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Board adds Pearson testing options and hears concerns as credentialing fees rise
Summary
The board approved adding Pearson as a testing vendor with an implementation date of July 1, 2025, while public commenters and staff debated a one‑time fee jump for intern plans from about $120 to $500 and its effect on career‑change teacher candidates.
The State Board of Education voted to add Pearson as an additional vendor for several licensure and endorsement exams and set a July 1, 2025 implementation date for the new testing options. The board’s move came alongside a contentious exchange over an increase in fees tied to site‑based intern plan reviews.
Division director Steve Appleby and lead evaluator Bill Ross described vendor work to map Pearson exams to New Hampshire competencies and noted advantages including lower per‑test prices in some areas, broader test center availability and waived retake fees after multiple attempts. The board moved to adopt the Pearson Academic Skills Test (reading, writing, mathematics subtests) and a set of Pearson endorsement exams as options for candidates seeking initial teacher or specialist licenses; adoption applies to completed applications submitted on or after July 1, 2025.
That technical discussion was framed by public comment from Steve Rothenberg, a consultant who helps career changers become licensed teachers. Rothenberg said the intern plan filing fee would jump from roughly $120 to $500 — a change he characterized as “a lot of money” for people making a single, career‑defining payment. "I'm just not sure a 120 to $500, is a jump we see in any world that we're in...that's the moment I'm working with people," Rothenberg said.
Appleby defended the change as driven by statute and workload: the bureau is self‑funded and staff must review a rising number of individualized site‑based plans, a process that can take hours to a day and may include back‑and‑forth revisions. "Our fees, we are statutorily required to set our fees based on the work required to perform the task," Appleby said, adding that many districts plan to cover the fee in bargaining or by other arrangements in shortage areas.
The board did not vote on a separate motion to change fee statutes at the meeting; the transcript records the testing adoptions were approved by motion and voice vote. Several board members asked staff to look for ways to mitigate barriers for candidates, including district payment and scholarship options.
What happens next: staff will notify candidates about the new Pearson options and the July 1, 2025 effective date, and the bureau will continue to communicate application guidance to candidates currently in pipelines.
(Quotes and attributions come from the meeting transcript.)
