COMPETENCY EXAMINATION REQUIREMENT

(Students who qualify for options 2, 3, 4, or 5  below should complete the Application to Certify Completion of Competency Examination Requirements and submit it to the Assessment & Teaching Enhancement Center.) For printable application click here

All students seeking a baccalaureate degree from Emporia State University must demonstrate competency in reading, writing, and mathematics.

Teacher candidates seeking a degree in elementary, secondary, middle level, or PK-12 teaching field fulfill this requirement by passing the Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST) or the Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency (CAAP) before admission to the teacher education program. A candidate who passes two test areas but scores below the cut-off score in one test area-mathematics, reading, or writing-may be considered for the PPST or CAAP Window. Window criteria are as follows:

• Candidates must have taken the PPST once or the CAAP once.
• Candidates must be within two points of the standardized PPST or CAAP cut-off score.
• If the above two criteria apply, then candidates may use alternative ways (see non-teaching degree options 2-6 to the competency examination requirement listed below) to meet the Phase I requirement for the Teacher Education Program at Emporia State University.

Teacher candidates should take the examinations during their sophomore or junior year. Standards for passing the examinations have been established by the Council on Teacher Education and are not necessarily the same as those for non-education majors. There is no limit to the number of times a candidate may take the examinations.

Non-teaching degree students have several options for fulfilling the competency examination requirement as listed below.

1) Students may pass the reading, writing, and mathematics sub tests of the Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST), the Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency (CAAP), or any other nationally standardized examination for which there is a published concordance with the PPST or CAAP. If the standardized examination does not have a reading component, the student's ACT scores will substitute for the CAAP.

 

2) The Writing portion of the requirement may also be fulfilled in any of the following ways:

Earning a grade of “A minus” or higher in EG 102     (Composition II) in a resident, on-campus class.

Earning a grade of “A minus” or higher in a course equivalent to EG 102 from another accredited university or community college.

Earning a grade of “B” or higher in EG 104 (Honors Composition II) or in EG 301 (Advanced Composition).

Receiving credit by examination for EG 102.

 

 3) The Mathematics portion of the requirement may also be fulfilled in any of the following ways:

Earning a grade of “A minus” or higher in MA 110 (College Algebra) in a resident, on-campus class.

Earning a grade of “A minus” or higher in a course equivalent to MA 110 from another accredited university or community college.

* Earning a grade of “C” or higher in any approved general education mathematics course beyond MA 110.

Receiving credit by examination for either MA 110 or MA 161.

 

 4)  The Reading portion of the requirement may also be fulfilled by achieving a Reading score of at least 18 on the ACT Assessment, an equivalent score on any test for which there is a published concordance with the ACT, or completion of the ESU General Education requirements with a grade of "B minus" or better in each course.

5) International students may take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) as an alternative to the reading and writing exams. The passing score is the cutoff value (now 550) that the Institution uses to allow International students to enter graduate school without further testing of their language skills. To fulfill the mathematics requirement, students must earn a grade of "A minus" in MA 110 (College Algebra) or a grade of "C minus" or higher in any approved mathematics course beyond MA 110, College Algebra.

* The Mathematics portion of the competency examination requirement may also be fulfilled by earning a grade of C (2.0 on a 4-point scale) or higher in any of the following approved mathematics courses:

MA 112 Trigonometry

MA 160 Functions of Calculus

MA 161 Calculus I

MA 165 Basic Calculus 

6) Those students who are unable to fulfill the requirement in any of the above ways and who have taken either the CAAP or the PPST and are not an education major may attend the reading, writing, and/or mathematics labs. In the lab, students will be given an opportunity to practice necessary skills and pass a lab test as a substitute for the CAAP/PPST. Passing scores in lab tests fulfill the competency exam requirement for that given area and pass a lab test as a substitute for the CAAP/PPST. Passing scores in lab tests fulfill the competency exam requirement for that given area.

Students who qualify for exemption options 2, 3, 4, or 5  above must complete and submit the “Application to Certify Completion of Competency Examination Requirements” form either online or at the Assessment & Teaching Enhancement Center (ATEC) located in Morse Hall, room 23. This form MUST be approved by ATEC for the exemptions to be official.  We recommend that students contact ATEC prior to their senior year for an evaluation of their competency requirement status.  Students who do not successfully complete the competency examination requirement, will NOT receive their degree at graduation.

Please contact the Assessment & Teaching Enhancement Center (ATEC) at 620-341-5103 for questions.  Information regarding the above is also found at www.emporia.edu/atec. 

 

Recommended by General Education Council February 14, 2001

Approved by Vice President John Schwenn April 19, 2001

Revised by General Education Council & The Council of Teacher Education March 9, 2005

Revisions approved by Vice President John Schwenn March 15, 2005