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List of Required DC Certification Exams
This is where you will find a list of the current exams required for educator certification, as well as a list of the acceptance schedule for discontinued or dropped exams. Click here for details.
Classroom Teacher Exams
Individuals seeking classroom teacher certification shall be required to demonstrate basic skills knowledge, subject content knowledge and professional pedagogy knowledge in addition to applicable program preparation or demonstrated teacher effectiveness.
- Basic skills knowledge must be demonstrated by a 3.0 or higher grade-point average earned for a completed bachelor’s degree OR by submitting passing scores achieved for the reading, writing and mathematics portion of an approved basic skills exam. Graduate degree GPAs are not applicable for this calculation.
- Subject content knowledge must be demonstrated by the submission of passing scores for the Praxis II subject content exam matching the teaching area of the credential being sought. If OSSE has not adopted a Praxis II subject content exam in the teaching area, the applicant shall possess a completed degree with a major in the corresponding subject area to satisfy this requirement.
- Pedagogy knowledge must be demonstrated by the submission of passing scores for the Praxis II Principles of Learning and Teaching pedagogy exam matching the teaching grade level(s) of the credential being sought.
Out-of-State Credential Holders
Individuals with an active standard or professional teaching credential/license in another state and were required to pass comparable basic skills, subject content and pedagogy exams in the other state to earn the credential, may present those scores to OSSE for a compatibility determination. To be considered, individuals must present complete scanned PDF copies of their official examinee score report(s) when filing an official application with the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) for the DC credential. OSSE does not conduct ad-hoc compatibility determinations of out-of-state exams without an application.
Additionally, in instances where a basic skills exam, subject content exam, or pedagogy exam was not required for certification in the other state, the individual must take and pass the missing exam component prior to earning a full DC credential in the corresponding subject area.
Added Endorsement Certification Exams
Individuals seeking to add additional teaching endorsement certification area(s) to their standard-level primary standalone teaching credential held in another subject area, must submit passing scores for the subject content exam and pedagogy exam required for the area of the added endorsement. Please note, added endorsement certification is only available to teacher certification areas and is not applicable to student/pupil service provider certification nor school principal certification.
School Services Provider Exams
Individuals seeking school services provider certification as a school counselor, school librarian, reading specialist and school psychologist must submit passing scores for the corresponding school support personnel content exam.
School Principal Exams
Individuals seeking school principal certification must submit passing scores for the school leadership content exam.
How to Submit Exam Scores
- Individuals must upload complete scanned PDF copies of their official examinee score reports to their online application due at the time of application submission.
- For inaccessible examinee score reports, individuals must upload a test verification form to confirm the successful completion of required certification exams. The form must be completed by a certifying official in the state education agency where an active standard or professional educator credential is held.
ETS Score Recipient Routing Code (7076)
Use code 7076 to select the DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) as a test score recipient. Please be advised that even when selecting OSSE as a score recipient, individuals must upload complete scanned PDF copies of the official examinee score reports to their online application to avoid processing delays or potential application rejection due to being incomplete.
Exam Study Materials and Registration
For study materials, test registration, fees, special accommodations, and other related information, please contact the Educational Testing Service (ETS) at: www.ets.org/praxis or 1-800-772-9476 or 1-609-771-7395.
For more information or questions regarding DC educator credentialing and requirements, please contact [email protected].
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