Required Exams and Fees for Initial Teacher Certification

All students enrolled in teacher certification programs at the undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, or graduate level are required to take the appropriate Texas Examinations for Educator Standards tests (TExES) before they can be certified. Students are granted test approvals during the last two semesters of the PDS. Please note that students are limited to a total of five test attempts per certification exam. Please visit the Texas Education Agency's Educator Testing page for more information, including an FAQ on examination retakes. 

Teacher Certification Fees

There are teacher certification fees required by and payable to Texas Education Agency (TEA) that students will encounter in order to receive official certification from the state.  For a breakdown on TEA's fees associated with preparing for the teacher certification, please refer to the TEA Current Teacher Certification Fees webpage.

TExES and BTLPT Exams

All-Level certification seekers:

• TExES #160, Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities EC-12
• TExES for your teaching field.

English as a Second Language (ESL)/Early Childhood to Sixth Grade Generalist certification seekers:

• TExES #160, Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities EC-12
• TExES #391, Core Subjects EC-6
• TExES #154, ESL Supplemental
• Effective 1/1/2021: Science of Teaching Reading Test (https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/5_str_exam_one-pager_decfinisher_post-accessible.pdf)

Early Childhood to Sixth Grade Generalist with Bilingual Education certification seekers:

• TExES #160, Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities EC-12
• TExES #391, Core Subjects EC-6
• TExES #164, Bilingual Supplemental
• BTLPT #190, Bilingual Target Language Proficiency Test (Spanish)
• Effective 1/1/2021: Science of Teaching Reading Test (https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/5_str_exam_one-pager_decfinisher_post-accessible.pdf)

All-Level Generic Special Education certification seekers:

• TExES #160, Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities EC-12
• TExES #391, Core Subjects EC-6
• TExES #161, Special Education EC-12
• Effective 1/1/2021: Science of Teaching Reading Test (https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/5_str_exam_one-pager_decfinisher_post-accessible.pdf)

Middle Grade certification seekers:

• TExES #160, Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities EC-12
• TExES 4-8 subject area test for your field
• For ELAR 4-8 only - Effective 1/1/2021: Science of Teaching Reading Test (https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/5_str_exam_one-pager_decfinisher_post-accessible.pdf)

Secondary Grade certification seekers:

• TExES #160, Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities EC-12
• TExES 7-12 or 8-12 subject area test for your field