Teachers of Tomorrow HelpDesk

Goal: Have an in-depth, supportive conversation to help the successful testing progression of our interns when they’ve had a previous failed attempt. As you know, it takes time and money to continue to study and test so our goal in these conversations is to uncover gaps that could be impacting their success and offer suggestions & resources that can help them be more successful. 

• Review Testing History in TEA (https://tealprod.tea.state.tx.us/); This will help you to understand their previous testing history and engage in questions that can help you to support their preparedness for successful progression. 

Ex Questions: 

• ‘I see you’ve attempted this exam before, how did you feel about your experience and preparedness for it last time? How does that compare to now?’ 

• ‘What have you been working on this time to prepare that’s different than the last?’ 

• 1 failed (what area) 

• 2+ High risk; what area?  

• What score did they receive relative to passing score needed (see below) 

*Please note, the score is not always available in Prince or TEA 

(Sample Intern ID/TEA ID: TX1131305 & 2444996   

Ex Questions:  

• ‘What teaching experience do you have in this area? How prepared do you feel on a scale of 1-10; one being not confident and 10 feeling ready to ROCK the test?’ 

• Notice that the first test is in Math, then in science and is pursuing the retest of science. This is a great opportunity to learn more about why he changed. ‘I noticed that you changed your area of focus from Math to Science, can you tell me more about that? What prompted the switch?’ 

• Review Transcripts: By reviewing their transcripts, this can help you get a better understanding of their college major, how long ago it was and perhaps how much of their content exam exposure they’ve had. If you don’t feel comfortable reviewing their transcript like below, see questions you can ask to gather the same information or work with your manager for additional support. 

• When did they graduate? See highlight below 

• What did they study?  

In the example above, you can see this individual has been out of school for 5 years and had a significant amount of psychology classes (Major: Psychology Minor: Anthropology) so exposure to traditional life science and math would be a question to engage  

Ex Questions: 

• What did you study in college? How long ago did you graduate? How many courses would you say you’ve taken in this subject area? 

• What exposure have you had recently to traditional life science and math courses? Any teaching experience in this area?  

• Does it align with their area of study? 

• Grades? 

• Volume of course? 

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• Field Based Experience: Has the intern completed their field-based experience? If not, this would be a GREAT way to add some additional exposure to the course content and classroom experience they hope to join. This intern had exposure late last year in a math classroom based on reviewing their FBE submission, but he is currently pursuing the approval for a science test. This is a great opportunity to ask more about recent observation opportunities that may help him with the content application as well as perhaps asking about why the change from math to science. 

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Recommendations for action: 

For the intern above, having a better understanding of their background is helpful to know that he did not have traditional content exposure in college, at a high level, and filling in the gap with his experience is helpful as well. Getting a better idea of their testing confidence will help us to better understand their current study opportunities and resources we can offer. Based on his results, it would benefit him to take additional time studying the content material and gaining more experience so that he can be confident in the success of his next testing opportunity.  

• Study.com full coursework (30-50 hours) 

• TLL or other test preparation programs 

• Field based experience to observe several hours within the area being pursued and different teachers for greater exposure/experience 

Second Test Approval for critical certification areas:   

To receive test approval for your second attempt, you are required to complete both of the following two requirements.  

1. Complete a test prep course from The Learning Liaisons or other approved test preparation provider (ex. Exam Edge or Certify Teacher). 
   • Access your 30-day free trial for The Learning Liaisons in your Intern Portal (Menu> Premium Test Prep), AND;
2. Take a course (educational activity) from any TEA-approved CPE provider (ex. Study.com) OR an accredited college or university: 
   • Log into your TEA Educator or Pearson account and identify the competencies you did not pass in your first attempt.  
   • Then, complete a course(s) for the competencies you identified. 
   • We recommend using this opportunity to shore up your weakest competencies.  

While there are no guarantees, we believe these requirements will help prepare you to be successful for your next exam attempt.  

 Once you have completed the requirements for a second test approval, send an email to teach@texasteachers.org with the following: 

1. Subject: 2nd Attempt Test Approval 
2. Attach proof of your completed test preparation course. 
3. Provide evidence of course(s) completion from your selected provider. 
4. Request test approval through the Intern Portal, Menu>Test Approvals/Scores 

Once received, a program advisor will review your proof of completion documents and approve your test request.  

Portal Restrictions: 

Columns have been added under the approved tests section for "Total Attempts" and "Last Attempt Date."