Pennsylvania Teaching Certificate – General Testing
If you want to apply for an initial Pennsylvania teaching certificate, you need to take the following types of exams:
- Pre-service Academic Performance Assessment (PAPA) basic skills test in reading, writing, and math; and
- Test in fundamental content knowledge or subject knowledge test
The above testing requirements apply to you if you are looking to get an initial Pennsylvania teacher certificate in:
- Early Childhood Education K to 3
- Elementary Education K to 6
Pennsylvania Teaching Certificate – Subject Area Testing
You will also need to test for the following K to 12 subject areas:
- Agriculture
- Art
- Business/Computer/Information Technology
- Environmental Education
- Family and Consumer Science
- Health and Physical Education
- Library Science
- Marketing Education
- Music
- Reading Specialist
- Hearing Impaired
- Special Education N to 12
- Speech & Language Impaired
- Visually Impaired
- Technology Education
- World Languages
For further information on testing requirements for Pennsylvania, please click on the links below:
PAPA: Reading, Writing, Mathematics
Fundamental Subjects: Content Knowledge Exams
Pennsylvania Teaching Certificate – Further Information
If you are going to teach grades Pre-K to 4, Special Education Pre-K to 8, or 7 to 12, you are required to take the PAPA test plus the PECT test for your teaching certificate.
On the other hand, if you are going to teach in middle school or high school, you may have to take the Core Assessment Tests and Concentration Tests for your subject areas.
For teachers who are Instructional I and Educational Specialist I candidates, the Praxis Core can be used instead of the PAPA test.
Teachers who already have a Pennsylvania teaching certificate in Instructional I or Instructional II, or who are Pennsylvania Teacher Interns may add other subject areas by passing the appropriate Praxis subject area test and then submitting an application.
For further information, please visit the official Pennsylvania Department of Education webpage by clicking on the link below:
Pennsylvania Department of Education
NOTE: This webpage is not associated with or supported by the PAPA test, the PECT, test, the Praxis Core exams, or the Pennsylvania Department of Education.