After a competitive bidding process that included a careful review of vendor proposals, DESE has awarded the contract for educator candidate assessments to ETS. The process of developing the Request for Proposals (RFP) and evaluating the proposals was completed over the past year-and-a-half through a collaborative process including representatives from both DESE and Educator Preparation Programs. During the transition, relevant information will be published on this page.

Timeline

• March 17, 2024: Last day to take Pearson Chinese, French, and German exams
• May 12, 2024: Last day to take Pearson Spanish exam
• June 23, 2024: Last day on which most Pearson exams will be available.  Initially, this date was reported as June 30, but the testing window actually ends on June 23, 2024.
• July 1, 2024: First day on which ETS exams may be taken and used for certification in Missouri. ETS Exams taken before this date may not be used for Missouri certification.
• October 8, 2024: Last day EPPs will have access to Pearson Results Analyzer.

General

• The contract affects certification exams, the teacher preparation program admission exam, and the paraprofessional exam.
• Scores for Pearson exams will continue to be valid--in the certification area with which they are currently associated--in most cases-- after July 1, 2024. This will apply to the paraprofessional exam, too.
  • The one exception to this is the Elementary exam. If only a subtest(s) has been passed by July 1, 2024, then a candidate for certification in Elementary Education will have to pass the entire battery of Praxis Elementary Education tests.
• The price of individual tests will be increasing, but they would have risen with the new contract, regardless of the vendor.
• Educator Preparation Programs (EPPs) will make their own decisions regarding tests that may be used for admission, but DESE encourages EPPs to consider continuing to accept MoGEA scores earned prior to July 1, 2024.
• Interactive Practice Test Vouchers available for EPP Faculty and Staff
  • K-12, 5-9, 9-12 areas
  • Elementary subtests
• EPP Onboarding Guide (Updated 4/25/2024)
• ETS Data Manager. EPPs may access test data and generate reports here.
• Curriculum Crosswalks for EPPs

Tests

• A list of the ETS assessments to be used can be found here. 
• A list of the qualifying test scores can be found here. (Select Missouri in State or Agency drop-down menu.)
• No Pearson exams will be available after June 23, 2024
• As of September 1, 2024, ELL certification will require both evidence of coursework addressing mandated competencies AND a passing score on the ETS ELL exam. ELL certification cannot be added by test only.
• As of September 1, 2024, Gifted certification will require both evidence of coursework addressing mandated competencies AND a passing score on the ETS Gifted Education exam. Gifted certification cannot be added by test only.
• There will not be an ETS replacement for the MOGEA. The ParaPro Assessment will be used for both program admission and paraprofessional qualification, as originally described in this memo.
• The 2023 Praxis Technical Manual can be found here. National data on Praxis tests can be found here, as well as other information about the assessments.

Testing Centers

• Efforts are underway to ensure that testing sites are distributed so as to ensure maximum accessibility to potential test-takers in all parts of the state.
• Map of ETS Testing Centers (as of 4/5/24)
• Institutions wishing to apply to become approved testing centers for these ETS exams should consult this document.

Questions should be directed to eqprep@dese.mo.gov.