Content and Pedagogy Assessments

All MAT candidates are required to take two assessments while in the program: a content assessment and a pedagogy assessment.  

Before being placement for student teaching, all MAT teacher candidates will be required to take and pass the appropriate Praxis II content exam. The Praxis Series™ content tests measure teacher candidates’ knowledge and skills in the content area they will be teaching in the classroom. The tests are required for licensing and certification in the State of Maryland.  Candidates may take the Praxis II content exam anytime, but an official ETS score report showing an MSDE-required minimum qualifying score (which vary based upon discipline in the State of Maryland) must arrive at UMGC prior to finalizing internship placement.  Content exams cover the content knowledge gained prior to MAT admission, so candidates typically are ready to take this early in the program.  We encourage students to take the exam by/in their third semester of the program, to ensure there is time to prepare, test, and have scores released and received by UMGC early enough to clear for student teaching as well as time for retesting/rescheduling, if needed. 

In addition to the Praxis II content exam, candidates will complete a pedagogy assessment.  The pedagogy exam covers what is learned during the teacher preparation program, so it is completed at the end of the MAT program.  As of July 1, 2025, the pedagogy assessment required for anyone completing teacher preparation and applying for teacher licensure in the state of Maryland is the edTPA portfolio-based assessment, administered by Pearson.  [ETS is discontinuing PPAT.] The edTPA portfolio is prepared and submitted as part of the EDTP 650 internship seminar course, concurrent with candidates' student teaching internship.  EDTP 650 is structured around preparation of the edTPA portfolio and the in-class internship. The edTPA portfolio tasks are focused on the classroom candidates are working in during the student teaching internship. 

There is no required minimum score for edTPA until Fall 2026.  In Fall 2025 and Spring 2026, any scorable entry on the portfolio.  For the MAT, candidates will need to submit their edTPA portfolio to Pearson before the end of EDTP 650.  This will satisfy the pedagogy assessment for graduation.  For MSDE, applicants need a scoreable entry on edTPA - though, again, any scoreable entry is accepted until Fall 2026. 

For a list of the Praxis II exams required in Maryland, as well as qualifying scores, please refer to MSDE's 'Licensure Assessment - Maryland Teacher Preparation Programs' web page.  Information on registering exams can be found on ETS's Registration Web site.  Further information specifically about edTPA may be viewed on MSDE's 'Performance-Based Assessments (all teacher candidates)' web page and on Pearson's edTPA website, starting with the 'edTPA for Maryland' page. 

A current listing of MAT content areas and the exams required may also be viewed HERE.

Any questions about the required assessments or scores should be directed to Kristin Kubik, Director of Student Support, at kristin.kubik@umgc.edu.

Score Reports

Official Praxis II score reports must be sent from ETS to UMGC for verification and graduation purposes.  The scores can be designated to be sent to UMGC by listing our score recovery code 5406 when registering (this sends an official copy to the University at no charge).