State law requires that all applicants to teacher preparation programs must pass a test of basic reading, writing and mathematical skills. The Praxis I Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST) assesses these essential skills and must be passed before an application can be considered by ARC. However, applicants may qualify for a waiver of the PPST exam based on conditions outlined in the Waivers section of the catalog on pages 7-9 of the catalog. Note that the following also may be used to fulfill this requirement:

• A passing score on the CONNCEPT exam, or
• A CONNCEPT waiver granted before January 1, 1995, or
• A passing score on the Praxis I CBT exam taken before December 31, 2005.

The CONNCEPT and CBT exams taken after these dates cannot be used. CONNCEPT and Praxis I CBT results may be obtained by contacting the Connecticut Department of Education at teacher.cert@ct.gov.

The PPST exam can be taken in either a computer-based or traditional written format. Thompson ProMetric Learning Center (ProMetric.com) offers the computer-based test, and has locations in Glastonbury (860/633-7236), Hamden (203/287-9677), and Norwalk (203/847-0031). The PPST also is offered in a computer-based format in West Springfield, MA (413/733-2374); Warwick, RI (401/738-9172) and Poughkeepsie, NY (845/471-6949). Call 800/853-6773 to schedule an appointment at any of these locations. The computerized version of the PPST is available six days a week at these sites.

All three exams (reading, writing and mathematics) may be taken at the same time or scheduled separately. The computerized PPST may be taken up to six times in a 12-month period and no more than once per calendar month. The written format of the PPST is available on six dates throughout the academic year. Registration for the written format may be done online at www.ets.org/praxis or by completing the registration application that accompanies the Praxis Series Registration Bulletin. Request the registration bulletin by contacting Educational Testing Service (ETS) at 800/772-9476 or email your request to praxis@ets.org.

An application to ARC cannot be considered unless the applicant has passed all sections of the Praxis I or has been granted a waiver by the Connecticut State Department of Education. Applicants must be certain to request on the test application form that the results be sent to both the ARC Program (code R3007) and the Connecticut State Department of Education (code R7050). Note that it takes on average 2-3 weeks to receive the results of the written portion of the Praxis I, so applicants are encouraged to take the exam well in advance of the ARC application deadline.

The score range for each Praxis I exam is 100-200 points. Passing scores are 171 for mathematics, 172 for reading and 171 for writing. Two helpful resources for preparing for the Praxis I are:

• Free “Test-at-a-Glance” booklets which can be downloaded from ETS at www.ets.org.
• Handbooks, and/or electronic e-books, for the Pre-Professional Skills Tests in Reading, Writing, and Mathematics may be purchased from the ETS Online Store (www.ets.org).