Florida Teacher Certification Exam (FTCE) is a standardized test initiated by Florida department of education for credentialing of public school teachers in the state. This test is administered by National Evaluation Systems Inc. This test aims to ensure quality of tutoring and education in the state.
Eligibility:
This test is taken by individuals who are willing to achieve teaching credentials in Florida state. There are different certifications available under this program such as for high school graduates considering teaching as a career, college graduates of non-education programs, graduates of teacher education programs, out-of-state certified teachers and non-citizen trained graduates. There are certifications also for addition of a subject or endorsement, migration from temporary to professional certificate, renewal or reinstatement of professional certificate.
Test Overview:
The different FTCE tests are:
FTCE General Knowledge test: – It consists of four subtests pertaining to skills in essay writing, English language, reading and mathematics. All these subtests have multiple choice questions except the essay writing test. There are 40 questions in reading and English language subtest while 45 questions in mathematics subtest. The time allotted for English language and reading subtests is 40 minutes each, 50 minutes for essay writing and 100 minutes for mathematics subtest. These subtests can be registered and taken separately.
Professional Education test: – It is a test of pedagogy and professional practices. It contains multiple choice questions.
Subject Area Examinations: – There are 42 subject area examinations. Most of these tests are single tests except German K-12 and Speech 6-12 tests which have two subtests each. These subtests can be registered and taken separately. Most of these tests consist of multiple choice questions; however, some of them may have essay writing, recorded listening, speaking or videotaped sections.
Florida Educational Leadership Examination: – This test is for administrator certification. It consists of three subtests- instructional leadership, operational leadership and school leadership. All these subtests have multiple choice questions except school leadership subtest which has an additional essay writing question. These subtests can be registered and taken separately.
Test Format:
Most of the tests in FTCE have multiple choice questions. Different tests can be selected according to the credentialing requirements. Some of the tests may also contain other format of questions depending upon test type and its requirements.
Marking Scheme:
There are no test scores and only ‘Pass’ or “Not Pass’ are reported for clearing or not clearing these test(s) respectively. The test scores are released at the examinee ’s account on official website of FTCE and mailed to his/her email id (if given ids by test taker are valid). The results can be seen and downloaded on their account for 60 calendar days from the release. It takes 3 to 6 weeks in releasing the results.
Schedule:
The registrations can be done through internet or mail. The registrations are done on a first come first serve basis. The payment of fees can be done through credit, debit or check cards.
Exam Fees:
The registration fees for general knowledge test, professional education test and subject area examinations are $130, $150 and $200 respectively. The retake fees for general knowledge test, professional education test and subject area examinations are $150, $170 and $220 respectively. The first attempt and retake fees for any combination of subtests are $215 and $225 respectively.