Certification Update, May 3rd

In this multi-part blog series, I provide an update on my progress towards state-approved teacher certification.

This post focuses on my experience of the state-required Praxis Core and Content exams administered by ETS.

Praxis Exams

Both Western Governor’s University and the State of Alaska Educational Department require competency exams for all teachers.

If an institution is going to let a person teach, that person must prove they know the material they’re teaching right?

Fair enough.

My Required Exams

In my case, there were two exams that must be completed before I could be allowed to teach English Language Arts in a secondary K-12 setting.

The first exam had a reputation for being relatively easy.

However, the second exam’s reputation was not so promising. In fact, there were rumors that the pass rate was less than 50% on the first attempt.

In fairness, those who were spreading these rumors were typically selling study material, so I took their concern with a grain of salt.

High Stakes Beforehand

When it came to the expectations about my own performance on these exams, I was in a do-or-die situation.

I could not have a job as a teacher for the 2024-25 school year unless I passed these exams, and did so in a timely manner.

Time Pressure

One of the primary challenges of these exams was that by the time I could turn my attention to them, I was under significant time pressure.

January Was the Soonest I Could Start

Up until January of 2024, there were too many other mandatory tasks on my plate for me to essay the exams.

For example, many of the night classes listed in my previous post had to be completed before the end of January 2024, or I would risk losing my ability to work as a non-certified temporary teacher.

Completing those classes took nearly every minute of my free time, and what little was left went into caring for my family and getting myself on my feet as a teacher in Alaska.

The 2024-25 School Year Hiring Season Was Upon Me

When, in mid-January of 2024, I finally finished all my immediately required coursework, I was already staring down the barrel of the 2024-25 hiring season.

The primary opportunity to obtain a teaching position would be on March 1st, 2024. At that time, all the public-school recruiters across Alaska would come together in Anchorage for a job fair.

This would be my best opportunity to find employment, as there would be dozens of opportunities with contracts sometimes offered on the spot.

No Interview Success Could Override an Unsuccessful Exam Result

However, even a successful interview and job offer would be contingent upon my performance on the exams.

If I failed the exams, the state would not allow a recruiter to hire me.

As recruiters would know about this situation, they would ideally want me to have the exams successfully behind me before they would formally offer me a position.

ETS Takes Too Long to Deliver a Result

As I would soon find out, there was yet another pressing matter in regards to timing.

After a person sits for the exam, ETS takes six weeks before they deliver the results.

By the time I learned about this limitation, there was no chance that I could have scores in hand by the March 1st job fair. This posed an initial small challenge.

A Simple Strategy

My strategy was to take the more difficult test beforehand, so that at the least I could tell my interviewers that I was only waiting for a result.

This was not an ideal way to approach the March 1st hiring round, but there was nothing I could do to change the situation.

My Position at Yukon-Koyukuk School District Was Ending

Reading all of the above, perhaps a person could ask, ‘Why not stay where you were? Didn’t you have a position as a teacher, and didn’t your administrators want to keep you?’

Alas, while I did have a position for the 2023-24 school year, I was not in a position to be able to hold on to it.

Without Full Certification, I Had to Leave My Post

My job as a reading interventionist for the Yukon-Koyukuk School District was forcibly ending in May of 2024.

I was in a one-year federal-grant funded position and my lack of a completed teaching certificate meant there was no chance for a renewal.

No English Language Arts Secondary Positions in My District

Furthermore, the position was not relevant to the teaching requirements of my master’s degree program, and the district did not have any secondary English Language Arts positions available.

There was no way for my district administrators to bend any rules to accommodate me.

What A Disappointment

This was, and is still, a huge disappointment.

I enjoyed this position immensely. As a part of this job, I was able to travel to remote Alaskan villages, work with enthusiastic and adorable young children, and teach the art of reading. What fun.

To boot, my personal life at this time was finally gaining an aire of peacefulness that I have almost never before enjoyed, and which I wonder if I will ever find again.

Pass the Exams, or Things Could Get Interesting

If I wanted to continue paying my bills as a teacher, I had to find a new position in the state of Alaska. I had to accomplish all of this in just a few weeks, and hope that any potential recruiter would not mind patiently waiting for my results.

No worries, right?

To Be Continued

In the next part of this blog series, I continue the story of my attempt to complete the Praxis exams.

How You Can Help

Don’t forget, if any of this desire to be a full-time teacher is ever going to work, I need your support.

Here is a link to a blog post that describes how a supportive reader can help me in my quest.

In short, you can…