The Texas Principal as Instructional Leader Certificate is required of school administrators in traditional school districts (you are not required to be certified as a principal for charter schools).  You are eligible to apply for the Standard Certificate when you graduate and successfully pass the 968 Exam  and PASL

  1.  968 Principal as Instructional Leader– administered by Pearson

You have approximately 5 hours to complete. 60% of your score is from multiple choice questions and 40% is from a total of four writing prompts.  Click here  for more information - including preparation materials and to register to take the test.  You will receive further guidance as well as test prep support during the program.

http://www.tx.nesinc.com/TestView.aspx?f=HTML_FRAG/TX268_TestPage.html

Candidates can access preparation materials, register to test, and access exam scores at www.tx.nesinc.com   or get started with the step-by-step guide 

You will need to create a new Pearson testing account, which will require an email address as the username, setting up a security question, and a password. You will need to provide your TEA ID to link to your TEA account. Once your new Pearson account is created, any Texas educator examination testing history you may have from the present back to 2006 will be available in your Pearson account, including your prior score reports.

    2.  Performance Assessment for School Leaders (PASL) – administered by ETS

PASL, administered by ETS, is a performance assessment that consists of three tasks which require written commentary and submission of artifacts.  ETS has specific windows for submission, and most students will want to submit in the spring window during the second year residency.  If you are an assistant principal during your residency, you must pass PASL before the start of the following school year to continue in a school admin role as the probationary certificate can't be extended beyond your tenure in the program.  Click here to learn more about PASL.  You will learn more about PASL during the program.

Similarly, if you apply for a school admin role for after graduation, you will need to have passed both 268 and PASL.  

 https://www.ets.org/ppa/test-takers/school-leaders/prepare 

This assessment is administered twice per year during pre-established submission windows.

Candidates can get started with the step-by-step guide  You must create an ETS® Performance Assessment Account in order to purchase the assessment. Note: The ETS Performance Assessments registration site is different from the registration site used for Praxis® assessments.

ETS Exam Registration:

The following link will provide additional details and instructions for scheduling this exam: https://tea.texas.gov/texas-educators/certification/educator-testing/test-registration-and-preparation 

Below is a Power Point that includes screen shots of the registration process for a candidate registering for a test through the ETS system and then making a payment through the Texas.gov system. Slides are also included showing how payments will work for ancillary fees (e.g., change fees, score review fees, international site fees) that will be processed through the regular ETS payment system.

ETS Registration Demo.pdf  download

Upon completion you may obtain your official score reports through one of the following:

  • View and print tests taken Sept. 1, 2006, or later, through the http://www.tx.nesinc.com/Home.aspx 
  • Call 1-800-486-8444 for tests taken through the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL).
  • Call 1-800-424-8080 for tests taken through the American Association for Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS).
  • View all examination results in your online educator account. Log in to your educator account  and select View Examinations.

Obtaining the Standard Certification: 

  • An application for certification does not occur automatically when your scores are received by TEA. To apply for certification, you must go to the TEA website and follow the application for certification instructions. Attached are instructions to access this information.
  • You will need a current TEA account. If you have been certified for a while you may need to create a new account in the TEAL system. TEAL_End_User_Training_ECOS.pdf  download
  • You will find the application under the Applications menu on the left hand side, select Standard Certificate Texas Program to open the application. 
  • Select University Based and type in Principal Certification (968). Once you have paid the fee and completed the application I will approve the certificate upon the conferral of your degree in May.
  • If you have passed and applied for the certification by graduation you do not need to email me; however, If you have not passed the exam and/or applied for the certification by graduation you will need to email me once you have completed these steps as I will not otherwise receive notice of your actions.