Multiple Measures

Licensure tests are intended to provide a measure of protection to the public and to provide evidence that individuals who receive an educator license have an appropriate level of knowledge and skills required to be successful in their role in the educational system – either as a teacher or an administrator.  

Alternative ways of knowing and doing are receiving increased attention in the educator workforce space, with critical attention being paid to flexible pathways. A multiple measures approach enables flexibility while maintaining the rigor and quality needed for licensure testing. At its most basic level, a multiple measures approach uses two or more assessments to determine whether an educator candidate has the appropriate level of knowledge and skills required for certification.

Assessments can vary in format. Possible formats include:

multiple-choice items only

a combination of multiple-choice and performance-based items

strictly performance-based assessments

A multiple-measures approach can allow candidates to evaluate testing options and determine which would best meet those needs. Evaluation Systems partners with states and state agencies to determine their assessment needs and what testing options would best meet those needs.

The Series™ Essentials

The Series Essentials provides candidates the flexibility to determine how they complete their licensure testing requirements. The Series divides traditional full-length tests into shorter modules, each focused on a single “essential” domain in a subject area. This approach empowers learners to test on an “essential” domain when they feel most prepared. Candidates may complete testing in one session if they desire, or take individual modules separately in an order, and at a time, that works best for them. Should a candidate fall short of the standard for certification, they need only retake and pay for the Essentials domain(s) for which the candidate determines as offering the best chance for improvement. This approach is less expensive to the candidate and offers greater opportunity for success by creating tighter linkages between learning, assessment, and feedback.

FLEX

FLEX offers candidates a true multiple measure approach to demonstrating relevant and important knowledge and skills. Teacher candidates select the state standard in the subject area of focus, choose a topic of original work to demonstrate proficiency, indicate what type of evidence and format to submit for scoring, and name the original existing work for use as an artifact or, they can create new work. Templates are available to support the creation of content and submitting work, and scoring rubrics are aligned to the corresponding assessment objective.

Free After 3

To help reduce the burden on educator candidates, all tests within The Series™ (National Evaluation Series™) are eligible for our "free-after-three" policy. Candidates who take but do not pass the same test three times will receive subsequent free retakes.