A crucial part of becoming state certified for various education careers involves passing the required state certification exams. Your courses at the University of Houston College of Education will help prepare you for these exams. We’re very proud that most of our students pass the exams. However, like any test, we advise that you study hard and don’t cram.
Students must set up online accounts to apply for state certification and to take certification exams. This applies to aspiring teachers, principals, superintendents, school counselors, educational diagnosticians and reading specialists.
Sign up for your Texas Education Agency Login, or TEAL, account (using Internet Explorer). This gets you a TEA ID number. UH does not issue these numbers. Then, click on "View My Educator Certification Account" to link your TEA account to your profile in the Educator Certification Online System (ECOS). Be sure to click "continue" to save.
Set up your Pearson account.
Pearson/VUE is the main Texas testing vendor as of Sept. 1, 2018. If you had an account with ETS, the prior vendor, you still need to register with Pearson. All of your testing history then will transfer to your Pearson account.
Principal candidates: ETS is the testing vendor for the PASL exam effective fall 2019. Pearson/VUE is the vendor for the TExES certification exam. Principal candidates must take both exams.
For principal candidates only: Set up your ETS account to register for the PASL test.
Teaching students: We recommend you take the PPR (Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities) exam during “student teaching 1,” typically first semester of senior year. We recommend taking the content exam(s) during “student teaching 2,” typically second semester of senior year.
Students in other programs: Please contact your program lead for recommendations.
You may take the exam up to five times before you can request a test-limit waiver from TEA. You also must wait 45 days from the date of your previous attempt before you can be approved for your next attempt and before you can register to take the exam again through the testing vendor. TEA offers more information about the retake limit.
Once you are officially a certified teacher, you should apply to take the appropriate exam and apply for certification on your own. You will not need to go through UH for approval.
For example, if you want to become ESL (English as a Second Language) certified after you already have another certification (such as EC-6), register for the exam by "exam only" without approval from UH. After passing the exam, you will apply to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to add the certificate to your credentials.
You may have other questions such as: What if I don’t pass my exam on the first attempt? What if I need approval for another exam? What if I’m a graduate who just needs certification approval for my actual certificate? For help, email the UH College of Education’s certification office at uhcert@central.uh.edu.
Have questions about getting certified? Don’t hesitate to ask.
Certification office
UH College of Education
uhcert@central.uh.edu