Teaching Certification

Instructional I Requirements

Students may choose to complete requirements for Pennsylvania Instructional I certification as a Teacher of the Speech-Language Impaired as part of their master's degree program.

This certification would allow the student to work in the school settings in Pennsylvania.

The following requirements are necessary to qualify for Pennsylvania Teacher Certification:

• Students must complete all master's degree requirements
• Pass the appropriate Praxis exams
• Submit an application to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE).

The teacher certification option is available only to students already admitted to the M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology program.

Students must enroll in two sections of SPPA 586-- Advanced Clinical Externship over two semesters.

• One of the sections will be a school placement.
• All master's level students, whether seeking teacher certification or not, will complete one externship placement in the school setting.

Required Test Scores

REQUIRED TEST SCORES and cumulative grade point average:

• Below a 3.0- candidate does not qualify for teacher certification.
• Students must take two Praxis exams for teacher certification with the appropriate passing scores listed below

1. Fundamental Subjects: content Knowledge (5511) Passing scores according to GPA
   1. Qualifying Score: 3.0 GPA score of 150
   2. Qualifying Score: 3.1-3.25 GPA score of 149
   3. Qualifying Score: 3.26-3.5 GPA score of 147
   4. Qualifying Score: 3.51-3.75 GPA score of 146
   5. Qualifying Score: 3.76-4.0 GPA score of 145
2. Speech-Language Pathology (NESPA Exam) passing score 162 (test #5331)

Students must pay registration fees plus a separate fee for each test!!

The Praxis exams are a requirement of the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE).

SPEECH-LANGUAGE SPECIALIST -- Students may also opt to become a speech-language specialist in lieu of teacher certification.

Professional Licensure Disclosures and Distance Learning State Authorization: Applicants who are applying to programs that may lead to licensure in states other than Pennsylvania must be aware of the various state professional licensure requirements. Please see ESU's professional licensure disclosures, Evaluation of Conduct Record, and check licensure requirements by occupation and state at CareerOneStop.