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Texas Examination of Educator Standards Study Guide

To complete your certification, you will pass two certification exams. One is a content exam, Generalist, and one is over professional educator issues, the Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities (PPR). Each exam will cost about $120, payable when you register for the test. 

To find out more about the exams, survey this website: www.texes.ets.org/texes/.

Find Preparation Manuals for your certification area: www.texes.ets.org/texes/prepMaterials/

Almost everyone takes the EC-12 PPR exam, and here is the 160 PPR EC-12 Preparation Manual (note the 2011 copyright date):  www.texes.ets.org/assets/pdf/testprep_manuals/160_ppr_ec12.pdf

Most of you are enrolled in the Early Childhood (EC) through Grade 6 (EC-6) certification program, and you need this 191 Generalist EC-6 Preparation Manual: www.texes.ets.org/assets/pdf/testprep_manuals/191_generalist_ec_6.pdf.

Other preparation manuals are provided there – search for you specific certification area.

You do not need to print all the pages of these manuals, but save these for future reference. Some areas of interest are the domains & competencies, and the multiple-choice practice questions.

Another valuable resource is available to students in the Texas A&M University System. You have to register to use this http://tap.tarleton.edu/pact/ system. It is a valuable resource, with TExES Review Modules (currently accessible on the "Quick Links" menu). Scroll down this page to find different modules to review, for example EC6 Generalist Domains I-IV, and EC-12 PPR. When you click on each title, the next page contains a Review Module, Hints Review Module, Practice Quiz, and View Quiz (answer key).

Many other resources have helped others pass these exams:

  • Review basic background information from your own high school and early college experience.
  • Use the TAKS Release tests for review of these basic concepts http://scotthochberg.com/taas.html. 
  • Find the textbooks and notes from all of your education courses to study.
  • One book appears to be especially helpful to many of our students, the textbook for RDG 360, Words Their Way: Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling Instruction, by Donald R. Bear, Shane Templeton, and Marcia Invernizzi, ISBN#9780137035106. 
  • Rosado, Luis. (2010). TExES 191 Generalist EC-6. ISBN# 9780738606859. 
  • Wilmore, Elaine L., & Burkman, Amy. (2011). Passing the PPR TExES Exam for EC-12 Teachers: Keys to Certification and Ethical Teaching. Corwin Press. ISBN#978-1-4129-5844-8. 
  • Contact fellow students who have recently taken these exams and ask them what helped them most.  
  • Participate in study sessions in Commerce, Corsicana, McKinney, Mesquite, or Midlothian.
  • Document your areas of strength, and your growth areas. Focus your review time, utilizing your pre-test to determine for yourself how to study wisely.

Beginning in fall 2011, the state English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) will be embedded in the K-12 PPR test, which all of our education majors are required to take for certification purposes. These links will help you better understand the purpose and framework of the ELPS, which have replaced the ESL TEKS of recent years. If you are not familiar with the ELPS, please take some time to educate yourself so that you can see how they are already incorporated into your course work. Our goal is to ensure that students are proficient in their knowledge of and ability to use both the TEKS and the ELPS, as this will be crucial for success on the PPR and in the classroom.

http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter074/ch074a.html#74.4 – Link to the actual ELPS

Navigating the ELPS Video Presentation (wmv)- 1 hour webinar explaining the ELPS

http://portal.esc20.net/portal/page/portal/doclibraryroot/publicpages/ELPS/Tab/ELPS_082809(2).pdf – Handout to accompany the webinar listed above. It is very helpful in conjunction with the webinar. 

Navigating the ELPS Slideshow (pdf)- PowerPoint presentation about the ELPS. 

One more valuable tool, a vertical (across grade level) alignment of TEKS & ELPS http://www.englishspanishteks.net

You can succeed, as you plan with the end in mind. We want you to become the best teacher of young Texans, and this certification exam process is one way to celebrate how highly qualified you are becoming.

Contact your adviser, center coordinator, or field liaison for further information. 

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