My quest for Texas Educator Certification

First off, let me give you a little background information.  In the state of Texas you need to pass two exams in order to get a general education certificate.  Since I speak Spanish, my major in college was Bilingual Elementary education (Pre-K thru 4th).  This meant that aside from the two exams needed for a general education certificate, I would also need to take a Bilingual Supplemental exam and a Spanish language oral exam.  So there were four exams I needed to take. I had the option of taking the Bilingual Generalist exam which is the general education exam and the bilingual supplemental exam combined but everyone that I talked to suggested that I take them separately as it was easier that way.  And that is what I did.  The first exam I took was the Texas Oral Proficiency Test (TOPT) in Spanish.  This test required me to read and speak in Spanish. I had to record myself on a little tape recorder. I passed and was so happy I was on my way.

 I then took the Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities EC-4 (PPR) and passed. Yay! That exam was followed by the Generalist EC-4, which I also passed.  At this point I had passed the exams needed to get a general education certificate and since I was subbing and it meant a sweet raise, I applied for my certificate.

Next came the Bilingual Supplemental exam.  I studied really hard and really prepared for this exam.  You need a 240 to pass. Guess what my score was?  239. 

I could not believe it.  One point.  One.  Needless to say, I was not happy.  Each test costs $120!  What could I do but re-take it? So I did.  Second time around, bam! I got a 247. :)

You're probably wondering why I still don't have my own classroom if I have a general teaching certificate. Well, I live in a small town in South Texas, with only one school district, who will not hire you without bilingual certification. So now here I am super excited that I can finally get my bilingual certification, oh but wait.  I knew the TOPT was being updated to include writing and would now be called the Bilingual Target Language Proficiency Test (BTLPT) but I thought since I had already passed the TOPT I didn't have to take the new one.  Wrong!  I go online to inquire about my bilingual certification and was told I would need to take the BTLPT because the TOPT is no longer accepted.

(My reaction was very similar to Phoebe's :10 - :25)

The BTLPT has four domains:

I. Listening Comprehension - I had to listen to conversations and answer questions.

II. Oral Expression - I had to speak in different simulated situations.

III. Reading Comprehension - I had to read several reading selections and answer questions.

IV. Written Expression - I had to respond to an email, write a lesson plan, and state my position over a topic in essay format. 

Everything is in Español and all the sections are timed. No pressure.

The point of this long post?

I just got my examinee score report for the BTLPT today. Time for some Tommy Boy-style cartwheels!

Thanks for stopping by! 

Bren