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Board hears department briefing on revised Praxis content exams; adoption to follow
Summary
Department staff and ETS representatives presented revised Praxis content-knowledge assessments and recommended cut scores for technology & engineering, family & consumer sciences and social studies, emphasizing the new tests are not directly comparable to the expiring exams and that the recommended cut scores align with ETS standard-setting studies.
State education staff and Educational Testing Service (ETS) representatives briefed the State Board on proposed revised Praxis content-knowledge assessments and the recommended cut scores for three content areas: technology and engineering education, family and consumer sciences, and social studies.
Presenters explained ETS regularly revises assessments through multi-state standard-setting studies that align test content to current standards and practice. The department said the existing Praxis tests will expire on Aug. 31, 2025, and recommended the board adopt the revised assessments and their ETS-recommended cut scores effective Sept. 1, 2025.
Department staff emphasized the change is not an apples-to-apples lowering of standards. "We are not lowering cut scores," a department presenter said, clarifying that new assessments include different content emphases (for example, technology and engineering shifts toward computation, automation and robotics) and that cut scores correspond to the revised exams. Presenters noted many other states have adopted the recommended cut scores from ETS standard-setting studies, while a small number adopted alternate scores.
Board members asked clarifying questions about the standard-setting panel makeup and how the new tests align with national standards. Board member Barry said it was important to set the bar appropriately and welcomed the distinction that the department is not reducing expectations.
The board did not adopt the proposed cut scores at this meeting; presenters said further documentation and a formal adoption will follow at a future meeting.
