Testing Requirements

In order to teach in Colorado, candidates must take and pass either the PLACE exam or the Praxis II Series Exam, a credentialing test administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). Although successful completion of the exam is not required during the initial application process, prospective Fellows must submit passing scores by May 1, 2012 in order to be fully admitted into the program and enroll in Pre-Service Training. All final acceptances are contingent upon passage of all required tests; we therefore strongly encourage you to register and take required tests as early as possible. Upon taking the exam, candidates must request an official score report sent to Denver Teaching Fellows (code #4080) as well as the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) if the exam is taken outside of Colorado—exams taken within Colorado will automatically be sent to CDE.

Please note that individuals must take and pass this exam to teach in Colorado, regardless of whether or not you are ultimately admitted into DTF.

Praxis II or PLACE

Candidates just take and pass either the Praxis II or PLACE exam in the subject they will team. The PLACE is an exam administered only in Colorado and the Praxis II is national exam administered across the U.S.  They are both offered on a limited basis throughout the year. You can take either the Praxis II or PLACE exam – neither exam is preferable to the other.

Registering for the exam

Registration for Praxis exams is handled by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). Please visit the Praxis website to learn more about the content covered on each of the tests and to register for all required examinations.

If selected to participate in an in-person Interview Event, you must bring proof of test registration with you to participate in the Interview Event. If you’ve already passed the required exam, you are required to bring your score report to your Interview Event.. You are encourage to register for either the PLACE or Praxis II immediately upon submitting your application to DTF, as they require significant amount of studying and it is in your best interest to pass the exam as soon as possible. These exams are required to teach in Colorado whether or not you are admitted to Denver Teaching Fellows.

While the Praxis II exam is offered year round, testing centers fill up quickly. The last date to take the paper-based Praxis II exam and still be eligible for our program is March 10, 2012. The last date to take the paper-based PLACE exam and still be eligible for our program is March 10, 2012. Bilingual education candidates are eligible to take computer-based versions of the required exam after March 10, 2012 provided they have passing scores in hand my May 1, 2012. However, because of the difficulty of these exams, you are strongly encouraged to take and pass the exam on the January date so that you can re-take the exam in March if necessary. You must register for the January testing date for either exam by December 15, 2011.   

Additional details about available test dates and registration deadlines can be found on the ETS website for the Praxis II and here for the PLACE.

Test Preparation Resources

Teachers report that the PLACE and Praxis II exams are extremely difficult and require careful preparation. It is not unusual for candidates to take these exams two or three times before achieving passing scores. On average, Fellows report studying 30 hours to pass the elementary education exam and over 60 hours to pass the math exam. We therefore encourage candidates to devote serious time and energy to studying for the exams.

You may wish to take advantage of some of the following resources to ensure that you are well-prepared on examination day:

• Visit the Praxis website and PLACE website to access test preparation resources including overviews of exam content and sample test problems.
  • Please note that materials designed for the Praxis can also be used to study for the PLACE. The elementary exams are considered very similar, whereas the math PLACE contains more theoretical content than the math Praxis II. However, both are considered equally difficult.
• Review your college and high school textbooks covering the relevant subject matter for your exam.
• Consider purchasing study guides from ETS or other major test prep providers. You may be able to obtain these materials free of charge at your local library.
• Actively search the internet for additional test prep materials and resources.
• Form study groups with other candidates or teachers you may know who are preparing for the exams.