Praxis Questions

[Deejmonster]

My girlfriend and I are moving to Baltimore MD, we went to a Pennsylvania university, she didnt pass her Praxis 2 exam in PA, therefore she is not certified. She wants to know if she can get a teaching job in MD without being certified?

 

And secondly, since we are moving, can she take the Praxis in Maryland and still get certified by a Pennsylvania school. It just seems unreasonable to have to retake the tests in a PA school when we will be living in MD.

 

Please help!

[BellaDonna]

She needs to check with the MD department of education to see what the certification requirements are in that state. Their cut scores on the Praxis 2 may be different than the cut scores in PA. It depends on their individual state requirements.

 

 

 

 

She wants to know if she can get a teaching job in MD without being

certified?

 

 

Depending on which area of teaching her degree is in and what the personnel needs are in MD, and if her degree fills an area of need, she may be able to be hired by a school district without being certified. She might get a temporary emergency certificate. However it is best to be fully certified, pre-employment. However, it is easier to get a job in a private school than a public school if she isn't certified. The private schools often make their own rules about who they hire, and the public schools tend to follow state standards on personnel.

[diamond78]

She needs to visit the Education Department for Maryland to see what the requirements are for achieving Certification there and what types of reciprocity she can use, if needed or even possible for her situation.

 

I checked out Maryland's certification requirements a couple years ago, so I can't remember the details. However, I found the info on their Dept. of Ed websites.

 

Teachers relocating and figuring out the needed certification is a very common issue, so she shouldn't have a problem locating this and also contacting the appropriate department which can help her more specifically.

 

I will most likely assume that she will end up taking the Praxis 2 exam in Maryland (assuming they use the Praxis scores) and having to pass their required scores in order to achieve proper teaching certification in Maryland.

[Snny]

Hello,

 

I live and teach within Maryland and am certified. I am also from PA, but have went to a Maryland institution for my teaching degree. No, they will NOT hire a person who has not passed their PRAXIS test. Finding a teaching job in Maryland is VERY competitive and human resources will not even bother to look at applicants who aren't certified. As it is, Maryland school systems are in competition with Virgina, which have the better school systems in the country. Baltimore is booking up... teaching in the city is tough and I would not recommend, but I hear teaching in Baltimore County is not as bad.

 

As for teaching jobs... I have held my certification for over three years and have tried getting into MD. It is really tough to get a contract. She may have to substitute teach and pray a position opens, which is what I have been doing.

 

And secondly, since we are moving, can she take the Praxis in Maryland and still get certified by a Pennsylvania school. It just seems unreasonable to have to retake the tests in a PA school when we will be living in MD.

Yes as long as test scores match with Maryland's requirements.

 

Also, make sure her GPA is at least a 3.0 or the Maryland Dept of Ed. will not give her the teaching license.

[Snny]

Depending on which area of teaching her degree is in and what the personnel needs are in MD, and if her degree fills an area of need, she may be able to be hired by a school district without being certified. She might get a temporary emergency certificate.

They rarely do that for teachers anymore, especially with this economy. Maryland school systems are cutting a lot of teachers too due to budgeting.

 

The other option that the OP's girlfriend can look to is to apply for private schools. As bad as it sounds, teachers don't need to be licensed to teach in a private school. Perhaps there, she will have a job. but if I were in her shoes, I would continue retaking the PRAXIS until meeting state standards.

[BellaDonna]

 

They rarely do that for teachers anymore, especially with this economy.

Maryland school systems are cutting a lot of teachers too due to

budgeting.

 

 

 

Yeah- same here in my state. But they will still issue an occasional emergency certificate if they can't fill an opening in a high need position in an urban school district, for instance, if they are looking for someone who is bilingual and certified in secondary special education with a math or science concentration, which is why I wondered what the OP's GF had her degree in.

[SayWhen]

Even urban schools don't have positions anymore. I work in the worst area of Philadelphia at an elementary school, truly inner-city (the area has the highest crime rate in the city). Even still, our school and the entire district is making cuts. Yesterday 1,500 teachers in Philly got pink slips and there is a district-wide hiring lock. I'm going to be honest with you, unless she has a competitive transcript and resume then she will not find a job teaching, especially since she failed the Praxis ll. Maryland is even more competitive than PA for teaching jobs and unless you are a stellar applicant, you can forget about teaching anywhere other than a private school. I wish her luck...the education field is atrocious in this country.

[Snny]

Yeah- same here in my state. But they will still issue an occasional emergency certificate if they can't fill an opening in a high need position in an urban school district, for instance, if they are looking for someone who is bilingual and certified in secondary special education with a math or science concentration, which is why I wondered what the OP's GF had her degree in.

 

There are a LOT of bilingual people living in the Baltimore area. Special Ed, science, and math are filling up FAST. DC public schools made a HUGE cut or teachers are fleeing because poor test scores go on on a teacher's evaluation. Trust me. I attended the big MD teacher job fair in Baltimore a few months ago, was one of the first few people standing in line for hours and NOT ONE school system was hiring on the spot.

 

SayWhen: I tried to reapply with Philly... no luck either There are some school systems in the Philly area that are hiring, but if Philly teachers are being laid off... that's where they'll be going and competition is going to be HIGH.

 

At this rate, I am considering going back to school and stay out of the teaching profession. It's just a bad field to be in at this moment and nothing has improved in the past few years since I have been out of school with a teaching degree

[BellaDonna]

Wow, I thought things were pretty bad in my state but it sounds like the personnel situation is even worse elsewhere. Here there is still a need for some very specific fields of teaching. I'm sorry to hear that the job market is so bad for teachers. I know that most people who become teachers want nothing more than to share their talents and make a difference in the lives of children and youth, so it must be frustrating not to find work financially but also in terms of wanting, in your heart, to teach and not being able to get into a classroom for the long term.

 

To the OP, please let all the info shared here reinforce your GF to at least get fully certified. She may need to expand her job search as well and look beyond the classroom.