Learning to be a teacher - the journey from school to classroom » State Requirements for Teachers http://www.ateachersadventure.com Getting a masters, student teaching and more! Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:37:33 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 What is the CBEST? http://www.ateachersadventure.com/what-is-the-cbest/ http://www.ateachersadventure.com/what-is-the-cbest/#comments Fri, 24 Jul 2009 19:07:02 +0000 Beth http://www.ateachersadventure.com/?p=112 The CBEST stand for the California Basic Educational Skills Test and is one of the tests you need to take to become a teacher in the state of California.

The CBEST consists of three sections: reading, mathematics, and writing.

The Reading Section contains 50 multiple choice questions and is assessing your ability to understand information that is presented to you in written passages, tables, and graphs. There is no outside knowledge required for this portion of the test, all of the questions are based of the passages and can be answered with the information read.

The Mathematics Section contains 50 multiple choice questions as well. Most questions are presented as word problems and they come from three major skill areas: estimation, measurement, and statistical principals.

The Writing Section contains two essay topics and assesses your ability to write effectively. You are expected to answer both questions.

Here is the link the CBEST website for more specific questions.

http://www.cbest.nesinc.com/index.asp

In my personal opinion this test is fairly simple. I did get a study guide and found it helpful in order to effectively review the material that would appear on the test. Below are two study guides that I think are the best to help prepare for the CBEST. Hope this helps!

]]> http://www.ateachersadventure.com/what-is-the-cbest/feed/ 0 Thinking about becoming a teacher? http://www.ateachersadventure.com/thinking-about-becoming-a-teacher/ http://www.ateachersadventure.com/thinking-about-becoming-a-teacher/#comments Fri, 10 Jul 2009 22:25:06 +0000 Beth http://www.ateachersadventure.com/?p=68 A good place to start is to check out your own states website on how to become a certified/credentialed/license (different states use different terminology) teacher. Since I live in California and have my California Multiple Subjects Teacher Credential much of the information I will talk about will be geared towards that but all states will have similar requirements that a candidate must meet in order to become a teacher. I put together this list of links to all 50 states websites on their own requirements for becoming a teacher.

These sites are a good place to begin your own adventure to becoming a teacher.

Alabama- Teacher Education and Certification Website

http://www.alsde.edu/html/sections/section_detail.asp?section=66&footer=sections

Alaska- Teacher Certification Website

http://www.eed.state.ak.us/TEACHERCERTIFICATION/

Arizona- Teacher Certification Website

http://www.azed.gov/Certification/

Arkansas- Teacher Licensing Website

http://arkansased.org/

California – Teacher Credentialing Website

http://www.ctc.ca.gov/

Colorado- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.cde.state.co.us/index_license.htm

Connecticut- Teacher Certification Website

http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/site/default.asp

Delaware- Teacher Credentialing Website

https://deeds.doe.k12.de.us/default.aspx

Florida- Educator Certification Website

http://www.fldoe.org/edcert/

Georgia- Educator Certification Website

http://www.gapsc.com/

Hawaii- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.htsb.org/

Idaho- Teacher Certification Website

http://www.sde.idaho.gov/site/teacher_certification/

Illinois- Educator Certification Website

http://www.isbe.state.il.us/certification/Default.htm

Indiana- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.doe.in.gov/dps/

Iowa- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.iowa.gov/boee/

Kansas- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=111

Kentucky- Teacher Certification Website

http://www.kyepsb.net/certification/

Louisiana- Teacher Certification Website

http://www.doe.state.la.us/Lde/tsac/home.html

Maine- Teacher Certification Website

http://www.maine.gov/education/cert/

Maryland- Teacher Certification Website

http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/msde/divisions/certification/certification_branch/

Massachusetts- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.doe.mass.edu/educators/e_license.html

Michigan- Teacher Certification Website

http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,1607,7-140-6530_5683_14795—,00.html

Minnesota- Educators Licensing Website

http://education.state.mn.us/MDE/Teacher_Support/Educator_Licensing/index.html

Mississippi- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.mde.k12.ms.us/ed_licensure/

Missouri- Teacher Certification Website

http://dese.mo.gov/divteachqual/teachcert/

Montana- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.opi.state.mt.us/cert/

Nebraska- Teacher Certification Website

http://www.nde.state.ne.us/tcert/

Nevada- Educators Licensing Website

http://nvteachers.doe.nv.gov/

New Hampshire- Teacher Credentialing Website

http://www.ed.state.nh.us/education/beED.htm

New Jersey- Educators Licensing and Credentialing Website

http://www.state.nj.us/education/educators/license/

New Mexico- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.ped.state.nm.us/licensure/

New York- Teachers Certification Website

http://www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert/certificate/

North Carolina- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/licensure/

North Dakota- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.nd.gov/espb/

Ohio- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.ode.state.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEPrimary.aspx?page=2&TopicRelationID=513

Oklahoma- Teacher Certification Website

http://sde.state.ok.us/teacher/ProfStand/default.html

Oregon- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.tspc.state.or.us/

Pennsylvania- Teacher Certification Website

http://www.teaching.state.pa.us/teaching/site/default.asp

Rhode Island- Teacher Certification Website

http://www.ride.ri.gov/educatorquality/certification/

South Carolina- Teacher Certification Website

http://www.scteachers.org/

South Dakota- Teacher Certification Website

http://doe.sd.gov/oatq/

Tennessee- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.tennessee.gov/education/lic/

Texas- Teacher Certification Website

http://www.sbec.state.tx.us/SBECOnline/default.asp

Utah- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.schools.utah.gov/cert/

Vermont- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.education.vermont.gov/new/html/maincert.html

Virginia- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/VDOE/newvdoe/teached.html

Washington- Teacher Certification Website

http://www.k12.wa.us/certification/

West Virginia- Teacher Certification Website

http://wvde.state.wv.us/certification/

Wisconsin- Educators Licensing Website

http://dpi.wi.gov/tepdl/licguide.html

Wyoming- Educators Licensing Website

http://ptsb.state.wy.us/

]]> http://www.ateachersadventure.com/thinking-about-becoming-a-teacher/feed/ 0 Ready for RICA- Updated Book! http://www.ateachersadventure.com/ready-for-rica-updated-book/ http://www.ateachersadventure.com/ready-for-rica-updated-book/#comments Thu, 09 Jul 2009 04:04:01 +0000 Beth http://www.ateachersadventure.com/?p=52 So after I wrote about the RICA and made my study guide recommendation I realized that Zarrillo has an updated version of the book, “Ready for RICA” that is yet to be realized (as of 7/8/09) but can be pre-ordered on Amazon.com.

According to Amazon.com it has been updated to include…

  • A comprehensive review of all fifteen of the content area domains on the revised RICA, including the two new domains on English Language Learning and Fluency
  • An introduction that offers a user-friendly overview of the test, tips for pre-test study, and pointers for how to structure essay answers
  • Sample questions that align with the revised RICA test formatting. Students will find full case studies, mini case studies, and a cumulative sample test with over 70 test items depicting classroom scenarios
  • Answers and explanations for each test item to bolster teacher confidence in successful test taking

Ready for Revised RICA: A Test Prep Guide for California’s Reading Instruction Competence Assessment (3rd Edition)

]]> http://www.ateachersadventure.com/ready-for-rica-updated-book/feed/ 0 What is the RICA? http://www.ateachersadventure.com/what-is-the-rica/ http://www.ateachersadventure.com/what-is-the-rica/#comments Thu, 09 Jul 2009 03:15:20 +0000 Beth http://www.ateachersadventure.com/?p=38 RICA stands for Reading Instruction Competence Assessment and it is one of the tests that you need to pass if you want to become a Multiple Subject Teacher in California. The purpose of the RICA is to ensure that teachers in California, that want to become an elementary teacher, possess the knowledge and skills to effectively teach reading to their students.

There are five main areas or “domains” that the RICA tests:

  • Domain 1: Planning, Organizing, and Managing Reading Instruction Based on Ongoing Assessment
  • Domain 2: Word Analysis
  • Domain 3: Fluency
  • Domain 4: Vocabulary, Academic Language, and Background Knowledge
  • Domain 5: Comprehension

The test has 70 multiple choice questions, 4 shorter essays, and 1 case study (longer essay).

For more specific information including test dates and cost visit their website.

http://www.rica.nesinc.com/

There are a few different study guides that you can get to help you with the RICA. The one that was recommended to me and that I strongly recommended is called “Ready for RICA” by James J. Zarrillo. I felt it was very comprehensive in scope and gave a good overview of all material that would be covered on the test.

]]> http://www.ateachersadventure.com/what-is-the-rica/feed/ 0 What tests do you need to pass in order to become an elementary teacher in California? http://www.ateachersadventure.com/what-tests-do-you-need-to-pass-in-order-to-become-an-elementary-teacher-in-california/ http://www.ateachersadventure.com/what-tests-do-you-need-to-pass-in-order-to-become-an-elementary-teacher-in-california/#comments Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:45:11 +0000 Beth http://www.ateachersadventure.com/?p=31 To become a Multiple Subjects Teacher (a teacher who can teach in a self-contained classroom as a classroom in most elementary schools- usually K-5) in California there are three different tests that one is required to take and pass. I will go into deeper explanation of each test in individual posts but the three tests are the CBEST, the CSET, and the RICA.

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