Pennsylvania Test Requirements
ALL CERTIFICATION AREAS REQUIRE THE APPROPRIATE CONTENT AREA TEST.
Educators applying for an initial undergraduate Instructional area license for any subject area are required to pass a basic skills test and the appropriate Praxis Subject Assessments. Educators applying for Educational Specialist areas are required to pass the appropriate Praxis Subject Assessments. Educators applying for Instructional areas that cover PK–12 must pass the Praxis Fundamental Subjects: Content Knowledge test AND the appropriate Praxis subject test.
Find your certification area below to determine which test(s) you need to take. For test prep materials, click the test title. Once you know which tests you should take, schedule your test.
Unless it’s specifically stated that a calculator is permitted or required for a particular test, you can’t use a calculator on any Praxis tests (see Calculator Use).
For Career and Technical Instructional certifications, see Career and Technical Instructional section.
Score reporting
- If you test in Pennsylvania at a test center or at home, and your Praxis profile address is in Pennsylvania, your score report will be sent automatically to the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
- If you test outside Pennsylvania or your Praxis profile address is not in Pennsylvania, your scores are NOT automatically sent to the Pennsylvania Department of Education. To have your scores sent to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, you must select the Pennsylvania Department of Education (state code 8033) as a score recipient when you register.
- For all methods of Praxis testing, to request additional score reports you must select the Pennsylvania Department of Education (state code 8033) with each additional score report request.
Tests required for specific licensure areas
| To Be Certified in | You Need to Take | Test Code | Qualifying Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Career and Technical Instructional II | 5733 |
142 |
Educators who are currently undergraduates applying for an initial Instructional Middle Level area are required to pass a basic skills test, in addition to passing the appropriate Praxis test(s).
| To Be Certified in | You Need to Take | Test Code | Qualifying Score |
|---|---|---|---|
Middle Level 4–8
|
5152 |
1 |
|
5153 |
162 |
||
5154 |
152 |
||
5155 |
164 |
||
1 To pass the Pennsylvania Grades 4–8 Core Assessment you must receive a passing score on each subtest. If you wish to take all three subtests (5153, 5154, 5155) at the same time, select Pennsylvania Grades 4–8 Core Assessment (5152) when registering. If you wish to take or retake an individual subtest, you may register to take just that subtest. |
|||
| 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 |
5158 |
173 |
|
Middle Level Science 4–8 |
5159 |
156 |
|
Elementary Grades 5–6 |
English Language Arts and Social Studies Subtest | 5154 |
152 |
| and | |||
5155 |
164 |
||
Note: Elementary Grades 5–6 is only available to those holding a valid Pennsylvania Grades PK–4 certificate. |
|||
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 test(s).
| To Be Certified in | You Need to Take | Test Code | Qualifying Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biology 7–12 | Biology | 5236 |
154 |
| Chemistry 7–12 | Chemistry | 5246 |
146 |
Citizenship Education 7–12 |
5087 |
148 |
|
Communication 7–12 |
5221 |
145 |
|
Computer Science 7–12 |
5652 |
149 |
|
| Earth and Space Science 7–12 | Earth and Space Sciences | 5572 |
154 |
English 7–12 |
5038 |
167 |
|
| General Science 7–12 | General Science | 5436 |
141 |
| Mathematics 7–12 | 5165 |
159 |
|
| Physics 7–12 | Physics | 5266 |
145 |
Social Studies 7–12 |
5081 |
157 |
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 test(s).
| To Be Certified in | You Need to Take | Test Code | Qualifying Score |
|---|---|---|---|
Any PK–12 Area |
5511 |
150 |
|
Agriculture PK–12 |
5701 |
147 |
|
American Sign Language PK–12 |
0634 |
3 (160) |
|
Art PK–12 |
5134 |
158 |
|
Business, Computers & Information Technology PK–12 |
5101 |
154 |
|
Chinese (Mandarin) |
5665 |
164 |
|
Family and Consumer Sciences PK–12 |
5122 |
153 |
|
French PK–12 |
5174 |
162 |
|
German PK–12 |
5183 |
163 |
|
Health PK–12 |
5551 |
158 |
|
Health and Physical Education PK–12 |
5857 |
160 |
|
Latin PK–12 |
5601 |
152 |
|
| Library Science PK–12 | School Librarian | 5312 |
154 |
Marketing/ |
5561 |
144 |
|
Music PK–12 |
5113 |
158 |
|
Reading Specialist |
5302 |
164 |
|
Spanish PK–12 |
5195 |
168 |
|
Technology Education PK–12 |
5051 |
159 |
Educators applying for an initial Instructional Special Education area are required to pass a basic skills test, the Fundamental Subjects: Content Knowledge test and the appropriate Praxis test(s).
| To Be Certified in | You Need to Take | Test Code | Qualifying Score |
|---|---|---|---|
Any Special Education Area |
Fundamental Subjects: Content Knowledge |
5511 |
150 |
Special Education: Hearing Impaired |
Special Education: Education of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students |
5272 |
160 |
Special Education: PK–12 |
Accepted through August 31, 2024 |
5354 |
151 |
| Special Education: Foundational Knowledge | 5355 |
145 |
|
Special Education: |
5331 |
162 |
|
Special Education: |
Special Education: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments |
5282 |
163 |
Educators applying for an initial Education Specialist certificate who completed their certification program at the bachelor's degree level, must take the basic skills tests.
Educators applying for an initial certificate in the areas of
- Elementary and Secondary School Counselor, School Speech & Language Pathologist, and School Psychologist must pass the appropriate Praxis test(s).
- Educational Specialist candidates with a baccalaureate degree who hold a current and valid Pennsylvania license as a registered nurse, dental hygienist, psychologist, counselor, speech pathologist 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 PK–12 | School Counselor | 5422 |
159 |
| School Psychologist PK–12 |
School Psychologist | 5403 |
155 |
Speech Pathologist |
5331 |
162 |
| 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.) |
6990 |
151 |
Superintendent: Letter of Eligibility |
School Superintendent Assessment (Must use SLS website to register.) |
6991 |
162 |
Supervisor or Vocational Supervisor |
Educational Leadership: Administration and Supervision | 5412 |
146 |
TBA: To Be Announced. All TBA scores will be available once the test is required.
This page is a supplement to The Praxis® Tests Information Bulletin (PDF).
