Virginia Board of Education will consider lowering minimum scores on Praxis I, a test nearly all teachers have to pass

By BILL FREEHLING

Date published: 10/17/2004

Diane Smart has seen the stress and strain Praxis I puts on some teachers.

For their sake, she's hoping the Virginia Board of Education lowers the scoring standards later this month for the general-knowledge teacher assessment test.

"If you know your job is on the line, you get test anxiety," Smart said in her fifth-grade classroom at Spotsylvania County's Riverview Elementary School. "I feel for people who have failed it repeatedly--and I know they're great teachers."

Smart is finishing a Master of Education degree at the University of Mary Washington. She breezed through Praxis I, missing just two questions on the math test.

Virginia has the highest minimum required scores of the 28 states that use Praxis I. While most teachers pass the state requirements, others struggle.

Some say it's good the state has the highest standards. Others believe the test doesn't measure a teacher's ability and forces bad test-takers to find jobs elsewhere.

On Oct. 28, the state Board of Education will consider lowering the standards in one or more of the three assessment areas.

Since July 1996, Virginia has required certified teachers to meet minimum Praxis I scores within their first three years.

People who have taught full time for two years at an accredited school outside Virginia don't have to take it.

The standardized test is similar to the SAT. Each section takes about an hour to complete.

The reading section tests comprehension of included passages. Math problems are at about a ninth-grade level. The writing section tests grammar and requires a writing sample.

Scores range from 150 to 190. Virginia demands 178 for math and reading, and 176 for writing.

The average requirements in other states are about 172 for math, 174 for reading and 172 for writing.

Smart thinks the discrepancy is unfair and can force people to take the $130 test multiple times.

She points to No Child Left Behind, which is the same in all states, and says Praxis I requirements also should be uniform.

Karen Hoskins, licensure specialist for the Spotsylvania County school system, disagrees.

"We're exclusive," Hoskins said. "We want people who are the best."

Hoskins added that Virginia's standards make it hard to recruit. She said the state loses teachers to North Carolina, whose minimum section scores are three points lower on average.

Of the 260 teachers Spotsylvania hired last year, Hoskins said four didn't meet the standards. She said 48 of this year's 270 hires still have to pass Praxis I--most of them newer teachers from states not requiring it.

Caroline County has lost excellent teachers who struggle with Praxis I, according to Superintendent Stanley Jones. He added that some taught classes in which 90 percent of students passed the Standards of Learning tests.

Date published: 10/17/2004