Content Area Certification
Program & Testing Fees 2010-2011

Available certifications offered in the Content Areas
Some certifications are grades 4-8 or 8-12, others are exclusively 8-12 and some are all level EC-12

Content Areas 4-8 or 8-12

  • English Language Arts and Reading (4-8) (8-12)
  • Health Science Technology Ed.
    (8-12)
  • Journalism (8-12)
  • Mathematics (4-8) (8-12)
  • Science (4-8), (8-12) 
  • Speech (8-12)
  • Family & Consumer Science (8-12)
  • History (8-12)
  • Life Science (8-12) 
  • Physical Science (8-12)
  • Social Studies (4-8) (8-12)
  • Spanish (6-12)

All level Content Areas (EC-12)

Art, Health, Music and Physical Education, Theater Arts

Application Deadline

December 22, 2009

Application Fee

A $50.00 nonrefundable application fee is required to review the transcript and conduct a reference check.

Pre-Service Training Fee for Generalist

A nonrefundable $900.00 fee is required to participate in the Spring and Summer training.

The payments are as follows:

  • $500.00 due on the evening of the first class in January
  • $100.00 due March, 1st 2010
  • $100.00 due April, 1st 2010
  • $100.00 due May, 1st 2010
  • $100.00 due June, 1st 2010

The fees cover the professional development, materials and textbooks.  Due to No Child Left Behind federal regulations and the State Board of Educator Certification (SBEC), teachers must meet the criteria of “highly qualified.”  Applicants pursuing special education certification will be required to take and pass the Special Education TExES exam prior to their internship.

Internship Fee

For applicants who successfully obtain employment for the 2010-2011 school year and complete the summer training, the remaing program cost is $3,600.00. The fee is payroll deducted on a prorated monthly basis during the internship year (September-June).

Fees Paid to Other Agencies

  • $52.00 for a one-year Texas Probationary Certificate, paid to the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) is required for employment as an intern with a school district (July 2010).
  • $47.00 fingerprinting fee to be paid when applying for the Texas Probationary Certificate (July 2010) There is also a fee of $9.95 for the fingerprinting service.
  • $120.00 for each licensing examination paid to the ETS. Each participant must take the Special Education TExES exam and the Generalist EC-6 or 4-8 test in the spring of 2010 and a Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities exam (December 2010). The Generalist and Special Education tests will need to be taken via the Computer Administered.
  • $77.00 certification fee upon program completion, paid to the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC).

Forms

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Requirements

General Prerequisites Required by All Applicants:

  • Hold a bachelor’s degree or higher from a regionally accredited institution of higher education with a 2.5 overall GPA on a 4.0 system including all college coursework taken or a 2.75 on the last 60 hours.
  • Have the required coursework and semester hours (see requirements) for the desired certification area, with a 2.5 GPA in the block of required courses.
  • Provide official transcripts from all accredited colleges or universities attended.  All foreign transcripts must have official US translation degree and grad equivalency. See http://www.sbec.state.tx.us/SBECOnline/certinfo/forcredevalservice.asp

            for a list of credential evaluation services).
           
           

  • Present evidence of  basic skills testing in reading, oral and written communication and mathematics, valid for five years, using one of the following assessment instruments:
    • The Texas Higher Education Assessment (THEA) with a minimum score of 230 in reading, 230 in mathematics and 220 in writing.(Math score of 250 for those pursuing math certification.)  To receive THEA registration information call (512) 927-5397, for information regarding computerized testing call (512) 927-5100.  http://www.thea.nesinc.com    Testing sites:  Del Mar College 362-698-1645, Texas A&M-CC 361-825-2244 and Texas A&M-Kingsville 361-593-2403 
    • The Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) with minimum score of 500 on the verbal test and 500 on the mathematics test
    • The ACT with a minimum of 19 on the English test and 19 on the mathematics test, or
    • The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) with a minimum of 400 on the verbal reasoning test and 400 on the quantitative reasoning test.
  • A completed application and $50.00 nonrefundable application fee. Click here to download.
  • 3 completed reference forms.  Must be received by the Ed Prep office by the application deadline. Click here to download
  • Successfully participate in a structured, professional interview with at least two members of the ESC2 staff.  Interviews are scheduled after a file is completed, evaluated and the applicant is found to meet the state requirements.  Interviews are conducted September through January for content 4-8 and 8-12. Applicants will be notified of a date and time to come to the Education Service Center, Region 2 for an interview.
  • Own or have daily access to a personal computer, printer and a private internet connection. 

The Ed Prep Office at ESC2 must receive admission requirements by the application deadline.


Above entry requirements and fees are subject to change from school year to school year.

Certification Area Requirements

In addition to the overall GPA requirements, applicants must meet the following coursework requirements for the certificate being sought.  Coursework will be evaluated based on official college transcripts.  Applicants must provide official transcripts for all institutions attended. 

Applicants select certificate area desired.  Applicants must have a minimum GPA of 2.5 or above on the required block semester hours for the desired certification.

Specific grade level and content area certificates (grades 4-8 or 8-12)

English Language Arts and Reading (4-8) or (8-12):   24 semester hours of English with at least 12 being upper division and at least 3 semester hours in Journalism, Theatre Arts, Reading
 
TExES Preparation Manual
http://www.texes.ets.org/prepMaterials/

Journalism (8-12)      24 semester hours in a combination of  rights and responsibilities in journalism, development of journalism, media, journalistic procedures, writing and editing and photojournalism design.

Texas Preparation Manual
http://www.texes.ets.org/prepMaterials/

Mathematics (4-8)   minimum TASP/THEA score of 250;   24 semester hours in a combination of the following areas:  Algebra, Geometry, Probability and Statistics, Number Concepts. 12 semester hours must be upper division hours (junior- senior level)

Texas Preparation Manual
http://www.texes.ets.org/prepMaterials/

Mathematics (8-12)   minimum TASP/THEA score of 250;   24 semester hours in a combination of  Algebra, Geometry, Probability and Statistics, Number Concepts, Calculus/Trigonometry.  12 semester hours must be upper division hours (junior- senior level)

Texas Preparation Manual
http://www.texes.ets.org/prepMaterials/

Science (4-8)  24 semester hours in science in a combination of physical science, life science, earth/space science; 12of the semester hours must be upper division hours (junior- senior level)

Texas Preparation Manual
http://www.texes.ets.org/prepMaterials/

Science (8-12)  24 semester hours in science in a combination of physics, chemistry, biology, geology and astronomy; 12 of the semester hours must be upper division hours (junior- senior level)
                                                           
Texas Preparation Manual
http://www.texes.ets.org/prepMaterials/

Life Science (8-12)  24 semester hours in life sciences of which 12 must be upper division hours (junior- senior level)

Texas Preparation Manual
http://www.texes.ets.org/prepMaterials/

Physical science (8-12)  24 semester hours in a combination of chemistry and physics of which 12 must be upper division hours (junior- senior level)
 
Texas Preparation Manual
http://www.texes.ets.org/prepMaterials/

Social Studies (4-8), (8-12)  24 semester hours in a combination of economics, government/political science, history and geography of which 12 hours must be upper division hours. (minimum of 6 semester hours in each)

Texas Preparation Manual
http://www.texes.ets.org/prepMaterials/                    

History (8-12)    24 semester hours in world history, U.S. history, geography, government, and economics of which 12 hours must be upper division hours.  Must have both world history and US history coursework.  

Texas Preparation Manual
http://www.texes.ets.org/prepMaterials/

Speech (8-12) 24 semester hours in a combination of principles of speech communication, interpersonal communication, small group communication, public speaking, debate, oral interpretation and broadcast media.

Texas Preparation Manual
http://www.texes.ets.org/prepMaterials/

Art (EC-12)   24 semester hours in a combination in design, technical and methods, art, culture, heritage and art history

Texas Preparation Manual
http://www.texes.ets.org/prepMaterials/

Health (EC-12)    24 semester hours in a combination of lifelong personal health, consumer health, substance use/misuse, nutrition, diseases, emergency care, environmental health and health promotion

Texas Preparation Manual
http://www.texes.ets.org/prepMaterials/

Spanish 6-12  24 semester hours in a combination of oral and written language, vocabulary and language culture.

Texas Preparation Manual

Music (EC-12)  24 semester hours in a combination of music theory, music history and culture, music performance, music instruction and listening skills

Texas Preparation Manual
http://www.texes.ets.org/prepMaterials/

Physical Education (EC-12)   24 semester hours in a combination of motor development, fitness, group/individual activities, health, nutrition and safety
 
Texas Preparation Manual
http://www.texes.ets.org/prepMaterials/
Theater (EC-12)  24 semester hours in a combination of active theatrical production, history of theater, approaches to theater education

Texas Preparation Manual

http://www.texes.ets.org/prepMaterials/

Training Schedule for content area certification

The training cycle begins January 2010.  Classes will be held Tuesday and Thursday evenings (6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.) and two Saturday (9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.) a month, January through May to prepare applicants for the Generalist test, which will be administered April/May 2010. An online course will be required for some areas of certification.  The online course will prepare applicants to take the TExES test. All content interns will be required to take the Special Education Supplemental TExES in June, 2010. Summer training, during June and July, is conducted for six weeks from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Tuesday through Friday.  The summer schedule may vary from year to year to accommodate school districts’ calendars. 

Training is continued throughout the school and internship year.  Sessions are conducted twice a month on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. (August 2010– March 2011).  A training schedule will be provided to each participant upon acceptance to the program and the first night class in January.  All training is conducted at the Education Service Center.  Attendance is mandatory.

Previous college courses and other trainings will not be accepted as a substitute for program training.

Thirty hours of classroom observations in the specific delivery system models will need to be completed prior to the beginning of the May classes.  These may include content mastery, resource or self-contained.

For additional inquiries, please contact:

  • Joanne Ferguson - 361-561-8520
  • Shelby DeReese - 361-561-8663

edprep@esc2.net