NAC391.036. Tests of competency required for initial license; exemptions; failure to comply; times for administration of tests.

     1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, paragraph (h) of subsection 1 of NRS 391.019, NAC 391.0545, subsection 2 of NAC 391.0585, paragraph (b) of subsection 3 of NAC 391.233, paragraph (b) of subsection 6 of NAC 391.330, subsection 5 of NAC 391.363, paragraph (b) of subsection 4 of NAC 391.425 and subsection 7 of NAC 391.436, an applicant who applies for an initial license must pass a competency test that has been approved by the Commission, at the level of competence specified by the Commission, in:

     (a) Basic reading, writing and mathematics;

     (b) The principles and methods of teaching; and

     (c) The subject matter of the initial area of endorsement on the license or the area of endorsement necessary for the applicant’s area of assignment.

     2. The Superintendent of Public Instruction may exempt an applicant from any of the tests required by subsection 1 if the applicant:

     (a) Submits to the Department evidence that he or she:

          (1) Has retired from teaching in this State;

          (2) Held a special license, a license to teach elementary or secondary education, a license to teach special education, or a license to teach middle school or junior high school education, which:

               (I) Has expired within the 3 years immediately preceding the date on which his or her application was submitted;

               (II) Was free from any conditions that the applicant pass a competency test; and

               (III) Authorized the applicant to teach in the same grade level and subject area for which he or she is applying to receive an initial license;

          (3) Was required, for the issuance of the applicant’s expired license, to complete courses of study and experience which are substantially equivalent to the courses of study and experience required for the issuance of an initial license; and

          (4) Otherwise satisfies the requirements for the issuance of an initial license;

     (b) Submits to the Department evidence that the applicant has passed, as part of a teacher education program approved by a state and offered through a regionally accredited college or university, competency examinations equivalent to those required of the applicant by subsection 1; or

     (c) Submits to the Department evidence that the applicant holds a license to teach issued by another state which is not a provisional license, and the Commission determines that the examinations required for licensure in that state are comparable to the competency tests required by subsection 1.

     3. An applicant is exempt from the requirement to pass a competency test in basic reading, writing and mathematics if the applicant submits to the Department:

     (a) Official documentation which indicates that he or she passed, at the level of competency specified by the Commission:

          (1) The “Pre-Professional Skills Tests” in reading, mathematics and writing, prepared and administered by the Educational Testing Service; or

          (2) The “California Basic Educational Skills Test,” prepared and administered by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing;

     (b) Evidence that the applicant has received a master’s or more advanced degree from a regionally accredited college or university, the receipt of which required the passage of the “Graduate Record Examinations,” prepared and administered by the Educational Testing Service, or its equivalent;

     (c) An official transcript which indicates that the applicant achieved at least a 3.0 grade-point average in his or her undergraduate studies and evidence that he or she has taken the “Graduate Record Examinations,” prepared and administered by the Educational Testing Service, and received a score of:

          (1) At least 420 on the verbal portion of the examination;

          (2) At least 460 on the quantitative portion of the examination; and

          (3) At least 430 on the analytical portion of the examination or at least 3.5 on the analytical writing portion of the examination, as applicable; or

     (d) Evidence that:

          (1) The applicant did not pass, at the level of competency specified by the Commission, the “Pre-Professional Skills Tests” in reading, mathematics and writing, prepared and administered by the Educational Testing Service; and

          (2) After not passing the test described in subparagraph (1), the applicant began and completed, with a grade of B or better, a course of study in a subject area approved by the Commission or the Director of Licensure for the Department.

     4. An applicant is exempt from the requirement to pass a competency test in the principles and methods of teaching if he or she:

     (a) Submits to the Department official documentation which indicates that the applicant passed, at the level of competency specified by the Commission, the “Professional Knowledge Test,” prepared and administered by the Educational Testing Service;

     (b) Is applying for a license with an endorsement in an area for which training in the principles and methods of teaching is not required; or

     (c) Is applying for an elementary endorsement and submits to the Department evidence that the applicant passed, at the level of competency specified by the Commission, the “Elementary Education: Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Test” and the “Elementary Education: Content Area Exercises Test,” both prepared and administered by the Educational Testing Service.

     5. An applicant is exempt from the requirement to pass a competency test in the subject matter of endorsement if he or she:

     (a) Submits to the Department official documentation which indicates that the applicant previously passed, at the level of competency specified by the Commission, the competency test in that subject matter;

     (b) Is applying for an initial license with an endorsement in an area for which no competency tests have been approved by the Commission;

     (c) Is applying for an endorsement to teach pupils who have speech and language impairments and submits to the Department official documentation which indicates that he or she has received a certificate of clinical competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association; or

     (d) Is applying for an endorsement in family and consumer sciences and submits to the Department official documentation which indicates that the applicant satisfactorily completed the “National Family and Consumer Sciences Certification Examination,” prepared and administered by the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences.

     6. If a competency test in a subject matter has been reviewed by the Commission for less than 1 year but is not yet approved, an applicant must take the test, but is not required to pass the test at a level of competence specified by the Commission.

     7. An applicant who fails to comply with the provisions of this section may not apply for a renewable license.

     8. The tests required by subsection 1 will be administered three times each year at locations and times established by the Commission.

     (Added to NAC by Comm’n on Prof. Standards in Education, eff. 9-11-89; A 11-22-91; 10-23-92; 12-15-94; 1-11-96; 12-13-96; R092-97, 1-14-98; R089-99, 10-25-99; R120-99, 3-13-2000; R210-01, 3-27-2002; R058-03, 8-29-2003; R005-05 & R038-05, 10-31-2005; R183-05, 12-29-2005; R223-05, 2-23-2006; R069-06, 6-1-2006; R026-07, 10-31-2007; R037-08, 6-17-2008; R046-10, 10-15-2010; R028-11, 10-26-2011; R020-11, 5-30-2012)