A guest post by Scott Rozell, Director of 240Tutoring, Inc.
In 2015, the state of Florida reported that on average, thirty percent of first-time exam takers failed their certification test. For some tests, the fail rate was as high as 48 percent. Many of these scores were from veteran teachers and administrators who with years of experience, still struggled to reach a passing score.
Texas educators are facing similar struggles. According to a KXAN investigative report, in 2015 there were over 200 Central Texas educators who had failed their certification exams at least five times. This is a big problem since many states, including Texas, have now put limits on exam retakes. Retaking exams can be not only costly, but also life changing. For some teachers, being unable to pass an exam means that after years invested in education both college and career wise, they will have to give up their teaching dreams and pursue other lines of work.
With so much at stake, it is very important to pass your exam the first time and preparation is the key. Following the three prep tips below will greatly raise your chances of snagging the score you need on your upcoming exam.
1. Never “Wing it”
Just wing it. Life, eyeliner, everything. Everything except your teaching exam. Contrary to popular belief, most of the questions on professional exams aren’t common sense questions that can be gained from experience in the field. Trying to pass an exam without review is a big mistake.
For example, most of the K-6 elementary education general certification exams include questions about phonemes and diphthongs. Kindergarten and first grade teachers might breeze through these questions while teachers of upper grades who teach students to “read to learn”, not phonics, might be stumped.
Thankfully, most testing companies will provide students with a list of the focus areas/skills assessed on the test, as well as example questions. You can use this guide to plan out a study schedule and hone in on the most important information to review. Even if you can’t study all the concepts covered by the exam, some planned studying is better than none.
2. Considering Cramming? -Don’t
No preparation at all is the worst test prep mistake you can make, but cramming comes in a close second. For decades, research has shown that cramming simply doesn’t work. Although you might be able to recognize some of the information after a cram session, this type of studying won’t help you on a teacher exam. This is because most teacher prep exams don’t assess recall skills. Instead, they ask you to solve problems, explain a concept in your own words, or give examples of what you would do in a specific scenario or situation.
It will take more than an all-nighter to familiarize yourself with the many types of questions that will be included on your test and feel confident enough to answer higher-order questions. So instead of cramming, pace yourself! If you have three hours’ worth of studying to do, it is better to sit down for three separate one-hour sessions than to study for three hours straight. Taking breaks in between will help you commit the information to memory.
3. Use Study Materials
Because taking a teacher exam can be expensive, many test takers don’t want to spend extra money on test prep materials. But taking the test without going over useful materials beforehand greatly increases your chance of having to pay for the test again. Useful is a key word here, because all prep materials are not the same. Many test takers erroneously believe that they can research the material themselves using the test breakdown, but this is a time-consuming and error-prone method.
Professionally developed test preparation materials are worth the initial cost because they include not only content, but test questions that are crafted after the ones that will be on your exam. For example, the EC-12 Pedagogy and Professional responsibilities is a 100-question exam that covers four different domains and thirteen competencies. A comprehensive EC-12 study-guide makes studying much easier because it breaks down each section and provides practice questions for each skill.
No matter what test you’re planning to take, passing the first time is as easy as one, two, three. Prepare a study plan, schedule your study time, and get professional help, or at least a study guide.
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Author Bio
Scott Rozell is the Director of 240Tutoring, Inc. 240Tutoring.com is the premiere provider of teacher study guides and has helped over ten thousand teachers pass their certification exam and get into the classroom.Nationwide, teachers are failing their certification exams at alarming rates. That may sound ironic since helping children pass assessments is a big part of teaching. But having to retake a teacher certification test is more common than one might think.
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