Recruiting special education teacher candidates to teacher preparation programs and to special education classrooms continues to be a national struggle (National Center for Education Statistics, 2022; United States Department of Education, 2021). While a number of solutions to this decades-long problem have been explored, we offer the analysis of…

A large body of work has shown that science teacher knowledge is one of the most fundamental components of effective teaching and learning. Our study analyzes the Praxis® Earth and Space Science Content Knowledge Test (ESS CKT) from May 2006 to June 2016. We present one of the largest datasets comprising 11,273 ESS teacher candidates in order to…

Because educator licensure is gained by passing licensure examinations in most states, scores on high stakes tests are determining factors as to who will be teaching in America's classrooms. Due to a focus on program graduation rates, state funding cuts, and production of quality teachers, it is vital that teacher preparation programs produce the…

The purpose of this study was to investigate a set of teacher-level factors that educator preparation providers (EPPs) may be examining to anticipate how effective teachers might be in the classroom. An ordinal logistic regression was performed to determine impact on teacher effectiveness, given five predictor variables: level (undergraduate vs.…

Many states and universities have testing requirements within their undergraduate teacher education programs for obtaining teaching licensure. These tests include the Praxis Core in reading, writing, and mathematics taken at the beginning of their program and content area assessments near the end of their study. Many students struggle to pass…

All students were mandated to pass high-stakes tests for teacher licensure. Problem was some students participated in Praxis II test multiple times before achieving passing scores. Purposes were to (a) explore relationships between different licensure tests and (b) predict if teacher candidates would pass Praxis II: Elementary Education Multiple…

Data on content knowledge and self-efficacy beliefs were collected from 41 elementary preservice teachers enrolled in a mathematics methods course. Correlational analysis was used to determine whether a relationship existed between elementary preservice teachers' mathematics content knowledge (MCK) and two factors representing mathematics teacher…

This article offers both a rationale and a proposal for the meaningful contribution of English faculty to the preparation of English teachers. We draw on data from teacher licensure tests and interviews with English and English Education faculty to underscore contradictions among the various voices in English education and to identify ways of…

The purpose of this report is to examine the performance of assessment items designed to measure elementary teachers' content knowledge for teaching (CKT) science as part of the ETS® Educator Series. The Elementary Education: CKT Science assessment is 1 component of licensure examination through the PRAXIS® assessments. The Elementary Education:…

Studies investigating teacher candidate performance on traditional assessments of content knowledge place emphasis on just one of many skills needed to be an effective foreign language teacher; they also fail to explain why many teacher candidates with advanced oral proficiency struggle in the classroom and why some with less advanced language…

Elementary education teacher candidates who studied under two delivery methods--online and face to face--were compared to determine if there was a significant difference in professional knowledge and skills using Praxis II test scores. The participants included 60 teaching assistant program (TAP) online candidates and 564 face-to-face candidates.…

The purpose of this study was to analyze the demographic profile of candidates seeking music teacher licensure in the United States and to understand whether performance on the Praxis II music teacher licensure tests varies systematically as a function of various demographic characteristics. Praxis II music test data and background questionnaire…

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…

Test providers are increasingly moving toward exclusively administering assessments by computer. Computerized testing is becoming more desirable for test takers because of increased opportunities to test, faster turnaround of individual scores, or perhaps other factors, offering potential benefits for those who may be struggling to pass licensure…

Calls for evidence-based reform of teacher preparation programs (TPPs) suggest the question: Do the current indicators of progress and performance used by TPPs predict effectiveness of their graduates when they become teachers? In this study, the indicators of progress and performance used by one program are examined for their ability to predict…