The Florida Teaching Certification Exam (FTCE) is an aptitude test taken for candidates who aspire to work as teachers in the State of Florida. This certification test is conducted through standardized subtests designed by the Bureau of Educator Certification (BEC). It should be known that the results can have a huge impact on the career of potential candidates applying for teaching positions in the schools of Florida.
It should be known that this certification exam is made of three tests. These tests are the General Knowledge test, the Professional Education test and the Subject Area Examinations. These tests are designed to test the aptitude and competencies relevant to the teaching domains of the candidates.
The General Knowledge test contains four subtests and candidates are allowed to take a maximum of two subtests in one testing session. The General Knowledge subtests are the Essay Subtest, the English Language Skills (ELS) Subtest, the Reading Subtest, and the Mathematics Subtest.
Apart from this, there are two other tests conducted by the FTCE which aim to evaluate the know-how of the candidate in their respective domain. The Professional Education test contains 120 multiple-choice format questions. There are around 42 Subject Area Examinations conducted by BEA which cover domains from language to special educational areas.
It should also be known that the candidates need to apply at http://www.fldoe.org/edcert/apply.asp first, in order to know which tests have to be taken by them.
In order to pass any test, it is important that candidates secure a score of 200 or more. After the completion of the test, the candidates would receive their scores and "Pass" or "Not Pass" would be mentioned on their screens. In order to understand the number of questions that the candidates need to answer correctly in order to pass the test, candidates can visit http://www.fldoe.org/asp/ftce/pdf/percentpass.pdf.
Also, for the tests with only multiple-choice questions, candidates will receive an unofficial score at the end of the test. However, if there is a performance component, then candidates would only receive a notification for test completion instead of an unofficial score. It should be known that the essays are scored separately by two different raters. The passing criterion for essay writing assignments is a minimum score of 6 on the scale of 12.
In case any candidate receives "Not Pass" as his/her result, then he or she has to retake the test after 31 days again. Another passing criterion mentioned by the test guidelines is that candidates have to clear all the tests in order to be certified and be eligible to receive a valid teaching license. In order to understand the interpretation of the results, candidates can visit http://www.fl.nesinc.com/PDFs/FL_ScrInterGuide.pdf.
It should be known that the scorecard would not contain any numeric score. The results do not contain scores since there is no ranking system followed according to the guidelines for licensing and certification.
It should be known that the results would be available in your account created during the test registration. Moreover, these results would be available online for 60 days from the date on which the test would be taken.
It should be known that candidates can avail a duplicate score card for a charge of $10. Candidates need to fill out a form mentioned at http://www.fl.nesinc.com/PDFs/FL_ScrInterGuide.pdf and mention the details of the test in order to get a duplicate copy of the results.
Additionally, candidates can request for the re-verification of their results through their account. It should also be known that there is a provision for retakes for the tests in which the candidates fail. Moreover, candidates who fail the test need to retake that particular test/subtest they had failed in, in order to gain FTCE certification. However, it is important to be well-prepared for this test. Candidates should utilize good quality study resources and strive to attain a high score on all the tests and be certified in the first attempt itself.