Passing Requirements

Arizona custom tests. An individual's performance on an Arizona custom test is evaluated against an established standard. The passing score for each professional knowledge and subject knowledge test was established by the Arizona State Board of Education and was based on the professional judgments and recommendations of Arizona educators.

To report test scores in a consistent way for all test fields and all test administrations, the scores for all tests are converted to a common scale. Test results are calculated as scores in a range from 100 to 300, with a score of 240 representing the minimum passing score. Your total test score is based on your performance on all sections of the test. For those tests that contain performance assignments, your score on the selected-response section and your score on the performance assignment section are combined to obtain your total test score on the 100 to 300 scale. If your total test score is 240 or more, you have passed the test. If your total test score falls below 240, you have not passed the test.

Scores on subsections of a test taken at one administration cannot be combined with scores on subsections of the same test taken at another administration to achieve a total test passing score.

For tests for which the total test score is a combination of the two section scores (selected-response and performance assignment), performance on one section can compensate for performance on the other section. Section scores are combined in the following ways:

• For the Professional Knowledge—Adult Education test, the Professional Knowledge—Early Childhood test, the Supervisor test, and all subject knowledge tests except those noted below, the selected-response section scaled score is multiplied by 0.9, the performance assignment section scaled score is multiplied by 0.1, and the two resulting scaled scores are added.
• For the Principal and Superintendent tests, which each have four performance assignments, the selected-response section scaled score is multiplied by 0.6, the performance assignment section scaled score is multiplied by 0.4, and the two resulting scaled scores are added.
• For the Reading Endorsement K–8 and Reading Endorsement 6–12 tests, the selected-response section scaled score is multiplied by 0.8, the performance assignment section scaled score is multiplied by 0.2, and the two resulting scaled scores are added.

NES tests. The Arizona State Board of Education has adopted the National Benchmark passing score of 220 for NES tests.

Foundations of Reading test. The Arizona State Board of Education has adopted the National Benchmark passing score of 240 for this test.

About passing scores. For the AEPA program, the scaled score of 240 was chosen to represent the passing score for each Arizona custom test and the Foundations of Reading test. For the NES tests, the passing score is represented by a scaled score of 220. The scaled score that represents the passing score (either 220 or 240, as described above) is not indicative of the difficulty level of any specific test. If the passing score for a test is represented by a scaled score of 220, that does not indicate that the test is easier or less rigorous than tests for which the passing score is represented by a scaled score of 240. The passing scores have been determined separately for each test based on recommendations of committees of educators and are designed to reflect the level of knowledge and skills required to teach in Arizona public schools. All passing scores have been reviewed and approved by the Arizona Board of Education.