I get a few calls every week from a panicked intern who needs to take the ESL test immediately so that they can accept an ESL position that has been offered. Usually, a department head or administrator has told them that they can hire them if they can get an ESL certification. The intern, logically, assumes that they have to pass the ESL test to get this certification. After all, they had to pass a content test to become qualified to teach the content, so they will have to pass the ESL Supplemental to teach ESL right?  ...wrong.

 

The ESL supplemental certification can be added to a PROBATIONARY CERTIFICATE before the ESL Supplemental exam has been taken. What is the logic? ESL is a pedagogical exam. It questions the testee over methodology, not content. In other words, you have to prove that you know how to teach a child how to read, not that you, yourself, know how to read. In this way, it is very much like the PPR exam.

 

Therefore, since alternative certifcation proposes to teach pedagogy both in training and on the job (during the internship year), it only makes sense to allow applicants to receive that training and experience before testing them over it. Thus, if you are an alternative certification candiddate, you are allowed to enter your probationary year as an ESL certified teacher before passing the test. The test should be taken during the probationary period in order to receive the ESL certification on your Standard Certificate.

 

What does this mean to you? It means that, once you are accepted to ECAP,  when a principal asks you if you are qualified to teach ESL, you smile and say "Yes, I am." The ESL certification will be attached to any grade level for which you are qualified to teach. So if you have passed the EC-6 Generalist, you are effectvely and EC-6 ESL teacher. If you have passed an 8-12 test or you meet the requirements, you can be an 8-12 (insert subject here) ESL teacher.

 

In elementary grades, we automatically assign ESL to our interns so they don't miss out on opportunities because most of the hiring principals at those grade levels are looking to have as many of their staff as possible be ESL certified.

 

If you have taken or plan to take the EC-4 Generalist TExES exam you need to read this post.

 

The EC-4 Generalist has been replaced with the EC-6 Generalist exam. If you've been around awhile, you probably just had deja vu.  Pay attention to this part! The EC-4 Generalist will be discontinued in August 2010 and you will no longer be able to use it to certify after October 2011.  That means that if you haven't completed all program and state requirements (including testing) by October 2011 you have to take the EC-6 Generalist anyway. By the way, please don't inform us in the last week of October that you are ready to be certified under the EC-4 Generalist. The recommendation / issuance process can take more time than that.

 

Much like the 4-8 Generalist in Middle School, the EC-6 Generalist makes you a more attractive Elementary teaching applicant so it certainly wouldn't hurt to go ahead and take it if you haven't received your Standard Certificate yet.  To a hiring Elementary principal it means that you could teach any core subject in any grade in the school.   

 

Another tip to boost your resume - Declare ESL as a supplementary certification. There is a trend in our Elementary schools toward certifying all teachers in ESL. You can add this certification to your probationary certificate before passing the test. Just remember that you have to pass the ESL Supplemental TExES exam before the end of your first year in the classroom.

If you were new to our education system and were looking for the test you would need to pass to teach, let's say middle school math, you might deduce that the 4-8 Math TExES exam would work... and in the past, this has been true.  This year, however, the educational talking heads have issued a decree that any teacher who wishes to teach any core subject from kindergarten through 6th grade must take a Generalist exam (an exam that covers English, Social Studies, Math and Science).  Since many middle schools contain 6th grade, the real effect of this ruling is this - If you plan to teach any core subject in middle school and you have only taken the single subject 4-8 test, you are not as attractive a candidate as you were last year.  You should take the 4-8 Generalist exam to be seriously considered for a job.

 

Yes, you could legally teach 7th or 8th grade with the single subject test, but how hireable are you with that test given that everyone else is taking the 4-8 Generalist and can teach 6th grade?  The 4-8 Generalist is a very passable test (yes, I've taken it) and it really opens more doors than the single subject tests anyway, so it's not a total loss.  I just feel sorry for those that have already tested in a single subject for grades 4-8. If you fall into that group, you might consider, for sake of your hireability, retesting as a 4-8 Generalist.