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Division of Teacher and Leader Excellence THE NEW ELEMENTARY EDUCATION CONTENT TEST. March 7, 2012. CONTENT TESTS. Content tests are required for instructional certificates under N.J.S.C 6A:9.
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Division of Teacher and Leader ExcellenceTHE NEW ELEMENTARY EDUCATION CONTENT TEST March 7, 2012
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).
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.
OUR VISION FOR LICENSURE & CERTIFICATION • 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… • 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