There is no national teacher certification test. Each state, and DC, names its own tests for each route and certificate area, and sets its own passing scores. Most states use ETS’s Praxis tests; several run their own programs, most of them through Pearson, such as California’s CBEST and CSET, Texas’s TExES, New York’s NYSTCE and Illinois’s ILTS. This guide explains the kinds of test, what they cost, how scores and retakes work, and which page to read next.
This page is general information, not legal or career advice. Each state’s licensing agency decides every application, and rules, tests and fees change, often on 1 July. Confirm the current rules with the agency before you pay for a program, a test or fingerprints.
Every rule and fee below comes from the linked guides, which cite state agency pages, rules and statutes or the test vendor’s own fee pages, read 11 to 13 November 2026.
Start with your state’s test list
Which tests apply depends on the state, the route, and the subject or grade band of the certificate (the certificate area or endorsement). Two people in one state can need different tests, so the first question is not “which Praxis do I take?” but “what does my state’s agency list for my area and route?”
The page on which certification tests each state requires answers that for all 50 states and DC: a short table of the tests each state names, then a fold-out per state with test codes, vendor fees, the agency source and the date read. States whose current test rules were not read in official text, among them Arizona, Tennessee, Mississippi and Virginia, are marked “not confirmed” with the agency linked.
The four kinds of test
States mix four kinds of test:
- Basic skills tests check reading, writing and math. Praxis Core is the common one; Florida, Massachusetts and California have their own.
- Content tests check the subject you would teach: a Praxis Subject Assessment, or a state test such as a TExES content test or the CSET.
- Pedagogy and performance assessments check teaching knowledge or practice: a written test such as Praxis Principles of Learning and Teaching (PLT), Texas’s PPR or the Assessment of Professional Knowledge (APK) in Ohio and Oklahoma, or a portfolio such as edTPA, CalTPA or PPAT.
- Reading tests for early childhood, elementary and special education: Pearson’s Foundations of Reading in several states, Praxis Teaching Reading: Elementary (5205) in others, and Utah’s UFORA.
Basic skills: fewer states ask
Praxis Core is three tests, Reading (5713), Writing (5723) and Mathematics (5733), or all three in one sitting as Core Combined (5752). In the official text read on 11 to 13 November 2026, Nevada, North Dakota and West Virginia ask for Praxis Core, with exemptions; DC and Maryland ask for a basic skills test unless a degree GPA is 3.0 or higher; and Alaska accepts Core as one of several basic skills exams. Pennsylvania, Illinois and Connecticut do not require it for a license. The Praxis Core guide covers every state, with exemptions, passing scores and fees.
California changed the most. Since 29 June 2024, a bachelor’s or higher degree from a regionally accredited institution meets its basic skills requirement (Education Code 44252(b)(12), added by SB 153, read 13 November 2026), so most credential applicants no longer take the CBEST. It is still needed mainly by people without such a degree. The page on the CBEST and CSET explains who still takes each test, the alternatives, the fees and the retakes.
Content tests and the alternatives
Most of the states read ask for a content test in the certificate area; some accept a degree or coursework instead, and Nebraska no longer asks program completers for one. In California the CSET is one of several ways to show subject matter, alongside an approved subject-matter program, verified coursework and a degree with a qualifying major (Education Code 44259(b)(5)(A), as amended by AB 126, effective 9 July 2026, read 13 November 2026).
Test codes change when a test is replaced: Alabama’s 5089 ended on 31 August 2026. Confirm the code for your exact area before you register.
edTPA and other performance assessments
edTPA is a portfolio built during student teaching from lessons taught to one real class, including unedited video, and scored by trained educators. There is no national edTPA requirement. As read on 13 November 2026, Alabama’s rules require it, Oregon has used it as its adopted assessment since 2018 with listed options, and Minnesota requires two of its three tasks. Several states, among them North Carolina, California, Ohio and Texas, accept it as one option among others. New York, Washington, Georgia and Utah no longer require it, and Illinois has paused its requirement until 1 September 2029 (105 ILCS 5/21B-30(f), read 13 November 2026).
The page on which states use edTPA has every state’s position with its source, the alternatives, the fees and what happens to a score when you move. Programs can require edTPA even where the state doesn’t.
What the tests cost
Praxis prices are national and set once a testing year; Pearson’s state programs set their own.
| Test | Fee as read | Source, read |
|---|---|---|
| Praxis Core, one test | $90 | ETS bulletin 2026-27, 13 Nov |
| Praxis Core Combined (5752) | $150 | ETS bulletin 2026-27, 13 Nov |
| Praxis subject test, selected-response only | $130 | ETS bulletin 2026-27, 13 Nov |
| Praxis subject test with written answers | $156 | ETS bulletin 2026-27, 13 Nov |
| Praxis Elementary Multiple Subjects (5001) | $180, or $64 a subtest | ETS bulletin 2026-27, 13 Nov |
| CBEST | $30 a section | Vendor’s CBEST page, 13 Nov |
| CSET Multiple Subjects | $99 a subtest, or $247 for all three in one session | Vendor’s test page, 13 Nov |
| edTPA, full assessment | $300 ($311 through the Texas test site) | edTPA candidate policies and Texas test site, 13 Nov |
Charges come on top. ETS adds a 3% service fee to every online Praxis purchase, which is not refunded, so a $156 test bought online costs $160.68. Cancelling at least 3 days ahead refunds half the test fee (ETS Praxis Information Bulletin 2026-27, read 13 November 2026). The page on Praxis fees, passing scores and retakes has the full fee list, service charges, refunds and waivers.
Passing scores and retakes
ETS’s bulletin says it does not set Praxis passing scores; the states do. Core Writing (5723) is listed at 162 in New Jersey and 160 in North Dakota, as read on 13 November 2026, and New Jersey and Pennsylvania let a college GPA move the score that counts. The state agency’s own list is the one to rely on.
Retake waits differ by vendor. A Praxis test can be retaken only on a date at least 28 days after the last attempt, and ETS cancels the scores of a retest taken sooner, without refund (bulletin 2026-27). A CBEST section or CSET subtest has a 45-day wait from the test date (vendor’s retake page, read 13 November 2026).
Claims you may see elsewhere
You may see these on other sites. Checked against the state’s or vendor’s own text, none holds as written.
- “You must pass the Praxis Core to teach.” Not as a national rule; as read, six jurisdictions ask for Core or another basic skills test.
- “edTPA is required.” In some states. New York ended it on 27 April 2022, and Illinois paused it rather than dropping it.
- “California requires RICA.” RICA was last offered on 31 October 2025.
- “Oklahoma uses the PPAT.” Since 3 June 2025 it uses the APK.
A reading path
- Find your state’s tests and agency link on the state-by-state tests page.
- If it names a basic skills test, read the Praxis Core guide, or the CBEST and CSET page in California.
- If it names a performance assessment, read the edTPA page and ask your program which one it uses.
- Price the tests on the Praxis fees page, or in your state’s fold-out.
- Add the tests to your license and fingerprint fees in the teacher certification cost calculator, an estimate, not a quote.
Before you register
Confirm the test code and passing score for your certificate area and route on your state agency’s own page, and ask whether a degree, GPA or out-of-state certificate removes a test; the agency decides, not the test company. Register on the vendor’s own site, ETS’s Praxis site or the state’s Pearson program site, in the exact name on your photo ID, with your state agency as a score recipient. Your state’s fees, fingerprints and routes are on the teacher certification by state page, and if you are moving states, the reciprocity and compact checker shows what the destination state says about tests already passed elsewhere.
Rules and fees checked on 13 November 2026, as read in the linked guides (state rows read 11 to 13 November 2026, as dated on each page). Next likely changes: state rules often on 1 July; the Praxis testing year on 1 August 2027.
