Required Exams for Initial Teacher Certification
All students enrolled in teacher certification programs at the undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, or graduate level are required to take the appropriate Texas Examinations for Educator Standards tests (TExES) before they can be certified. Students are granted test approvals during the last two semesters of the PDS. Please note that students are limited to a total of five test attempts per certification exam. Please visit the Texas Education Agency's Educator Testing page, including more on test-taker information.
There are teacher certification fees required by and payable to Texas Education Agency (TEA) that students will encounter to receive official certification from the state. For a breakdown on TEA's fees associated with preparing for the teacher certification, please refer to the TEA Current Teacher Certification Fees wiki page.
TExES and BTLPT Exams
All-Level certification seekers:
TExES #160, Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities EC-12
TExES for your teaching field.
Early Childhood to Sixth Grade Generalist with Science of Teaching Reading (STR) and English as a Second Language (ESL) certification seekers:
TExES #160, Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities EC-12
TExES #391, Core Subjects EC-6
TExES #293, Science of Teaching Reading
TExES #154, ESL Supplemental
Early Childhood to Sixth Grade Generalist with Science of Teaching Reading (STR) and Bilingual Education certification seekers:
TExES #160, Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities EC-12
TExES #391, Core Subjects EC-6
TExES #293, Science of Teaching Reading
TExES #164, Bilingual Supplemental
BTLPT #190, Bilingual Target Language Proficiency Test (Spanish)
All-Level Generic Special Education with Science of Teaching Reading (STR) certification seekers:
TExES #160, Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities EC-12
TExES #161, Special Education Specialist Exam EC-12
TExES #293, Science of Teaching Reading
TExES #391, Core Subjects EC-6 (optional)
Middle Grade certification seekers:
TExES #160, Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities EC-12
TExES 4-8 subject area exam for your field
For ELAR 4-8 only - Science of Teaching Reading
Secondary Grade certification seekers:
TExES #160, Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities EC-12
TExES 7-12 or 8-12 subject area exam for your field