Certification Staffing Policies and Guidelines (CSPG) Update

The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) has updated  CSPG #21 – Testing.

Summary of changes to CSPG #21:

1.  The Pre-Service Academic Performance Assessment (PAPA) reading, writing and mathematics tests replaced the Pre-Professional Skills Tests (PPST) effective April 2012. PPSTs are still being accepted if they were taken on or before Dec. 31, 2012.

2.  Added the acceptance of the Scholastic Achievement Test (SAT) and the American College Test (ACT) plus writing for meeting the basic skills assessment requirement.

3.  Eliminated the 10-year test score validity requirement.

4.  Added a six-month grace period for acceptance of replaced tests.

5.  Added the Letter of Eligibility test requirement.

6.  Deleted the following statement: “Test scores submitted under the 3-out-of-7 rule as stated in Chapter §49.65 (e) must have been successfully completed within five years of the date of application” since the rule has changed.

The updated CSPG can be found on PDE’s website at www.education.state.pa.us, select Teachers, Administrators and Certifications, then select Certification Staffing Policies (CSPGs) from the left navigation bar or copy and paste the following link into your browser:

http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/certification_staffing_policies_%28cspgs%29/8626