Current through Rules and Regulations filed through March 20, 2024
(1)
Summary: This rule outlines
specific assessment requirements for obtaining certification. The Georgia
Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC) administers through a testing
supplier educator assessments required for certification. As of September 1,
2006, the Georgia Assessments for the Certification of EducatorsT (GACE) is the
state-approved educator certification assessment program in Georgia. GACE
assessments include Program Admission, Content, Standards-based assessment of
knowledge of the Georgia Code of Ethics for Educators and Paraprofessional
assessments. All GACE assessments are aligned with state-approved educator
preparation program standards, national standards, and the state standards for
the P-12 curriculum. Information about the GACE program is available at
www.gapsc.com. In addition to the GACE,
there are other state-accepted content assessments for certain foreign language
and career and technical specializations.
(2)
Content Assessment.
(a) GACE content assessments test knowledge
in a variety of content areas as required for certification. GACE content
assessments have two passing levels: Induction and Professional. All passing
scores earned on GACE assessments will be treated as Professional level scores
for certification purposes even if the official score report reflects an
Induction level score. Information on the content assessments required for
Georgia certification may be accessed at
www.gapsc.com.
(b) The following individuals are required to
pass the GACE content assessment for the desired certification field:
1. Individuals seeking a Provisional
certificate.
(i) For Special Education fields,
the pre-requisite is the special education academic content concentration(s),
which must be met by passing the appropriate academic content assessment(s).
Individuals enrolled in GaTAPP have the option of verifying an academic content
concentration if approved by the GaTAPP provider. The appropriate Special
Education field assessment must then be completed before conversion to a
Professional.
(ii) Individuals
holding the Military Support Provisional certificate must pass the GACE content
assessment(s) prior to issuance of the Year Two (2) Provisional
certificate.
2.
Individuals seeking an initial permit in a foreign language field.
3. Georgia Pre-Service certificate holders
applying for an Induction certificate.
(i) A
One (1)-Year Induction certificate may be issued at the request of an employing
Georgia local unit of administration (LUA) to individuals applying for initial
certification based on completion of a GaPSC-accepted program who must satisfy
the content assessment.
4. Georgia Professional or Induction
certificate holders applying to add a certification field.
5. Individuals applying for initial
Professional or Induction certification in Georgia based on reciprocity.
(i) These individuals may exempt the content
assessment requirement by meeting the exemption criteria outlined in section
(10)(a) below.
(ii) A One (1)-Year
Non-Renewable Professional or One (1)-Year Induction certificate may be issued
at the request of an employing Georgia local unit of administration (LUA) to
individuals applying for initial certification based on reciprocity who must
satisfy the content assessment.
6. Georgia educators who complete
out-of-state programs leading to certification must pass the GACE content
assessment; these educators will not be eligible for the exemption outlined in
section (11)(a) below, even upon submission of an out-of-state professional
certificate.
7. Individuals seeking
to extend an initial permit in the fields of Art, Music, Engineering &
Technology and Superintendent.
8.
Individuals seeking an Adjunct license must pass the appropriate GACE content
assessment(s) for the field(s) being taught or hold the appropriate
professional licensure for the profession or field of instructional
experience.
9. Individuals seeking
an initial professional Service field.
(c) For fields in which there is no GACE
assessment available, the GaPSC may designate other state-approved
certification exams. The Praxis exam is the Georgia state-approved content
assessment for the field of Speech and Language Pathology, and the proficiency
exams offered by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages
(ACTFL), detailed in section (9) below, are one of the Georgia state-approved
content assessments for foreign language fields.
(d) Georgia does not have a content
assessment for the fields of Audiology, Dance, Drama, School Nutrition
Director, School Social Work, Speech, Physical and Health Disabilities, Special
Education Preschool, Visual Impairment, and some foreign language fields. In
fields for which there is no Georgia state-approved or state-accepted content
assessment, passing a content assessment for certification is not required.
(See GaPSC Rule
505-3-.24 SPECIAL GEORGIA
REQUIREMENTS).
(e) The following
outlines the GACE content assessments alignment for Montessori fields:
1. Birth Through Kindergarten must be passed
for Infant Toddler (birth - 3) and PK2- K (ages 2 1/2 - 6).
2. Elementary Education must be passed for
Elementary I Grades 1st-
3rd (ages 6 - 9) and Elementary I- II Grades
1st - 6th (ages 6 -
12).
3. Middle Grades Language Arts
and Social Science must be passed for Secondary I Language Arts & Social
Studies.
4. Middle Grades Science
and Middle Grades Mathematics must be passed for Secondary I Science &
Mathematics.
5. English must be
passed for Secondary II English.
6.
Mathematics must be passed for Secondary II Mathematics.
7. Science must be passed for Secondary II
Science.
8. Behavioral Science,
Economics, Geography, History, and Political Science must be passed for
Secondary II Social Studies, as determined by the field(s) of
instruction.
(3)
Educator Ethics Assessments.
(a) The GACE Educator Ethics Assessment is
designed to both teach and assess knowledge and skills in the areas of the
Georgia Code of Ethics for Educators and of ethical understanding to guide
behaviors and decision-making.
(b)
A passing score on GACE Educator Ethics Assessment is required for the
following:
1. Issuance of a Pre-Service
certificate, with the following exception:
(i) Pre-Service certificate applicants who
have been continuously enrolled in the same educator preparation program since
July 1, 2014, or earlier are exempt from this requirement. Note: the term
"enrolled" is defined as admitted to a program and actively taking
coursework.
(ii) The GACE Educator
Ethics - Program Entry will continue to be accepted for individuals who
previously completed the assessment for program admission. For those
individuals, the GACE Educator Ethics Assessment must be passed for conversion
of the Pre-Service certificate.
2. Issuance of an initial Clearance
certificate to individuals who are not required to hold an in-field certificate
as outlined in GaPSC Rule
505-2-.42 CLEARANCE
CERTIFICATE.
3. Issuance of a
Provisional teaching certificate, including the Military Support Provisional
teaching certificate.
4. Issuance
of a Five (5)-Year Induction certificate in a teaching field.
5. Issuance of an International Exchange
certificate.
6. Issuance of an
initial three-year Permit.
7.
Conversion to the five-year Permit if the initial Permit was issued on or after
October 15, 2017.
8. Conversion of
a Provisional or Induction Pathway 4 teaching certificate to a Professional
certificate.
(c) A
passing score on GACE Ethics for Educational Leadership is required for the
following:
1. Issuance of a Non-Renewable
certificate in educational leadership for completion of an approved program.
(i) The GACE Ethics for Educational
Leadership - Program Entry will continue to be accepted for individuals who
previously completed the assessment for issuance of the Non-Renewable
certificate. For those individuals, the GACE Ethics for Educational Leadership
must be passed for conversion to the Professional certificate.
2. Issuance of an initial
professional certificate in educational leadership.
3. Issuance of an initial Superintendent
Permit.
4. Conversion to the
five-year Superintendent if the initial Permit was issued on or after October
15, 2017.
(4)
Paraprofessional Assessment.
(a)
The GACE assessment for paraprofessionals in Georgia covers four (4) areas:
reading, writing, mathematics and classroom skills. The Paraprofessional
assessment is designed to enable individuals and school districts to satisfy
state and federal No Child Left Behind requirements that call for "highly
qualified paraprofessionals" in a P-12 setting. These requirements indicate
that paraprofessionals working in Title I schools or paid with Title I funds
must meet a rigorous standard of quality and demonstrate, through formal state
or local assessment, knowledge of and ability to assist in instructing,
reading, writing, and mathematics; or knowledge of and ability to assist in
instructing, reading readiness, writing readiness, and mathematics readiness,
as appropriate.
(b) Passing the
GACE Paraprofessional assessment, in combination with a high school diploma or
GED equivalent, is one of the options available to qualify for a
Paraprofessional Certificate. (See GaPSC Rule
505-2-.18 PARAPROFESSIONAL
CERTIFICATE).
(5)
Educational Leadership Assessment.
(a) The GACE Educational Leadership content
assessment is designed to assess knowledge and skills for those completing
GaPSC-approved Educational Leadership programs. The GACE Educational Leadership
assessment is required for Educational Leadership Tier I and Tier II
certification even if the educator has previously passed the Teacher
Certification Test (TCT).
(b)
Individuals applying for certification in Educational Leadership Tier I or Tier
II in Georgia based on reciprocity must pass the GACE Educational Leadership
assessment or meet exemption criteria in (10)(a) for content knowledge
assessment(s) appropriate to the field of educational leadership prior to the
issuance of the Professional certificate:
1.
A one (1)-year Non-Renewable Professional certificate may be issued at the
request of an employing Georgia local unit of administration (LUA) to
individuals applying for initial certification based on reciprocity who must
satisfy the content assessment.
(c) A passing score on the Performance-Based
Assessment for School Leaders (PASL) is required for educators completing
GaPSC-approved Tier II programs after 7/1/17.
(6)
Career and Technical
Specializations.
(a) For Career and
Technical Specializations certificates, GaPSC accepts a number of different
industry assessments offered by a variety of external organizations. The
accepted assessments are detailed in GaPSC Rule
505-2-.90 CAREER AND TECHNICAL
SPECIALIZATIONS.
(7)
Foreign Language Assessment.
(a)
A GACE assessment is not available for certain foreign language fields. For
these fields, the GaPSC requires The American Council on the Teaching of
Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) and Written
Proficiency Test (WPT). If the OPI and WPT are passed for fields that have a
GACE content assessment for issuance of a Permit, the GACE content assessment
is not required for conversion of a Permit to an Induction or Professional
certificate.
(b) The American
Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) foreign language
assessments are considered appropriate content assessments for adding a new
foreign language teaching field in fields. The validation of passing levels of
proficiency is the responsibility of the applicant and the employing local unit
of administration (LUA). Contact information for scheduling the ACTFL is
available at
http://www.languagetesting.com/academic-services.
(c) The GaPSC-accepted assessments for
foreign language fields are as follows:
ROMAN-BASED
ALPHABET
French |
(GACE) |
German |
(GACE) |
Italian |
(ACTFL) |
Latin |
(GACE) |
Portuguese |
(ACTFL) |
Spanish |
(GACE) |
NON-ROMAN BASED
ALPHABET
Arabic |
(ACTFL) |
Chinese (Mandarin) |
(ACTFL) |
Farsi (Persian) |
(ACTFL) |
Hebrew |
(ACTFL) |
Japanese |
(ACTFL) |
Korean |
(ACTFL) |
Russian |
(ACTFL) |
Swahili |
(ACTFL) |
Turkish |
(ACTFL) |
Urdu |
(ACTFL) |
OTHER |
American Sign Language (GACE) |
1. The ACTFL
assessments for Greek are not Greek (Classical), and therefore are not accepted
for the Georgia Greek (Classical) Permit or Certificate.
2. At the time of this rule change, the WPT
is not available in the language of Swahili. Until the WPT in this field is
available, the OPI will meet assessment requirements for Swahili.
3. For the Roman-Based Alphabet ACTFL
assessments, the passing proficiency level for the OPI and the WPT is
"Advanced-Low."
4. For the
Non-Roman Based Alphabet ACTFL assessments, the passing proficiency level for
the OPI and the WPT is "Intermediate-High."
(8)
Educational Interpreter Performance
Assessment (EIPA).
(a) Individuals
seeking licensure as an Educational Interpreter must meet assessment
requirements outlined in GaPSC Rule
505-2-.16 EDUCATIONAL INTERPRETER
LICENSE.
(9)
Content Exemption Criteria.
(a)
The GACE content assessment requirement may be exempted in the following
circumstances:
1. Veteran out-of-state
educators moving into Georgia may be eligible to exempt all Special Georgia
Requirements except the Standards of Conduct. To be eligible, the individual
must hold a valid out-of-state certificate and have a minimum of five (5) full
years of successful education experience as defined in section (5) of GaPSC
Rule 505-2-.25
EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS.
2.
Individuals holding a valid National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
(NBPTS) certification in the specific certificate field, with the exception of
the Middle Grades Generalist field are exempted from the content assessment
requirement. The NBPTS Middle Grades Generalist field does not exempt the GACE
Middle Grades content assessments.
3. Out-of-state professional certificate
holders applying for initial Georgia certification who have passed the
out-of-state content assessment required for issuance of the out-of-state
certificate field.
4. Individuals
seeking certification in a field for which the GaPSC has not adopted a content
assessment.
(10)
Previous State-Approved
Assessments.
(a) Georgia honors passing
scores on previous state-approved Georgia assessments that are passed during
the validity period for those assessments. The following are previous Georgia
state-approved assessments:
1. Georgia Teacher
Certification Test (TCT):
(i) The TCT was the
first content assessment required for Georgia certification effective July 1,
1978, through June 30, 1997.
(ii)
Individuals who obtained a passing score on the Special Education Professional
Knowledge TCT assessment at the time it was required now meet the certification
assessment requirement for the fields of Special Education Adapted Curriculum
(P-12) and Special Education General Curriculum (P-12).
(iii) The GaPSC will accept passing scores on
a TCT assessment taken in a broad-field area (Science or Social Science) to
award certification in the comparable field currently issued.
2. Praxis Series:
(i) The Praxis Series replaced the TCT
effective July 1, 1997.
(ii) For
Georgia certification candidates in the field of Speech and Language Pathology,
the Praxis II Speech and Language Pathology Assessment (Test 0330) will remain
the required assessment as it is accepted for national licensing with the
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). The passing score may be
found at
http://www.gapsc.com/EducatorPreparation/Assessment/passingscores.aspx.
(iii) The GaPSC accepts a passing
score on the Praxis Paraprofessional Assessment taken before June 30,
2007.
(iv) The GaPSC accepts
passing scores on the required Georgia Praxis assessment in Educational
Leadership (Test 0410) on or before March 15, 2008.
3. The GACE replaced the Praxis Series for
most fields on September 1, 2006; however, the GaPSC accepts passing scores on
the required Georgia Praxis assessment taken in its entirety on or before March
5, 2007, except in the field of Educational Leadership. The GACE Educational
Leadership assessment is required for educators completing Educational
Leadership programs [See 7(a) and 7(b)].
4. The School Leaders Licensure Assessment:
(i) The GaPSC accepts passing scores on the
Praxis School Leaders Licensure Assessment (Test 1010) taken on or after July
1, 2005, through March 15, 2008.
5. Georgia Paraprofessional Assessment:
(i) The Georgia Paraprofessional Assessment
was administered July 2002 and November 2002, and was replaced by the Praxis
Paraprofessional Assessment and later with the GACE Paraprofessional
assessment.
6. Content
Pedagogy Assessment (edTPA) September 1, 2015 - July 1, 2020:
(i) A passing score on the GaPSC-approved
content pedagogy assessment (edTPA) was required for the following:
(I) Issuance of an Induction certificate to
any individual who completed the clinical practice or student teaching
requirements of the GaPSC-approved or GaPSC-accepted initial certification
program on or after September 1, 2015.
(II) Conversion of an Induction Pathway Four
(4) or Provisional teaching certificate held by any individual who completed
the clinical practice or student teaching requirements of the GaPSC-approved or
GaPSC-accepted initial certification program on or after September 1,
2015.
7.
Educator Ethics Assessments:
(i) Georgia
Educator Ethics - Program Entry Assessment, January 1, 2015 - July 1, 2020:
(I) Completion of the Georgia Educator Ethics
- Program Entry Assessment was required for issuance of a Pre-Service
certificate unless an applicant was continuously enrolled in the same educator
preparation program since July 1, 2014, or earlier. Note: the term "enrolled"
was defined as admitted to a program and actively taking coursework.
(II) Completion of the Georgia Educator
Ethics - Program Entry Assessment was required for issuance of an Induction
Pathway Four (4) or Provisional certificate.
(III) GACE Educator Ethics - Program Entry
Assessment will continue to be accepted for individuals who previously
completed the assessment for program admission or issuance of a Provisional
certificate.
(ii) Georgia
Educator Ethics - Program Exit Assessment was rebranded as the GACE Educator
Ethics Assessment.
(iii) Georgia
Ethics for Educational Leadership - Program Entry Assessment, January 15, 2016
- July 1, 2020:
(I) Georgia Ethics for
Educational Leadership - Program Entry Assessment was required for issuance of
a Non-Renewable certificate in Educational Leadership for completion of an
approved program.
(II) Georgia
Ethics for Educational Leadership - Program Entry Assessment will continue to
be accepted for individuals who previously completed the assessment for program
admission or issuance of a Non-Renewable certificate.
(iv) GACE Ethics for Educational Leadership -
Program Exit was rebranded as GACE Ethics for Educational Leadership.
8. GACE Program Admission
Assessment, March 6, 2007 - July 1, 2022:
(i)
A passing score on the Program Admission Assessment was required for issuance
of a Provisional certificate, extension of a Permit, and in certain instances,
issuance of a Professional certificate in School Social Work.
(11)
Duplicate Score Reports.
(a) The
GaPSC, as a courtesy to the state's educators, can provide certain official
test score information for those assessments whose scores are otherwise not
retrievable. The GaPSC does not charge for the retrieval, validation, or
mailing of the score. Complete information on how to request test scores can be
accessed at
http://www.gapsc.com/EducatorPreparation/Assessment/testScoreRequest.aspx.
1. Test Scores available from GaPSC:
(i) Teacher Certification Test (TCT)
regardless of score report date.
(ii) Georgia state-administered
Paraprofessional assessment, in 2002 only.
(iii) Praxis I and Praxis II assessments
taken on or prior to September 1, 2006.
2. For any GACE scores, examinees must
contact the appropriate testing Supplier for the GACE program. Complete contact
information is provided at
http://www.gapsc.com/EducatorPreparation/Assessment/testScoreRequest.aspx.
(12)
Every Student
Succeeds Acts (ESSA) In-Field Assessment Requirements.
(a) For complete ESSA in-field requirements,
including assessment, please refer to the Georgia Department of Education
website at
www.gadoe.org.
O.C.G.A.
§
20-2-200.