Delivering Well Prepared Teachers Policy
Utah requires all teachers advancing from a Level One license to a Level Two license to pass a popular pedagogy test from the Praxis series in order to attain licensure. Elementary alternate route teachers and some secondary alternate route teachers are also required to pass pedagogy tests.
Require that all new teachers pass a pedagogy test.
Utah should verify that all new teachers meet professional standards through a test of professional standards.
Verify that commercially available tests of pedagogy actually align with state standards.
Utah should ensure that its selected test of professional knowledge measures the knowledge and skills the state expects new teachers to have.
Utah recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis. The state added that an individual may not teach on a Level 1 license for more than three years and must upgrade to a Level 2 at that point. Therefore, teachers who cannot pass the PLT test are either remediated to pass the test or counseled out of the profession.