Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Thank you for pointing this out. Some people think it is so easy to be a teacher, apparently not. If you want to be a teacher you have to pass the test. When people say,"No one can pass the test," that is just not true. Many people pass the test.
This is like saying, I can't get a certain score on the MCAT, it is keeping me from getting into med school.
That's why I find it frightening. I've taken that test and probably have my DD's HS graduating class could have passed it right out of high school. It is that easy. So anyone who couldn't pass this test -- how did they pass their college courses? What is being taught in that college? What about the ones who did pass the test, but barely?
I am from Texas too but I now live in Las Vegas, NV. We have to pass all three parts of the Praxis test in order to certify. You can apply and get your certification with deficiencies. Meaning, I will have 1 year to pass the Praxis. But if for any reason I don't pass 1 or more sections then I can take a college level course and pass that with a B or higher to remove the deficiencies. So if I don't pass the math section I can take the fundamentals of college math 120. I would check with your state Department of Education to see what the requirements are for your state.
I know this is an old thread, but I took the NTE back in the early '90s. After a break from teaching, I went back in the mid '00s and had to take the Praxis because my NTE scores were no longer good (and apparently no longer existed anyway). The math section on the Praxis I seemed to be really similar to the 5th grade math I was teaching my students at the time (I was on initial certification with my out-of-state certification). I've also taken the GRE a few times (late '90s, early '10s) and the math on that was much harder and more advanced than the Praxis I math.
This thread is somewhat frightening. Throughout these threads the common theme is "it's not the teachers." Yet we have a thread about a simple math test that has would be teachers scared to death they can't pass it. Where does that math phobia come from? .. .. ..
It's not the teachers. I taught math/chemistry/physics for 10 years. I was chosen for lay off, after 7 years, from my first public school job because I wasn't popular with the kids (translation: It was too hard to get an A from me...never mind that 28% of my students managed to EARN an A from me). I was told that if a student could go to Detroit and get an A they should be able to get an A here (Here was a top 10 district????). Here in Michigan the only districts hurting for teachers are the really low ones so that's where I landed. I quit 6 months later when it became apparent they didn't want me to teach my subject. They wanted me to pass kids through the system. I give up. You don't need someone with my credentials and background to do that.
What is happening here is that people who are products of the system can't pass the teacher tests. No problem dummying it down though because you don't need subject matter experts to play limbo.
I used to tutor GED English classes and later English/lit review classes for the Praxis exam. It seemed like the Praxis material became more difficult about seven or eight years ago. I noticed that the vocabulary level increased to about junior year in college, while the GED English section seemed like it was getting dumbed down to the sixth or seventh grade level.
While it's important to hold teachers to a higher standard, it doesn't seem fair if they aren't being taught the material in the same depth at which the Praxis is testing for. I'm also concerned that senior high school students are only reading at the sixth grade level, if that. How are they supposed to increase their skills when many aren't ready for college-level reading in the first place?
I've heard these same observations from math tutors.
Yes, we should be weeding out who haven't mastered certain core skills, but we also have to be fair. Right now, I think there's a disconnect in some places between what is taught and the level of difficulty of the tests.
I've also known teachers who weren't especially good test takers who were very good at handling all the problems that go along with teaching first and second graders. I have to question the whole system for evaluating teachers, especially when one of the posters (long-time readers know who I mean), slipped through the cracks and got a teaching license when teaching clearly isn't what this person is cut out to do.
I used to tutor GED English classes and later English/lit review classes for the Praxis exam. It seemed like the Praxis material became more difficult about seven or eight years ago. I noticed that the vocabulary level increased to about junior year in college, while the GED English section seemed like it was getting dumbed down to the sixth or seventh grade level.
While it's important to hold teachers to a higher standard, it doesn't seem fair if they aren't being taught the material in the same depth at which the Praxis is testing for. I'm also concerned that senior high school students are only reading at the sixth grade level, if that. How are they supposed to increase their skills when many aren't ready for college-level reading in the first place?
I've heard these same observations from math tutors.
Yes, we should be weeding out who haven't mastered certain core skills, but we also have to be fair. Right now, I think there's a disconnect in some places between what is taught and the level of difficulty of the tests.
I've also known teachers who weren't especially good test takers who were very good at handling all the problems that go along with teaching first and second graders. I have to question the whole system for evaluating teachers, especially when one of the posters (long-time readers know who I mean), slipped through the cracks and got a teaching license when teaching clearly isn't what this person is cut out to do.
I think you make some good points, but I also think that some of the responsibility for a basic education rests with the student. But to be honest, I can look back at the same faults in myself in college where I didn't do what I really needed to do because I would take an easier route.
For example, to be certified to earth science in NYS at the time (1970s), in addition to geology, meteorology, climatology, and astronomy course, you had to take 8 credits each in biology, chemistry, and physics OR you could minor in geography. I chose the latter, in part because I like geography, but also because it was easier.
In grad school I didn't think I could pass the third required stat class, so I went for a lesser degree, when what I should have done was hire a tutor.
In both of these cases, the responsibility was on me. And I took the easy way out.
I’m not a teacher, know little about it but, and correct me if I’m wrong, isn’t the OP’s question about Core Academics, not Praxsis? Are they the same? I read it as her troubles starting when the tests changed.
I’m curious because my wife recently did some substitute teaching (we’re both retired now). Her original degree is in early childhood education, she also completed all course work for her CPA for her last job (never took exam) and was comptroller and manager of a corporate office. In other words, I think she’s a pretty smart gal. Anyway, she said the math that is in schools now is like something from another planet and she would never want to be a part of it. Is this discussion somehow related to that topic as wel?
I’m not a teacher, know little about it but, and correct me if I’m wrong, isn’t the OP’s question about Core Academics, not Praxsis? Are they the same? I read it as her troubles starting when the tests changed.
I’m curious because my wife recently did some substitute teaching (we’re both retired now). Her original degree is in early childhood education, she also completed all course work for her CPA for her last job (never took exam) and was comptroller and manager of a corporate office. In other words, I think she’s a pretty smart gal. Anyway, she said the math that is in schools now is like something from another planet and she would never want to be a part of it. Is this discussion somehow related to that topic as wel?
The Praxis I (core) tests are what most states require for teacher certification. A few states have their own test they require, however. Teachers typically also have to take one or more of the Praxis 2 tests depending on their area of practice.
Regarding what your wife is talking about, yes- math has changed quite a bit in how it's taught in the schools. It's enough that people who have been in the field for a while sometimes have to do a lot of extra practice to figure out what the texts are trying to do. The Praxis tests are more like traditional math, however (or they were, at least, when I last took them), along with some math reasoning.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
