Certification Procedures

To be recommended for a Pennsylvania Instructional I Teaching Certificate by The School of Education, candidates must satisfy the following requirements:

  1. Successfully complete one or more of Drexel’s certification programs approved by the Pennsylvania State Department of Education . This includes an overall grade point average of 3.0, a grade point average of 3.0 in the content coursework required for the candidate’s area of certification, and the grade of “B” or better in each pedagogy course including the courses EDUC 320: Professional Studies in Instruction and EDUC 410/412: Student Teaching.

  2. Obtain the required Passing Scores on the following parts of the Praxis Series Exams. A suggested outline on how to take the various sections of the Exam is outlined in the Appendix document, Benchmarks for Teacher Education Majors. Please check with the School of Education for Passing Score information as they regularly are updated. Candidates must meet the Passing Score required at the time of certification regardless of when the test was taken.

    1. All certification applicants must take the PPST tests which include: Reading, Writing, Mathematics, and Listening. Please note that Elementary Education and Environmental Education certification applicants also must take the Fundamental Subjects: Content Knowledge Exam.

    2. The appropriate Specialty Area Test using the following list for Pennsylvania certification:
Area of Certification
Test Code
Specialty Area Test
Biology
20235
Biology: Content Knowledge
Chemistry
20245
Chemistry: Content Knowledge
Earth and Space Science
20571
Earth Science: Content Knowledge
Elementary Education
10011
Elementary Education: Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment
Environmental Education
10830
Environmental Education
General Science
10435
General Science: Content Knowledge
Library Science
10310
Library Media Specialist
Mathematics
10061
Mathematics: Content Knowledge
Physics
10265
Physics: Content Knowledge

Praxis application booklets are available in the School of Education. As per the Benchmarks for Teacher Education Majors, located in the Appendix, students begin taking the required sections of the Praxis in the spring of their freshman year and will take the final required sections during the fall of their senior year.

  1. Complete the General Application for Pennsylvania Certificate Form PDE 338 G and submit it to the School of Education. This form may be obtained from the School of Education or from the PA Department of Education web site. Currently, other forms such as a Pennsylvania Criminal Record Check and Child Abuse Clearance are typically required for most teaching positions in Pennsylvania. These forms also are available in the School of Education. The General Application for Pennsylvania Certificate Form PDE 338 G requires a physician’s signature stating to the good health of the certification candidate. The application may be submitted to the School of Education in the candidate’s last term of planned enrollment, but cannot be processed until after the candidate has been cleared for graduation.