PURPOSE: The State Board of Education is authorized to grant certificates of license to teach in any of the public schools of the state and to establish requirements and qualifications for those certificates. This rule establishes required assessments for candidates for certification who have completed a stateapproved professional education program.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: The publication of the full text of the material that the adopting agency has incorporated by reference in this rule would be unduly cumbersome or expensive. Therefore, the full text of that material will be made available to any interested person at both the Office of the Secretary of State and the office of the adopting agency, pursuant to section 536.031.4, RSMo. Such material will be provided at the cost established by state law.

1. (1) Each applicant seeking a Missouri certificate of license to teach will successfully complete an exit assessment to measure the applicant’s competency in subject matter, pedagogical knowledge, or both, prior to being granted the certificate.

   1. (A) The State Board of Education (board) has selected the Praxis II: Content Knowledge or Specialty Area Tests and the Principles of Learning and Teaching Tests developed by the Educational Testing Service

2. (ETS) as the exit assessments for certificates of license to teach. The Principles of Learning and Teaching Test has been selected only for the area(s) of certification for which no content knowledge or specialty area test has been designated, except in the areas of special education (see Appendix A, which is incorporated by reference and made a part of this rule). Qualifying scores are established by the board and published by ETS for each test designated for an area of certification.

   1. 1. Applicants seeking initial certificates

of license to teach must take the content knowledge or specialty area test in their major area of preparation or the appropriate principles of learning and teaching test if no content knowledge or specialty area test is designated, except in the areas of special education where the special education test is required for initial certification.

1. 2. Applicants for a Missouri certificate

of license to teach, having a valid certificate of license to teach in the same or a closely aligned area of certification from another state, having taken that state’s required subject or specialty area assessment(s) for that certification and achieved that state’s passing score(s), and having at least two years of fulltime professional experience in education in the area for which they are seeking Missouri certification, shall not be required to take the designated assessment(s) in Missouri in order to receive the Missouri certificate. If no subject or specialty area assessment is required in the state from which the applicant holds a valid certificate of license to teach, the applicant shall successfully complete the assessment(s) designated by the board in order to receive the Missouri certificate of license to teach.

1. 3. Applicants seeking additional certifi-

cates of license to teach in other content areas:

1. A. May take the appropriate content

knowledge or specialty area test(s) for certification, except in areas of special education other than mild/moderate cross-categorical disabilities; or

1. B. Must meet the applicable certifica-

tion standards as set forth in the Compendium of Missouri Certification Requirements, which is incorporated by reference and made a part of this rule.

1. 4. Beginning September 1, 2004, appli-

cants for a Missouri certificate of license to teach will take the designated Praxis II content knowledge or specialty area test for each area of certification and achieve a qualifying score on each respective test.

1. (B) In addition to the previously described assessments, the board will accept successful completion of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) assessment as meeting the exit assessment requirement for Missouri. Therefore, applicants seeking a Missouri certificate of license to teach having certification granted by the NBPTS are not required to take the designated Missouri exit assessment in the content area for which they hold NBPTS certification.
2. (C) The board has selected the School Leaders Licensure Assessment (SLLA) developed by ETS to assess the attainment of competencies required for the building-level administrator certificate of license to teach (see Appendix A, which is incorporated by reference and made a part of this rule). A minimum qualifying score for this assessment is established by the board.
3. (D) The board has selected the School Superintendent Assessment (SSA) developed by ETS to assess the attainment of competencies required for the district-level administrator certificate of license to teach (see Appendix A, which is incorporated by reference and made a part of this rule). A minimum qualifying score for this assessment is established by the board.
4. (E) Applicants seeking a Missouri certificate of license to teach shall have their assessment score(s) reported to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education by the authorized testing agency and on their application for initial certification from the college/university recommending the applicant for their certificate of license to teach, if appropriate.
5. (2) Applicants seeking a certificate of license to teach and/or endorsement in a vocational-technical area, adult education and literacy, substitute and/or special assignment certificate of license to teach may not be required to take an exit assessment for the certificate or endorsement prior to the issuance of the certificate of license to teach.

AUTHORITY: sections 161.092, 168.011, 168.081, 168.400, 168.405 and 168.409, RSMo 1994 and 168.021 and 168.071, RSMo Supp. 1999.* Original rule filed April 26, 2000, effective Nov. 30, 2000. *Original authority: 161.092, RSMo 1963, amended 1973; 168.011, RSMo 1963, amended 1973; 168.021, RSMo 1963, amended 1973, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1998; 168.071, RSMo 1963, amended 1973, 1978, 1984, 1988, 1993, 1998; 168.081, RSMo 1963, amended 1984; 168.400, RSMo 1985, amended 1990; 168.409, RSMo 1985; 168.404, RSMO 1985.