Do NTE basic skills = CBEST basic skills

[steves]

I'm a 20 year teacher in Pennsylvania. I took my NTE's back in 1991 and part of that was a basic skills exam. I have my original score results and obviously I passed everything or I wouldn't be teaching.

So, my wife's job is making it that we are moving to California. I applied for certification in CA and after 9 months of paperwork and emails, I got notice that I'm certified BUT I need to take the CBEST.

If PA accepted my NTE "basic skills" results shouldn't that make me exempt from the CBEST? Making matters worse, given that it's taken 9 months to actually get the certification, the email I received says I have one year from date of application to take the CBEST and that means I now only have three months.

Is there anything I can do to prove to CA that my NTE "basic skills" should make me exempt from the CBEST? Could PA write something up that CA might accept? Would the the union be able to help (AFT)? Someon must have gone through this and unfortunately, you can't get a human being at the California office for any help. Thanks,

[TeacherGroupie]

Welcome to A to Z, steves.

In most states, the fact that another state has accepted a certain test amounts to about as much as Harry S Truman's "bucket of warm spit": each state tends to require whatever it requires (and at some point soon, unless you've got an ESL certification, you're going to have to take CTEL: California Teachers of English Learners). In addition, most of these tests need to be passed within five years.

Fortunately for you, however, basic skills requirements work differently: you can indeed use your NTE results, and there's no recency requirement. See http://www.ctc.ca.gov/credentials/leaflets/cl667.pdf: you're looking for option 4.

For the record, CBEST does indeed test basic skills: unless you have specific disabilities or galloping test anxiety, it shouldn't be that huge a challenge for you.

As for live human beings at the California office, apparently they tend to be available in the afternoons Pacific time: according to http://www.ctc.ca.gov/notices/coded/2009/0903.pdf, the hours are 1 pm to 4:45 pm, which would translate into 4 pm to 7:45 pm EST.

[steves]

Thanks for the welcome and quick response TG. This is a slight ray of hope. I could take the CBEST as I have neither anxiety or disabilities other than those my wife points out. This more just irritation and stubborness on my part. After 20 years in the same district, winning awards for teaching music, and mentoring students to become professional musicians and music educators, having to prove I can "solve for x" to be able to teach in CA really frosts my tuckus.

The greatest challenge here is that the NTE corporation no longer exists. That's a big problem for us 'pre-Praxis' teachers. Luckily I'm an organizational fiend and I saved my scores. Some teachers are not so lucky and their SOL because NTE destroyed scores after 11 years. Getting 'validation of scores' from NTE is impossible, so I need to talk to the PA Dept of Ed - perhaps they can send a letter to CA stating that I passed my basic skills testing to satisfy their requirements.

Also complicating matters, NTE put the scores of every section on the test results EXCEPT the basic skills section. It just said "proficient".

I really want to continue teaching. I'm not ready to retire, but apparently isn't going to make it easy. Next call is to PA Dept of Ed on Monday AM and go from there.

Thanks again. Great site...wish I found it 10 years ago! Steve

[TeacherGroupie]

It isn't so much that NTE no longer exists as that it seems to have been swallowed up by ETS (which also administers Praxis exams). Praxis evidently doesn't have archival copies of NTE score reports before 1996, I'm afraid.

People who have posted to a thread on the topic of obtaining NTE scores here (http://www.city-data.com/forum/teach...me-get-my.html) have reported some measure of success by asking at the university out of which they were licensed. That might be another good approach to try, in addition to asking the PA DOE.

If NTE routinely reported basic skills passing as "proficient" rather than with a numerical score, relax: the credentialing wallahs at CTC will know this or be able to figure it out, and in any event passing scores on the CSET exams (which test subject-matter knowledge) are reported as "PASSED".

[steves]

Great idea! I didn't even think about calling my university. I'll try there first and thanks again. This is all good info. Several of my co-workers (also "NTE'ers") are watching my progress or lack thereof. We expect our district will be cutting "specials" in the next few years (surprise surprise) and they're wondering what they'll do if they consider employ outside of PA. Thank you again