AEPA CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

Please refer to the following table for information about AEPA tests required for certification.

Please check the ADE Certification Unit's Web site at www.azed.gov/educator-certification or contact the ADE directly for information about requirements for approved areas in which AEPA tests are not offered.

Type of Certification
or Endorsement
Tests Required
Professional Knowledge Test
Subject Knowledge Test(s)
Constitutions of the United States and Arizona (33)†
Administrator Tests
Early Childhood Certification
 Early Childhood (93)

 Early Childhood Education (36)
 
Early Childhood Endorsement
Early Childhood Education (36)
 
Elementary Certification
(Grades K–8)
 Elementary (91)

 Elementary Education (01)
 
Reading Endorsement K–8
Reading Endorsement K–8 (46)    
Reading Endorsement 6–12
Reading Endorsement 6–12 (47)    
Secondary Certification
(Grades 7–12)		 Secondary (92)
 one or more subject knowledge tests‡
(see "Test Selection" for available fields)
 
Special Education
Certification		 Elementary (91)*
 one or more special education specialty fields (see "Test Selection")
 
Career and Technical
Education Certification		 Secondary (92)**  
 
Administrator Certification:
Superintendent
Principal
Supervisor		    
Superintendent
(80)
Principal (81)
Supervisor (82)
* Applicants for Special Education Certificates must take and pass the Professional Knowledge—Elementary test whether intending to teach at the elementary or secondary grade levels unless this requirement is waived under current reciprocity rules. Please check the ADE Certification Unit's Web site at www.azed.gov/educator-certification or contact the ADE directly for reciprocity information.
Applicants for Special Education Early Childhood certificates must take and pass the Professional Knowledge—Early Childhood test.
** The Professional Knowledge—Secondary test must be taken and passed before issuance of a Standard Career and Technical Education Certificate or before the renewal of a Provisional Career and Technical Education Certificate.
† Candidates have three years under a valid teaching certificate to fulfill this requirement, unless they are teaching a course in history, government, social studies, citizenship, law, or civics. Candidates teaching courses in the above-named areas have one year to fulfill the requirement.
‡ The secondary certificate requires an approved area for grades 7–12. Therefore, a middle grades subject knowledge test may not be used as the first subject knowledge test required for a secondary certificate. Once a secondary certificate is issued, a middle grades approved area may be attached to the certificate as an additional approved area.

New Professional Knowledge Testing Requirements in Fall 2012

Effective September 1, 2012, the NES® Assessment of Professional Knowledge: Elementary and Assessment of Professional Knowledge: Secondary tests will be accepted in Arizona as the official tests of professional knowledge, replacing the AEPA Professional Knowledge tests (Elementary and Secondary), to fulfill the professional knowledge testing requirement for Arizona teacher certification. For more information, see "What's New in 2012–2013?".

Candidates Seeking Certification in Social Studies

The AEPA Social Studies test (03) may be taken to satisfy assessment requirements for teachers seeking certification for grades 7 through 12, but cannot be used to satisfy "highly qualified" requirements for grades 9 through 12 under the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). To meet the highly qualified requirements, candidates for grades 9 through 12 must pass one of the following AEPA tests or must show on official transcripts from an accredited institution 24 credit hours of college coursework in the subject knowledge area:

Attaching a Middle Grades (7–8) Approved Area to a Teaching Certificate

Teachers holding a valid elementary or secondary teaching certificate who want to attach a middle grades approved area (general science, language arts/reading, mathematics, and social studies) to their certificate must pass the corresponding AEPA test(s), unless the approved area or the corresponding secondary area (English, mathematics, social studies) is already posted on their certificate. Please visit the ADE Certification Unit's Web site at www.azed.gov/educator-certification, or contact them directly for more information about requirements for these approved areas.

Approved Area AEPA Test Required
Middle Grades General Science Middle Grades General Science (39)*
Middle Grades Language Arts/Reading Middle Grades Language Arts/Reading (38) or English (02)
Middle Grades Mathematics Middle Grades Mathematics (37) or Mathematics (10)
Middle Grades Social Studies Middle Grades Social Studies (40) or Social Studies (03)

*Teachers holding a valid secondary teaching certificate may also meet the requirement by submitting 24 credit hours of college coursework in general sciences (including 12 hours in life science and 12 hours in physical/space/earth science). Please visit the ADE Certification Unit's Web site at www.azed.gov/educator-certification or contact them directly for more information about which courses will be accepted to meet this requirement. This option is not available to elementary certified teachers.

Out-of-State Teacher Candidate Certification

Persons certified by states other than Arizona or trained by out-of-state institutions may also need to take some or all applicable assessments for the type of certificate(s) and/or endorsement(s) sought. Please check the ADE Certification Unit's Web site at www.azed.gov/educator-certification or contact the ADE directly to confirm your AEPA testing requirements based on current reciprocity guidelines.

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