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so my sister is a college student in pennsylvania studying spanish education. she needs to pass the pennsylvania praxis test before her college will issue her the degree. she also needs to pass it, i believe, to be able to teach in public schools in pennsylvania.
she's having a hard time passing it. my mother has heard that other states' version of the test is easier, but then she wouldn't be able to teach in PA, the way we understand it.
does anyone have any experience with this, and can offer advice on what her options are?
I doubt this will be much more than a rant, but when I took the CLEP test for Spanish in college, the test was done in some bizzare, ridiculously formal and dated version of Spanish that nobody speaks in real life. I am guessing Praxis would be the same kind of thing...I did pass BTW, it just takes that realization and study in that direction to overcome.
so my sister is a college student in pennsylvania studying spanish education. she needs to pass the pennsylvania praxis test before her college will issue her the degree. she also needs to pass it, i believe, to be able to teach in public schools in pennsylvania.
she's having a hard time passing it. my mother has heard that other states' version of the test is easier, but then she wouldn't be able to teach in PA, the way we understand it.
does anyone have any experience with this, and can offer advice on what her options are?
I'm pretty sure the Praxis exams are the same in all states, although the acceptable passing score may differ. According to the Praxis website, though, a new version of the Spanish language test was begun in October, 2010. Maybe that's what your mother is thinking about?
Some states administer their own competency exams rather than rely on Praxis, and those are (as far as I know) accepted ONLY in the state where they're given.
Even if she went to another state that had a different test, the university probably would not issue her a degree as she has not met the university's requirements.
She needs to study or look at how the test is constructed. BE THE TEST...it may not be logical, but she has to think the same way the test is written and give the answers the Praxis wants...
The Praxis in all subject areas is administered nationally by a testing company in New Jersey...there is no difference in tests distributed to one state versus another state (and not every state requires Praxis in order to be issued teaching licensure). Individual states have different thresholds for what they consider to be a passing score (and they vary considerably), but you don't get an easier or harder test in one state as compared to another. If she takes it in another state (I live in a bi-state metro, and my testing center was across the state line in a state other than the one my certification is in), it won't make any difference, but she will still need to surpass PA's threshold score if she intends to teach in PA. It really doesn't matter where you take it (lots of people take it out of state if they attend college in another state than the one they will be working in), but whatever state you're applying for jobs in is going to hold to their own requirements.
And, yes, Praxis revamped a bunch of their tests last fall, so if she's using any published study materials, make sure they correspond to the material that's on the revisions made to many of the tests in fall 2010. Don't use older stuff made for earlier versions of the test that may no longer be applicable, and that may leave out information that is now pertinent. Praxis' website is pretty clear on this.
I'm pretty sure the Praxis exams are the same in all states, although the acceptable passing score may differ. According to the Praxis website, though, a new version of the Spanish language test was begun in October, 2010. Maybe that's what your mother is thinking about?
Some states administer their own competency exams rather than rely on Praxis, and those are (as far as I know) accepted ONLY in the state where they're given.
the way it was explained to my mother by my sister's tutor is that PA's Praxis II for Spanish is more difficult than other states. PA won't accept other states' results, but other states will accept PA's. honestly, i'm working on partial information from my sister and mother, and just trying to figure out what her options may be.
The Praxis in all subject areas is administered nationally by a testing company in New Jersey...there is no difference in tests distributed to one state versus another state (and not every state requires Praxis in order to be issued teaching licensure). Individual states have different thresholds for what they consider to be a passing score (and they vary considerably), but you don't get an easier or harder test in one state as compared to another. If she takes it in another state (I live in a bi-state metro, and my testing center was across the state line in a state other than the one my certification is in), it won't make any difference, but she will still need to surpass PA's threshold score if she intends to teach in PA. It really doesn't matter where you take it (lots of people take it out of state if they attend college in another state than the one they will be working in), but whatever state you're applying for jobs in is going to hold to their own requirements.
And, yes, Praxis revamped a bunch of their tests last fall, so if she's using any published study materials, make sure they correspond to the material that's on the revisions made to many of the tests in fall 2010. Don't use older stuff made for earlier versions of the test that may no longer be applicable, and that may leave out information that is now pertinent. Praxis' website is pretty clear on this.
i see what you mean about the score. so content is the same, but PA's "passing score" is probably higher. thank you!
I know our school district prefers native born Spanish teachers, I would guess that would give them an edge with the Praxis 2 test. I agree that she would not be certified to be to teach Spanish in Pennsylvania without passing the Spanish Praxis 2 since I'm pretty sure that is a K-12 certification, like music. So, it's not just not teaching in Middle School or High School, it's teaching Spanish in all grades.
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