMEE). The review was ordered by the Montana Department of Public Education in order to decide which battery of tests would replace the National Teacher Examination (NTE).…

The purpose of this paper is to examine how well-prepared vocational educators are to teach courses and programs that reflect the emphasis on academic skills in the Perkins III legislation. The paper examines the academic skills and pedagogical knowledge of elementary, secondary and secondary vocational candidates to assess how well-prepared…