Pennsylvania Department of Education

Pennsylvania Test Requirements

ALL CERTIFICATION AREAS REQUIRE THE APPROPRIATE CONTENT AREA TEST.

Educators applying for an initial undergraduate Instructional or Educational Specialist area license are required to pass a basic skills test and the appropriate Praxis II® test for secondary, PK–12, educational specialist, and educational leadership. Educators applying for Instructional areas that cover N–3 or K–6 must have passed the Praxis II Fundamental Subjects: Content Knowledge test AND the appropriate Praxis II subject test prior to August 31, 2013. Educators applying for Instructional areas that cover PK–12 must pass the Praxis II Fundamental Subjects: Content Knowledge test AND the appropriate Praxis II subject test.

In general, unless it is specifically stated that a calculator is permitted or required for a particular test, calculators may not be used on any Praxis® tests (see Calculator Use).

For Vocational Instructional certifications, see Vocational Instructional section.

If you test in Pennsylvania, your score report will be sent automatically to the Pennsylvania Department of Education. If you test outside of Pennsylvania, select the Pennsylvania Department of Education (state code 8033) as a score recipient when you register or on an additional score report request.

Tests Required for All Licensure Areas

Educators applying for an initial undergraduate Instructional or Educational Specialist area license are required to pass a basic skills test.

To Be Certified in You Need to Take Test Code Qualifying Score
All Areas, except for Vocational Education Pre-service Academic Performance Assessment (PAPA)
or
The Pennsylvania Department of Education has authorized the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators tests as an alternative to the PAPA.
Core Academic Skills for Educators: Reading 5712 156
and
Core Academic Skills for Educators: Writing 5722 162
and
Core Academic Skills for Educators: Mathematics (On-screen four-function calculator provided.) 5732 150
If you wish to take all three computer-delivered Core Academic Skills for Educators exams (5712, 5722, 5732) at the same time, select Core Academic Skills for Educators Combined Test (5751) when registering. Scores will be reported by individual test (5712, 5722, 5732).

Tests Required for Specific Licensure Areas

Middle Level (Grades 4–8)

Middle Level (Grades 4–8) Educators applying for an initial Instructional 4–8 area are required to pass a basic skills assessment (PAPA), in addition to passing the appropriate Praxis II test(s). Please note that you must take and pass the Core Assessment (which contains three modules) AND the Subject Concentration test(s) for the subject(s) you are preparing to teach: English/Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies. The tests may be scheduled in any order. The first time you register for the Core Assessment (which contains three modules) all three modules must be taken on the same day. If you fail to reach the qualifying score on one or more of the Core Assessment modules, you are permitted to schedule a retest on just the module that was not previously passed.

To Be Certified in You Need to Take Test Code Qualifying Score
Middle Level 4–8 Pennsylvania Grades 4–8 Core Assessment(Calculator allowed.) 5152 *
Pedagogy Subtest 5153 162
English Language Arts and Social Studies Subtest 5154 152
Mathematics and Science Subtest(Calculator allowed.) 5155 164
* To pass the Pennsylvania Grades 4–8 Core Assessment you must receive a passing score on each subtest. You must take the full test on your initial attempt. If after your first attempt you did not pass one of the individual subtests, you may take just that subtest again for a reduced fee.
Test takers seeking certification in Middle Level 4–8 must ALSO take the Subject Concentration test(s) for the area(s) they plan to teach.
Middle Level Citizenship Education 4–8 Pennsylvania Grades 4–8 Subject Concentration: Social Studies 5157 150
Middle Level English 4–8 Pennsylvania Grades 4–8 Subject Concentration: English Language Arts 5156 156
Middle Level Mathematics 4–8 Pennsylvania Grades 4–8 Subject Concentration: Mathematics(Calculator allowed.) 5158 173
Middle Level Science 4–8 Pennsylvania Grades 4–8 Subject Concentration: Science(Calculator allowed.) 5159 156

Secondary Education (Grades 7–12)

Educators who are currently undergraduates applying for an initial Instructional 7–12 area are required to pass a basic skills test, in addition to passing the appropriate Praxis II test(s).

To Be Certified in You Need to Take Test Code Qualifying Score
Biology 7–12 Biology: Content Knowledge 5235 147
Chemistry 7–12 Chemistry: Content Knowledge 5245 154
Citizenship Education 7–12 Citizenship Education: Content Knowledge 5087 148
Communication 7–12 Speech Communication: Content Knowledge 5221 145
Cooperative Education 7–12 Cooperative Education 0811 161
Earth and Space Science 7–12 Earth and Space Sciences: Content Knowledge 5571 157
English 7–12 English Language Arts: Content Knowledge 5038 167
General Science 7–12 General Science: Content Knowledge 5435 146
Mathematics 7–12 Mathematics: Content Knowledge (Online graphing calculator provided.) 5161 160
Physics 7–12 Physics: Content Knowledge 5265 140
Social Studies 7–12 Social Studies: Content Knowledge 5081 157

PK–12 Areas

Educators applying for an initial Instructional PK–12 area are required to pass a basic skills test, the Fundamental Subjects: Content Knowledge test and the appropriate Praxis II test(s).

To Be Certified in You Need to Take Test Code Qualifying Score
Any PK–12 Area Fundamental Subjects: Content Knowledge (Calculator allowed.) 5511 150
Agriculture PK–12 Agriculture 5701 147
Art PK–12 Art: Content Knowledge 5134 158
Business, Computers & Information Technology PK–12 Business Education: Content Knowledge (Calculator allowed.) 5101 154
Chinese (Mandarin)
PK–12		 Chinese (Mandarin): World Language 5665 164
Environmental Education PK–12 Environmental Education 0831 156
Family and Consumer Sciences PK–12 Family and Consumer Sciences Required through 2/28/2015. 5121 162
Family and Consumer Sciences Required beginning 3/1/2015. 5122 153
French PK–12 French: World Language 5174 162
German PK–12 German: World Language 5183 163
Health PK–12 Health Education 5551 158
Health and Physical Education PK–12 Health and Physical Education: Content Knowledge Required through 2/28/2015. 5856 146
Health and Physical Education: Content Knowledge Required beginning 3/1/2015. 5857 160
Latin PK–12 Latin 5601 152
Library Science PK–12 Library Media Specialist 5311 151
Marketing/Distributive Education PK–12 Marketing Education 5561 144
Music PK–12 Music: Content Knowledge 5113 158
Reading Specialist
PK–12		 Reading Specialist 5301 164
Spanish PK–12 Spanish: World Language 5195 168
Technology Education PK–12 Technology Education 5051 159

Special Education

To Be Certified in You Need to Take Test Code Qualifying Score
Special Education: Hearing Impaired
PK–12		 Special Education: Education of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students 5272 160
Special Education:
Speech & Language
Impaired PK–12		 Speech-Language Pathology 5331 162
Special Education:
Visually Impaired
PK–12		 Special Education: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments 5282 163

Educational Specialist

Educators applying for an initial certificate in the areas of

  • Elementary Counselor, Secondary Counselor and School Psychologist: Must pass a basic skills test in addition to the appropriate Praxis II test(s).
  • Home and School Visitor and Instructional Technology Specialist: Must pass a basic skills test. Educational Specialist candidates with a baccalaureate degree who hold current and valid Pennsylvania license as a registered nurse, dental hygienist, psychologist, counselor or social worker and can provide a copy of this Pennsylvania license as part of their application for the related Pennsylvania Educational Specialist certification are not required to take any tests to receive the related certificate.

Note: A current and valid Pennsylvania license is required to obtain a school nurse and dental hygienist certification.

To Be Certified in You Need to Take Test Code Qualifying Score
School Counselor:
Elementary PK–12		 Professional School Counselor 5421 156
School Psychologist
PK–12		 School Psychologist 5402 147
Speech Pathologist
PK–12		 Speech-Language Pathology 5331 162

Administration

To Be Certified in You Need to Take Test Code Qualifying Score
Principal or Vocational Director School Leaders Licensure Assessment (Must use SLS website to register.) 6011 163
Superintendent: Letter of Eligibility School Superintendent Assessment (Must use SLS website to register.) 6021 160
Supervisor or Vocational Supervisor Educational Leadership: Administration and Supervision 5411 143

Vocational Instructional

Educators who are currently undergraduates applying for an initial Vocational Instructional I or Vocational Instructional II certificate must pass the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators tests.

Vocational Instructional I
To Be Certified in You Need to Take Test Code Qualifying Score
Vocational Instructional I Core Academic Skills for Educators: Reading 5712 148
and
Core Academic Skills for Educators: Writing 5722 158

Vocational Instructional II

To Be Certified in You Need to Take Test Code Qualifying Score
Vocational Instructional II Core Academic Skills for Educators: Mathematics (On-screen four-function calculator provided.) 5732 142

This page is a supplement to The Praxis Series® Information Bulletin.

 

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