May. 12, 2015
HARRISBURG – Legislation that would address the misuse of a teacher evaluation test in the process of measuring college students’ performance has been unanimously passed by the state House, according to the bill’s author, state Rep. Joe Emrick (R-Nazareth).
House Bill 499 may now be considered by the state Senate.
“Certain schools in the Pennsylvania State System of High Education are taking a licensing exam designed for teaching candidates and prematurely using it to evaluate students in their pursuit of a degree,” Emrick said. “Doing so can be a major disruption in a young person’s life and education path and my bill would correct the shortcoming.”
The schools to which Emrick refers are misusing the knowledge and skills assessment test known as the Praxis exam. Intended as a measuring stick for teaching candidates who have already earned their diploma, the test is instead being inserted into the degree process, where it is considered part of a student’s grade.
“A good analogy would be a law school refusing to award a degree because the student failed to pass the bar exam prior to graduation” added Emrick. “Using the Praxis exam in this manner penalizes the student and may sidetrack him or her in pursuit of a degree.
“The Praxis exam should be used simply to evaluate future teachers, not future college graduates.”
Questions about this or any legislative issue should be directed to Emrick’s Mt. Bethel office at (570) 897-0401 or his Nazareth office at (610) 746-5090.
Representative Joe Emrick
137th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Scott Little
717.260.6137
slittle@pahousegop.com
RepEmrick.com / Facebook.com/RepEmrick