INFORMATIONAL

TO:

Division Superintendents

FROM:

Jo Lynne DeMary

Superintendent of Public Instruction

SUBJECT:

Approval of the SAT as a Substitute Test for Praxis I

The Virginia Department of Education is pleased to announce that on March 24, 2004, the Board of Education approved the use of the SAT as a substitute test for Praxis I (Reading, Writing, and Mathematics) required for initial licensure. The board approved a score of 1000 on the SAT, taken prior to April 1, 1995, with at least 450 on the verbal and 510 on the mathematics tests or a score of 1100 on the SAT, taken after April 1, 1995, with at least 530 on the verbal and 530 on the mathematics tests as a substitute for

Praxis I. Please note that the SAT was approved as a substitute test only for Praxis I; individuals also must meet the Praxis II (subject area assessment) for initial licensure.

The Board of Educations decision to approve the SAT as a substitute for Praxis I was a recommendation of the Advisory Board on Teacher Education and Licensure. The advisory board based its recommendations to the Board of Education on a study titled, Report of Virginia PPST Exemption Study: Exemption Based on SAT Scores, conducted by Samuel A. Livingston and Kevin Larkin, Educational Testing Service. The full report is available from the Department of Education.

The study described in the ETS report was designed to estimate the relationship between a prospective teachers SAT scores and the probability of passing the PPST reading and mathematics tests. This relationship was estimated using the SAT verbal score as a predictor of success on PPST reading and the SAT mathematics score as a predictor of success on PPST mathematics. The probabilities were estimated for the Virginia qualifying scores on each PPST test: 178 for PPST reading and 178 for PPST mathematics.

The SAT score scale was revised in April of 1995; therefore, scores were approved for test takers prior to April 1, 1995, and those who took the test after April 1, 1995. At least three states use the SAT as a substitute test for Praxis I Connecticut, Delaware, and Georgia.

Individuals who request to use SAT scores for Praxis I must provide a copy of their official report of scores. The Division of Teacher Education and Licensure also will accept SAT listed on an official student transcript from an accredited college or university (including the registrars signature and institution raised seal).

For more information regarding the use of the SAT as a substitute assessment for Praxis I, please contact Dr. Thomas A. Elliott, assistant superintendent for teacher education and licensure, (telliott@pen.k12.va.us) at 804-371-2522 or Mrs. Patty S. Pitts, director of licensure, (ppitts@pen.k12.va.us) at (804) 371-2471.

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