INFORMATIONAL

 The Virginia Department of Education is requesting your assistance in nominating 
teachers to participate in standard-setting and validation studies for Praxis II 
subject area tests. As you are aware, the Board of Education requires individuals 
seeking initial licensure to take and pass Praxis I Academic Skills Assessments 
(reading, writing, and mathematics) and Praxis II subject area examinations.  The 
Educational Testing Service (ETS) has developed new subject area assessments, 
including Elementary Content Knowledge for preK-3 and preK-6 and Health and Physical
Education Content Knowledge for preK-12. Prior to establishing passing scores on 
these new assessments, standard-setting and validation studies must be conducted.

Please use the following criteria as stipulated by ETS in nominating participants 
for these studies.

*Each individual must hold a valid Virginia Collegiate Professional or Postgraduate 
Professional license in the subject to be reviewed;
*Each individual must be currently employed in one or more areas being reviewed; and
*Each teacher must have at least one year, but not more than seven years, of 
classroom experience;

If teachers have more than seven years of experience and you would like to nominate 
them to participate, they must have recently supervised a student teacher or have 
been a mentor to a first-year teacher.  Experience parameters have been established 
because the Praxis II Subject Assessments are required for an initial teaching 
license.  Teachers in your division who are teaching with a Provisional License and 
who will need to take one or more of the subject assessments in the future to be
eligible for the Collegiate Professional or Postgraduate Professional license will 
not be eligible to participate in the study.

Teachers who are selected for the elementary assessment will participate on May 9,
2000,and teachers selected for the health and physical education assessment will 
participate on May 10, 2000. The site will be in the greater Richmond area. 
Participants must agree to be present for the full time required to conduct the 
study. Participant expenses (travel, meals, and lodging) will be reimbursed in 
accordance with travel guidelines by ETS. Please share with your nominees the fact 
that not all of them may be selected.  ETS must assure that appropriate 
representation on each panel includes diversity of race and gender, and the 
diversity of rural, urban, and suburban school divisions.

For your use a nomination form is attached that may be copied for each nominee.  
Please send the completed forms to Ms. Marlene Leggett of ETS at the address below 
no later than March 31, 2000. Individuals will be notified directly of their 
selection and logistics for participation in the studies.

Ms. Marlene Leggett
Program Administrator
Educational Testing Service
Rosedale Road, Mail Stop 15-D
Princeton, NJ 08541
FAX: 609-734-5450

Thank you for your assistance in this project.  If you have questions regarding this
request, please do not hesitate to contact Thomas A. Elliott, assistant superintendent 
for teacher education and licensure, at (804) 371-2522.

PDS/sa

Attachments
C:	Building Principals