Division of Teacher and Leader Excellence THE NEW ELEMENTARY EDUCATION CONTENT TEST March 7,

CONTENT TESTS Content tests are required for instructional certificates under N.J.S.C 6A:9. Their purpose is to ensure a minimum level of subject matter knowledge for novice teacher certification. Most NJ adopted content tests are Educational Testing Service (ETS) Praxis II tests. – Others are ancillary tests of world language skills authored by the American Council of Teachers of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). Adoption procedure: – ETS develops tests and conducts standard setting studies that recommend passing or cut scores. – The Department proposes a test and qualifying score(s). – By resolution, the State Board adopts the test and qualifying score(s). 2

WHY A NEW ELEMENTARY CONTENT KNOWLEDGE TEST? The new test will: – Raise the content knowledge bar for incoming teachers, and – When linked to NJSMART, help us assess the K-5 student achievement under teachers from different preparation programs. The current test covers four core content areas of Reading/Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies but scores as one test. – Candidates thus can do poorly on one or more sections of the current test but still achieve a passing score. The new test also covers the four content areas but allows NJDOE to judge separately an applicant’s knowledge of each area.

COMPARING CURRENT AND PROPOSED TESTS CurrentProposed Time2 hours3.5 hours FormatComputer; Paper to phase outComputer Number of Questions Reading & Language Arts30(60 minutes) (65 questions) Mathematics30(50 minutes) (40 questions) Social Studies30(50 minutes) (55 questions) Science30(50 minutes) (50 questions) Cut Score141 Reading & Language Arts165 Mathematics164 Social Studies155 Science159 Results6 weeks applicant & NJDOE Applicant – at test finish. NJDOE - 6 weeks Cost$80; $80 per retake$130; $50 per section retake

OUR VISION FOR LICENSURE & CERTIFICATION Determining correlation between current Certification tests and teacher effectiveness Ensuring that the preparation programs, licensure requirements and teacher evaluation processes are all integrated Reviewing the current 3-tiered licensure system and timelines for receiving/maintaining certification Recruitment and Preparation Licensure and Certification Evaluation Professional Development Retention and Separation NJDOE is enacting a cohesive strategy to improve the educator effectiveness throughout the state: A comprehensive review of the roles of preparation and licensure is needed, including… 5