The first step in the application process is to apply online, with TCIS:
http://www.nj.gov/education/educators/license/tcis/
If you’re read blogs, TCIS probably won’t be a problem for you; it’s not much different than signing up for anything else on the web.
- You make an account with your contact information
- You fill in your education history and (if you have one) teaching employment history
- You select the type of certificate you’re applying for (e.g. subject matter specialization)
- Answer 4 yes/no questions about your educational qualifications (this verifies some of the basic requirements so you don’t apply if you’re grossly under-qualified.).
- You select the certificate you’re applying for (for me, that’s 1900 - K-12 Mathematics CE)
- You fill in your credit card information to pay the non-refundable $190 fee for the certificate. Technically, this is the cost of the certificate, and not an application fee, and will remain on your account as a credit until they make their decisions.
Click on the screen shot to see the qualification questions:
If you do, in fact, meet all of the requirements for the certificate you request, I’m told it takes them about 5 months to get it out to you.
If you’re missing anything, they’ll do an evaluation and tell you what you still need - for $70. They’ll just deduct that from the $190 you paid, and the remaining $120 sits in your account until you apply again; then you pay the remaining $70. If you change your mind, they hang onto your money.
The requirements are pretty well spelled out online, so most people shouldn’t have a problem if they’re careful. That said, if you have an odd circumstance, you might get into some hot water. I do know one person who got a degree in math, but because his university had trimesters, he was told that he still didn’t have enough math credits.
Go, girl, go!
ReplyDeletep.s. Thinking of taking that French Praxis again soon? The further you get away from that semester in France, the harder it will be --- food for thought!
ReplyDeleteI do want to take it again, but I don't think it will be soon. Even in Nice, I struggled with speaking well under pressure; I don't think I would have passed the OPI then. (That's the Oral Proficiency Interview, a separate test that's required for foreign language certification.)
ReplyDeleteWhenever I'm ready for the OPI, I'll pass the Praxis with flying colors, and there's not much use in taking it before then. (They're both pricey, too - about $150 each, iirc.)