State of Washington Professional Educator Standards Board Selects National Evaluation Systems to Develop and Manage Testing Program for Subject-Area Endorsements on Teaching Certificates
National Evaluation Systems™ (NES®), the teacher licensure testing business of Pearson Education, announced today that the State of Washington Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) has awarded the company the contract to develop and manage the Washington Educator Skills Tests-Endorsements (WEST-E), which assess subject-area content knowledge of candidates for the state’s teacher endorsements. Endorsements are required for Washington teaching certificates to demonstrate that teachers have the appropriate content knowledge for their teaching assignments.
The new customized tests will be completely aligned to Washington’s state learning standards for both teachers and students. NES currently manages the Washington Educator Skills Test-Basic, which tests the basic skills (reading, mathematics and writing) of candidates applying to Washington’s teacher preparation programs and out-of-state applicants for the residency teaching certificates.
“We are committed to upholding the highest standards for Washington’s education professionals,” said Esther Baker, program director, teacher assessments, Washington PESB. “By aligning our endorsement tests with the state’s learning standards, we will have even greater confidence that our teachers are highly qualified to teach in the areas for which their certificates are endorsed.”
The Washington PESB includes education practitioners, such as teachers, administrators, educational staff associates, a parent, a community member and representatives from higher education teacher preparation programs. With representation from the state’s leading educators, the PESB understands well what it takes to be a good teacher and works to determine what is appropriate with regard to assessing the content knowledge required to teach in Washington’s classrooms.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce ranked Washington among the top states in the nation in its first Education Report Card.
“Washington has long had a reputation for being on the leading edge of educational innovation in our country,” said William Gorth, Ph.D., president, NES. “We are proud to extend our collaboration with the Washington PESB to develop and manage a custom program of subject-area assessments for teacher certification.”
About National Evaluation Systems
National Evaluation Systems (NES) (www.nesinc.com) provides customized assessments for teacher licensure testing. As the most experienced provider of custom tests, NES collaborates with state education agencies to develop and administer licensure tests for prospective teachers who want to enter the profession and for experienced teachers who want to teach a new subject or work in a new state. Today, NES tests about 50 percent of prospective U.S. teachers in more than 100 content fields, in professional teaching skills and in the basic skills of reading, writing and mathematics.
NES is a business of Pearson Education, the world’s largest integrated education company, which in turn is part of Pearson (NYSE: PSO), the international media company. Pearson’s other primary operations include the Financial Times Group and the Penguin Group.