Acceptance

Certification Process, Routes, and Program Fees

Minimum Requirements Common to all Certification Areas and Levels:
The following evaluated through official transcripts (unofficial transcripts can be used temporarily):

a 4 year degree from an accredited institution. The degree must be verifiable through an official transcript stating date degree conferred
a minimum cumulative grade point average (gpa) of 2.5 on a 4 point system, or 2.75 on the last 60 hours

Step 1 - Initial Acceptance Screening

· Transcript evaluation for suggested certification areas

· Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (a minimum score is required with only one retake allowed)

· Certification exam options explained prior to acceptance into the program

Step 2 - Complete Content Exam(s) Required for Certification*

· Complete required steps to take certification exams via the Pre-Admission Content Test (PACT) route

· Candidate may elect to pay a $100 test preparation fee to take available practice certification tests

· Pass the content test at the earliest opportunity

· Submit passing score report to actrgv for acceptance into the program

* The PACT option is not available for non-degreed individuals.

Step 3 - Field-Experience Hours

· Complete 30 clock-hours of field-experience (observations in an accredited K-12 Texas school

· Of the 30 hours, 15 must be interactive with students under a certified teacher’s supervision

· Schools will require a TB test and some sort of background check

Step 4 - Complete the Summer 1, Summer 2, or Spring Preparation Process

· Framework for Effective Teaching

· Classroom Management

· Curriculum Planning and Delivery

· Equity for the Exceptional Learner

· Reading

· Tracking Student Progress

Step 5 – Begin a one-year Internship as a certified teacher with full salary and benefits

Program Fees Disclosure (no hidden costs):
Application Fee (non-refundable)	$100
Preparation Fee	$550
Internship Fee	** $3500
Fees Paid to the State (TEA and ETS)
TExES Exams	$120 per test
Probationary Certificate	$52
Standard Certificate	$77
National Criminal Background Check	$39.25

** Includes on-site support through Field Supervisors, Mentor Teacher, PPR test preparation and tutorials, Internship materials, professional development sessions, and additional program support

If your degree was conferred from a foreign university, please:

• Have your transcript evaluated according to U.S. university standards. The evaluation should include a U.S. degree equivalency, lower and upper division coursework noted with credits and grades earned for each course. To view a list of evaluation services recognized by TEA, please click here.

• Complete a recognized college-readiness exam such as the THEA, the SAT, or ACT. The GRE is also acceptable.

• Complete the TOEFL exam. The exam must include a speaking component.

Transfers From Other Programs

Since entrance to the ACT - Rio Grande Valley program is contingent upon passing all content and content-related exams prior to acceptance into the program, transfer candidates will be considered only when:

* All content or content-related exams have been passed in the previous program. ACT-RGV will NOT grant test approval for additional content or content-related exams.

* Participants from another program who have been designated "finishers" in the previous program are not eligible for the ACT-RGV program.

* Any transfers accepted into the ACT-RGV program must complete all components of our program in order to be recommended for certification. There will be no exceptions to this stipulation.

Certification Process, Routes, and Program Fees

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