Many states and/or programs require students in education programs to take exams in the Praxis series. The primary purpose of these assessments is to measure the knowledge and/or skills thought to be important for beginning practice. The results are often used to inform licensure decisions as they show entry-level competencies of teachers. The Educational Testing Service (ETS) creates the Praxis exams, and there are many versions, even within the field of early childhood alone.
There are three Praxis series. The Praxis II series is the series most typically selected to assess students’ content knowledge. Praxis II tests are subject assessment tests that measure knowledge of specific subjects that educators will teach, as well as general and subject-specific teaching skills and knowledge.
