04/09/18 
Dr. Robert Scott, assistant professor of special education at Fort Hays State University, recently traveled to Topeka to participate in the first Kansas State Department of Education review of the Educational Testing Service Praxis Test No. 5354.

The board is evaluating the test for use as the qualifying assessment of core special education knowledge and applications for examinees completing elementary unified programs.

“Because I worked with colleagues across the state to get the new K-6 Unified standards approved, I jumped at the chance to review the exam that is being considered for evaluating completers at our peer institutions,” said Scott.

ETS’s mission, according to its website, is to improve teaching and learning, expand opportunities for learners and communities, inform education and policy, and advance the field of educational measurement.

The ETS Praxis Test for the elementary unified license covers knowledge and skills related to development and characteristics of learners, planning and the learning environment, instruction, assessment, and foundations and professional responsibilities.

“It is exciting to see history being made,” said Scott. “Because this test assesses a prospective teacher’s ability to accommodate any student with any disability, from the mildest to the most severe, programs are now merging objectives and outcomes from what traditionally were separate general education and special education curricula in order to meet the new standards.”