Teacher Certification

Praxis Exams

All candidates for initial certification in Pennsylvania must have earned at least a baccalaureate degree, completed an approved program of teacher education, and have passed The Praxis Series tests for their certification area. The Pennsylvania Department of Education will recognize scores for five years from the date of the test administration. The test booklet with all the application information and materials is available in the Education Department Office, Pearson 221.

Secondary Certification

Students pursuing secondary certification must take the following exams:

10710 PPST Reading OR 5710 Computerized PPST Reading
20720 PPST Writing OR 5720 Computerized PPST Writing
10730 PPST Math OR 5720 Computerized PPST Math
Subject Specialty test
      Biology 20235
      Chemistry 20245
      Citizenship 10087
      English 10041
      Foreign Language French 20173
      Foreign Language German 20181
      Foreign Language Spanish 10191
      Physics 10265
      Social Science 10951
      Social Studies 10081

Elementary Certification

Students pursuing elementary certification must take the following exams:

10710 PPST Reading OR 5710 Computerized PPST Reading
20720 PPST Writing OR 5720 Computerized PPST Writing
10730 PPST Math OR 5730 Computerized PPST Math
30511 Fundamental Subjects: Content Knowledge
10011 Elementary Education

Foreign Language

Because Foreign Language is a K-12 certification, students pursuing a Foreign Language certification must take the secondary certification tests and:

30511 Fundamental Subjects: Content Knowledge

Middle Level Certification

Students with Elementary certification who want to be certified to teach a content area in grades 7, 8, and 9 must take the appropriate PRAXIS exam, listed below, to receive Middle Level Certification in that content area.

English:	PRAXIS Middle School English Language Arts Test 10049
Mathematics:	PRAXIS Middle School Mathematics Test 20069
Science:	PRAXIS Middle School Science Test 10439
Social Studies:	PRAXIS Middle School Social Studies Test 20089

Test Dates and Sites

All tests are being given at Swarthmore on all testing dates. The Swarthmore test site number is 01846. You will need two testing dates in order to complete all of the required tests.

Test Date	Registration Due Date
9/17/05	8/18/05
11/19/05	10/20/05
1/7/06	12/8/05
3/4/06	2/2/06
4/29/06	3/30/06
6/10/06	5/11/05
8/5/06	7/6/06

Notes: You must take all of your tests by the April test date if you want your certification to be processed during the 2005-2006 academic year.

Reporting Scores

Three important notes:

1) If you take the Praxis exam in Pennsylvania, your results are automatically reported to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Bureau of Teacher Certification in Harrisburg.

2) For secondary certification: In Box 11, insert code 2821 for Swarthmore College. By inserting the Swarthmore code you ensure that your Praxis score label will be attached to your certification application. If you take the test in another state, you still need to get the information back to us and to Harrisburg by inserting the proper codes.

3) For elementary certification: In Box 11, insert code 2821 for Swarthmore college. In Box 12, insert code 2220 for Eastern College so that scores will be reported to both colleges