PRAXIS -- Alternate Scoring Method with a Sliding GPA for all Speciality Tests

The new Alternate Qualifying Score will reflect an inverse relationship between the final cumulative GPA and a percentage of the PRAXIS standard deviation.

PRAXIS -- Alternate Scoring Method with a Sliding GPA for all Specialty tests

Note that all Instructional I certification programs at Penn State as of April, 2012 require the Pearson PAPA Math, Reading & Writing tests for the Entrance To Major process. The information on this page only pertains to those students who began taking the Praxis PPST exams before April 2012. For these students only, the approved Qualifying Scores or the regular Alternate Scoring Method for PPST can be used to fulfill the PPST requirement.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education’s new Alternate Scoring Method with a Sliding GPA for PRAXIS Speciality Tests may not be used by Penn State’s teacher certification candidates to fulfill the PPST requirement.

To fulfill the Pennsylvania Department of Education's (PDE) PRAXIS Specialty test requirements, all certification candidates must meet the originally established Qualifying Scores or use the "Alternate Scoring Method with a Sliding GPA" based upon on a candidate’s final cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA). Although the PDE Sliding Scale includes GPA's below 3.00, the College of Education still requires candidates to achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.00 in order to successfully complete an Instructional I certification program at Penn State. Candidates without a cumulative GPA of 3.00 will not be recommended for certification.

The new Alternate Qualifying Score will reflect an inverse relationship between the final cumulative GPA and a percentage of the PRAXIS standard deviation. As the GPA increases, the total points required to qualify will decrease based on the specific assessment’s established standard deviation as indicated in PDE's Determining Qualifying Assessment Score with GPA Chart.

Example 1 (candidate with a 3.92 cumulative GPA)
A candidate has earned a cumulative GPA of 3.92, and is seeking certification in Biology, which typically requires a score of 147 on the Biology test (code 0235). In this situation, the candidate’s qualifying score could be adjusted based on the high GPA.

For this example:
1. Locate the Biology test in Column 1 on the GPA - Qualifying Test Score chart.
2. Column 8 will list the qualifying score for this test when a candidate has between a 3.76 and a 4.00 cumulative GPA.
3. Therefore, a candidate with a 3.92 GPA would need to score at least 143 on the test (code 0235) to qualify for Biology certification.

Example 2 (candidate with a 3.75 cumulative GPA)
A candidate has earned a cumulative GPA of 3.18, and is seeking certification in Biology. In this situation, the candidate’s qualifying score could still be adjusted based on the GPA.
For this example:
1. Locate the Biology test (code 0235) in Column 1 on the GPA - Qualifying Test Score chart.
2. Column 5 will list the qualifying score for this test when a candidate has between a 3.10 and a 3.25 cumulative GPA.
3. Therefore, a candidate with a 3.18 GPA would need to score at least 146 on the test (code 0235) to qualify for Biology certification.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The passing of Speciality Area Tests is not a requirement for graduation; it is a requirement by Pennsylvania for the issuance of Instructional I certifications. The sliding scale will automatically be applied by the state when a candidate submits their application through the new online Teacher Information Management System (TIMS).