Teacher licensure rules in North Dakota (ND) and VCSU Teacher Education admission standards require teacher candidates to provide evidence of basic skills in reading, writing, and mathematics.

Options for providing evidence of basic skills:

1.Meet the Praxis I: Core Academic Skills for Educators (CORE) exam requirements set by the state.

2. Meet the ACT test requirements set by the state.

3. Meet the basic skills evidence through a menu approach initiated by the North Dakota Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (NDACTE) and accepted by VCSU and the state of ND.

1. Praxis I: CORE Requirements:

Praxis Core exams include objective response questions, such as single-selection multiple-choice questions, multiple-selection multiple-choice questions, and numeric entry questions. The Praxis Core Writing exam also includes two essay sections.

The Praxis Core exams are delivered on computer and may be taken either as three separate tests on separate days or as one combined test. Individual scores will be reported for reading (5713), mathematics (5733) and writing (5723) on both the individual and the combined exams (5752).

If you take the Praxis Core exams separately, each session lasts two hours. If you take the combined test, the entire session lasts five hours. Each session includes time for tutorials and the collection of background information.

The Praxis CORE exams cost $90 each. The Praxis CORE Combined exam (5752) costs $150.

The actual testing time and number of questions for each Praxis Core exam is shown below:

Teacher Candidates must meet state standards on North Dakota required tests to measure prospective teacher’s content knowledge in reading, writing, and mathematics. 

See https://praxis.ets.org/state-requirements/northdakota-tests.html for test requirements.

**North Dakota licensure for all areas requires**

(1) meeting the passing score of 156 for Core Academic Skills for Educators: Reading (5713), meeting the passing score of 160 for Core Academic Skills for Educators: Writing (5723), and meeting the passing score of 150 for Core Academic Skills for Educators: Mathematics (5733)

or

(2) meeting a composite score of 466 with no score being below the minimum set for each test; test minimums: 149 for Core Academic Skills for Educators: Reading (5713), 153 for Core Academic Skills for Educators: Writing (5723), and 143 for Core Academic Skills for Educators: Mathematics (5733)

Teacher Candidates who take the Praxis I test MUST submit test scores or a confirmation of registration for the Praxis I tests to their Education 249/250 instructor and to Rachel Bopp.

2. ACT Test Requirements:

• $$$- for fee information visit http://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/registration/fees.html

All applicants will need to submit their ACT test scores with the information below:

 See https://www.act.org/content/act/en.html for more information.

3. Basic Skills Requirements

This NDACTE model was approved by ESPB in April 2023 as an alternative to completing the Praxis CORE to measure basic skills. The VCSU Teacher Education Committee approved the basic skills menu on May 9th, 2023. MAT coursework options were approved by Teacher Education Committee on October 25th, 2023.

Teacher candidates must provide evidence of basic skills in reading, writing, and mathematics. Teacher candidates can demonstrate basic skills by meeting one of the following criteria in each basic skills area:

(*Alternative for teacher candidates in the MAT program)

Reading- Earn a grade A or B in two of the four courses associated with the synthesis paper. (EDUC 611, 612, 613, or 614)

Writing- Score a 2 or 3 on the research portion of the capstone portfolio. The research artifact is required to be the 5 chapter synthesis paper.

Praxis II Tests

Teacher Candidates must submit Praxis II test scores or a confirmation of registration for the Praxis II tests (content and PLT) to Kim Knodle or Amber Olson by:

• Spring Student Teachers - January 20th
• Fall Student Teachers - September 1st

*Completion of the Praxis II and PLT are required for graduation. It is recommended to take the Praxis II and PLT, the semester prior to student teaching.*

Register for Praxis Tests

ETS: The Praxis Series Website

ND Praxis Requirements

Praxis Registration Help Document

Praxis Support

Test preparation materials and support is available.

https://libguides.library.vcsu.edu/praxisprep/core

https://teachinglicense.study.com/praxis/

For more information, contact:

Learning Services Coordinator

academic.services@vcsu.edu