Teacher Standards, Portfolio, and Content Exams

UW-Madison School of Education Teacher Standards

UW-Madison teacher education students must meet all state licensing requirements for initial teaching certification in Wisconsin. These requirements, sometimes referred to as administrative rules “PI 34,” mandate that individuals demonstrate proficiency on state-approved teaching standards. Each teacher education institution in Wisconsin has adopted a set of teacher education standards that must be met by all students completing a licensing program. Find the 15 UW-Madison teacher education standards here: http://careers.education.wisc.edu/pi34/standardsT.cfm.

Future teachers at UW-Madison demonstrate that they have certain knowledge and can perform successfully as beginning teachers through a performance-based assessment system.  In January, 1998, the School of Education adopted the Teacher Education Standards noted above as the benchmark for the assessment process. Students in each licensing program will have multiple opportunities to learn and to demonstrate knowledge of issues, information, and content related to the standards. These standards are integrated into the professional education courses in all teacher education programs and are further defined in each of the program areas.

Portfolio

Students in certification programs are required to develop and maintain a teaching portfolio. At UW-Madison, this teaching portfolio will be electronic (an "e-portfolio") for students in most programs. The teaching portfolio has several purposes. First, as a tool for teacher learning, growth, and development, a teaching portfolio is intended to support students' efforts to become thoughtful and effective teachers. Second, the portfolio documents that students have satisfactorily met the UW-Madison Teacher Education Standards required for initial teacher certification in Wisconsin. It helps to demonstrate students' achievement of these knowledge and performance standards. Third, the portfolio may be used in the job search process upon completion of the program. Finally, the methods and concepts that students learn in authoring their e-portfolios enhances their technical literacy.

Portfolios are made up of a variety of "artifacts" which students have chosen from their educational experiences to best represent their growth and development as teachers. Such artifacts include lesson plans, classroom observations, student work, photographs, and video and audio footage. These documents provide evidence for students' work in the schools, community involvement, completion of course work, and fulfillment of UW-Madison Teacher Education Standards.

Additional information about the teaching portfolios used in UW-Madison teacher education programs may be found at http://portfolios.education.wisc.edu/program.htm.

Content Examinations

All individuals seeking an initial Wisconsin State teacher's license after August 31, 2004, will be required to take an approved content examination. These tests, the Praxis II: Subject Assessments/Specialty Area Tests, are offered through the Educational Testing Service (ETS). Teacher education students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison must pass the required content examination in their area(s) of certification before they enter their final semester of student teaching. Passing the content examination is required for program completion. Individual teacher education programs may require students to take the examination at a specific point within this time period. Students who have already taken the content examination prior to being admitted to one of UW-Madison's teacher education programs must request ETS to send an official score report to EAS.

Elementary Education students will be tested on their content knowledge in Language and Literature Studies, History/Social Studies, Mathematics, and Science. Students completing the Early Childhood through Middle Childhood program option in Elementary Education will take a different test than those students completing the Middle Childhood through Early Adolescence program option; test questions reflect the intended licensing level. Students in the Elementary Education program are not required to take a specific test in their minor subject area.

Students completing any of the licensing program options in Special Education will be tested on their content knowledge in Language and Literature Studies, History/Social Studies, Mathematics, and Science. Students in Special Education will take the same test required of students in the Middle Childhood through Early Adolescence option in Elementary Education.

Secondary Education students must pass the content knowledge test in their certification subject area. This is also true for students completing programs that license in Early Childhood through Adolescence, such as Art or Music. Students seeking certification in more than one subject area must pass the content knowledge exam in each area. However, students completing any of the Science licensing programs must pass a single, comprehensive Science examination in five categories with the approximate percentage of the examination distributed as follows: Scientific Methodology, Techniques, and History, 10%; The Physical Sciences, 40%; The Life Sciences, 20%; The Earth Sciences, 20%; Science, Technology, and Society, 10%.

Similarly, Secondary Education students completing any of the Social Studies licensing programs must pass a single test divided in this manner: United States History, 22%; World History, 22%; Government/Civics/Political Science, 16%; Geography, 15%; Economics, 15%; Behavioral Sciences (Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology), 10%.

Students completing the undergraduate program in Communicative Disorders are exempt from this requirement; students obtaining a master's degree in Communicative Disorders will take an exam also required by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). Students completing a licensing program in the less frequently taught foreign languages (e.g., Japanese or Chinese) are also exempt from the testing requirement at this time.

Find more detailed information (including registration information) by choosing the "Content exams" quick link on the front page of this website (www.education.wisc.edu/eas).

Comments or Problems: easinfo@education.wisc.edu.
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