I am quite certain that every teacher educator in the entire state would agree that this kind of knowledge is critical to success in the classroom, no matter how that success is measured. Yet, there is absolutely no correlation between scores on the Praxis II test and any measure of teaching success. This means that a student who comes into college knowing a lot is likely to still be successful on a content test when she or he is well into college. This is a relief to those of us who teach college students, but is less reassuring to those who want to know what kind of teacher those same students will be. It tells little or nothing about the myriad of other qualifications necessary for successful teaching.
Teaching is a complex act.
It s part science, part art, and sometimes part magic. The formula for success cannot be reduced to a single test score at least, not the score of any test we now have available. I have spent my career preparing young people for the challenging call to inspire and motivate a room full of other people s children every day. Certainly that question gets to the heart of the matter. My university s students consistently score among the highest in the state on the Praxis II test.