Tests Required for Licensure

By action of the Indiana General Assembly, individuals must pass a series of license exams before they can be issued a license to teach in Indiana. All teachers are required to meet the cut-off scores for the Praxis I Reading, Praxis I Writing, and Praxis I Mathematics tests or an approved alternative for admittance into a teacher preparation program. Ball State requires that students achieve a passing score on these three tests prior to admission to the 300 level teacher education courses. These tests can be taken by appointment at the testing center on campus (Testing Programs, Lucina Room 366, 765-285-1290) or on the Saturday testing dates at various locations around the state. Teachers are also required to pass the Praxis II: Secondary, Praxis II: Elementary, and/or Praxis II: Special Education test(s) for their content areas for licensure and graduation from the Ball State University Teacher Preparation program. Praxis II tests must be taken on the Saturday testing dates.

Important Details

1. Make sure you have copies of your scores sent to Ball State University. During each test session you will be asked to identify where you want your scores sent using codes. The code for BSU is R1051. If you take the test at any location in Indiana, the Indiana Department of Education will automatically receive the scores so there is no need to code them in. If you take the test outside Indiana, please code the Office of Educator Licensing and Development so they will receive your scores. The code for the Office of Educator Licensing and Development is R7238.
2. If you do not record codes correctly at the time of testing, it will cost you extra money to get official score copies to BSU later. Be very careful when you grid-in the various items of information during the test sessions. Scores have been sent to the wrong place and under the wrong name because an examinee was careless. Record the codes very carefully! Social security numbers are not required, but they do expedite the score posting process at Ball State.
3. Plan ahead: Scoring the tests takes four weeks. Complete your tests far enough in advance to allow for a retake if necessary and for the scores to arrive. You may not apply for your license until all required scores have been received by the Office of Teacher Education Services. It is recommended that all license exam requirements be completed prior to the beginning of the student's last semester before graduation and/or completion of the last license course requirement in the case of graduate licensing only students.
4. When signing-up to take the tests at BSU allow plenty of registration time for the tests due to the large number of examinees wanting to take them at the Ball State location.
5. Students may take up to three tests on one test date for Praxis I. On subject assessment test dates the number of tests which may be taken on one test date is determined by the test codes (e.g., 10110 would be taken in session 1 and 30920 would be taken in session 3). For more details on registration see Register for a Praxis Test.
6. Ball State University is not permitted to recommend applicants for the initial Indiana teaching license until after the Office of Teacher Education Services has received copies of passing scores for all of the required license tests.
7. There is no limit to the number of times failed tests may be retaken.
8. If you expect to apply for a license in a state other than Indiana which also requires Praxis I (PPSTs) and Praxis II (subject assessment) tests arrange to have scores sent to that state at the time of testing.
9. The Praxis Series Information Bulletin explains how to order extra score reports for a fee. Copies can be downloaded from the Educational Testing Services PRAXIS Series. Other information can also be obtained from this Web site.
10. Some help is available when preparing for the tests:
11. Study guides are available for purchase in bookstores or on your registration form to order through Educational Testing Service.
12. For students enrolled at Ball State University, assistance in preparing for the PPST is available in the Learning Center, NQ 350. Programs include individual and group tutoring, provision of practice materials, and on-line computer-assisted study and practice opportunities.

For more information on the Praxis tests, visit the Office of Teacher Education Services Web page for Testing Requirements.