[Pibe-division] Question about College of Education Requirements

[Greg Aikens]

Hi Chris,
It is not unusual for undergraduate teaching programs to require prospective teachers to pass the Praxis 1 or some equivalent before they get too far into their degree program. The names of the tests you listed sound like they may be basic competency tests and not tests to measure your mastery of teaching these subjects. I think the idea is that if you can’t do basic math or read at a certain level, you should not be pursuing a career in teaching. If you do not major in education for your undergraduate degree and do education on the masters level, you often avoid these basic competency tests but still have to take the Praxis 2 or equivalents to get your teaching license. 

I hope this helps.

-Greg

> On Feb 8, 2016, at 3:34 PM, Chris Nusbaum via PIBE-Division <pibe-division at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hello All:
> 
> As many on these lists know, I have decided to pursue a career in teaching blind students. This means that I'm planning to major in special education for my undergrad degree before going to another college which has a TVI-specific Master's program for my graduate level courses. Today I visited the college I plan to attend for my undergrad work, and I was told about a requirement which struck me as odd. Apparently, Virginia law mandates that an aspiring teacher (no matter their desired content area) must pass the Math Core Praxis test along with their state's communicational literacy and reading assessments in order to enter any college-level education program. In other words, I will have to pass the test which certifies me capable of teaching math before I can even take any education classes. So I'm wondering whether any of you have had experience with this type of program, and if so, whether this is a requirement for any state other than VA? If it is a requirement, what is involved in the test and how difficult have you found it to be? Thanks in advance for your help. 
> 
> Chris Nusbaum
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
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