Student Testing and Assessment

Communication Skills

Students applying for admission to the Institute of Professional Educator Development must satisfy the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction requirement for Communication Skills as defined in PI 34.01 (9) by meeting one of the following requirements:

1. Praxis Core - The Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators must be taken and all three sections (Reading, Writing, and Mathematics) must be passed prior to applying for admission to the program. It is recommended that students register for the exam at least two months ahead of the desired test date. IPED must have an Official Score Report in order to process applications for admission; without an Official Score Report, your application for admission will be returned to you and you will have to wait to apply until the next open enrollment period.

The Praxis Core is only delivered by computer. Computer based tests are offered almost every month during a two-week period. Score reports take approximately four weeks to arrive (keep this in mind when scheduling your test and your anticipated date for application for admission to the program).

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has set the pass rate scores for the Praxis Core as follows:

• Core Reading (5712) Passing Score: 156
• Core Writing (5722) Passing Score: 162
• Core Math (5732) Passing Score: 150

When registering for Praxis Core, use the UW-Parkside four digit code of 1860 to ensure a timely delivery of the Official Score Report to IPED. It is the student's responsibility to ensure that the program has a copy of the test results. Please note it is the student's responsibility to keep their copy of the original score report; the program will not archive score reports.

NOTE: The Praxis CORE Academic Skills for Educators assessment is NOT the same as the Praxis I exam. Praxis I is no longer accepted by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction after August 31, 2014.  

 

2. ACT - Teacher candidates applying for admission may use their ACT test scores if they received a composite score of 23 with a minimum score of 20 on English, Math and Reading AND the score is within the previous 10 years.
 

3. SAT - Teacher candidates applying for admission may use their SAT test scores if they received a minimum score of 510 on Critical Reading, 480 on Writing, and 520 on Math AND the score is within the previous 10 years.
 

4. GRE Revised General Test - Teacher candidates applying for admission may use their GRE Revised General Test scores if they received a minimum score of 450 on Verbal Reasoning, 3 on Analytical Writing, and 540 on Quantitative Reasoning (prior to August 1, 2011) or a minimum score of 150 on Verbal Reasoning, 3 on Analytical Writing, and 145 on Quantitative Reasoning (after August 1, 2011) AND the score is within the previous 10 years.

 

5. Alternative Option - Successful completion of ENGL 101 and MATH 102 or MATH 111 with a grade of C+ or better. 

 

Content Test - Praxis Subject Assessments (formerly Praxis II)

The Praxis Subject Assessments must be passed in order to qualify for a Wisconsin initial educator license. The Praxis Subject Assessment required for your license must be taken and passed prior to progression to Residency. It is recommended that students register for the exam at least two months ahead of the desired test date. IPED must have an Official Score Report in order to process applications for Residency; without an Official Score Report, your application for Residency will be returned to you and you will have to wait to apply until the next semester.

When registering for Praxis Subject Assessments, use the UW-Parkside four digit code of 1860 to ensure a timely delivery of the Official Score Report to the Educator Development Program. It is the student's responsibility to ensure that the program has a copy of the test results. Please note it is the students responsibility to keep their copy of the original score report; the program will not archive score reports.

Wisconsin uses the Praxis Subject Assessments for all licenses except world languages. The following are the test code, name and passing scores applicable to the individual license the student is seeking:

Candidates submitting an Initial Educator License application for the Middle Childhood-Early Adolescence level, Early Childhood level, and Special Education (all levels) are required to pass the Foundations of Reading Test, a test of reading instruction knowledge and skills administered by Pearson. The Foundations of Reading Test must be taken and passed prior to progression to Residency. This is a computer based test with 100 multiple choice questions and 2 written assignments. Testing will be available by appointment, Monday through Saturday (excluding holidays) at testing centers. The test results take approximately five weeks to be returned to you. Please keep in mind that IPED must have an Official Score Report in order to process applications for Residency; without an Official Score Report, your application for Residency will be returned to you and you will have to wait to apply until the next semester.

 

Practice test materials, registration information and policies to better understand the Foundations of Reading Test can be found at www.wi.nesinc.com.

 

We recommend that you complete the Foundations of Reading Test immediately after taking EDU 332.

edTPA

The edTPA is a subject area-specific, performance-based assessment for pre-service teacher candidates, which is centered on student learning. Evidence of a candidate's ability to teach is drawn from a subject-specific learning segment of 3-5 lessons from a unit of instruction taught to one class of students. The edTPA includes a review of a teacher candidate's authentic teaching materials as the culmination of a teaching and learning process that documents and demonstrates each candidate's ability to effectively teach subject matter to all students.

Materials assessed as part of the edTPA process include video clips of instruction, lesson plans, student work samples, analysis of student learning, and reflective commentaries. Submitted evidence will be taken together and scored by trained evaluators using the standardized set of edTPA rubrics. Candidates are required to complete and pass the edTPA before they can be endorsed for licensure.