Frequently Asked Questions About Exam Scores

Your score report will indicate a PASSED or NOT PASSED status. For details about how an exam is scored, review the Understanding Your Exam Results page.

There is no way to predict the exact number of correct answers needed to pass any given exam. There are several versions of each exam, and each version contains different questions. The questions on one version may be slightly more or less difficult than those on another version. To make all versions of an exam comparable, conversion tables adjust for difficulty among versions. Therefore, the number of correct answers needed to pass one version of a given exam might vary slightly from the number needed to pass another version.

Most exams include pretest questions that are not scored. For more information about these questions, review Pretest Questions on the Understanding Your Exam Results page.

A score of zero (0) indicates that you received no points from either of the two scorers for that response. This could be because the response fell into the Low category as defined in the pertinent scoring rubric (which can be found in the Preparation Manual for the exam you took). If your response was left blank, you will receive either a zero or B. A zero or U will be assigned to your response if it is too short, not in the target language, or off topic.

Your exam results are automatically added to your certification file and made available to TEA, SBEC, and, if applicable, your EPP. Your score report is for your information only; you should not submit it with your application for certification. Application for certification does not proceed automatically when TEA receives your passing scores. To apply for certification, you must go to the TEA website  and follow the application for certification instructions.

Some exams, particularly those including constructed-response sections, take longer to score than others.

With the exception of the selected-response sections, score review is available. This service is described on the Score Review page.

In most cases, if you are approved to retake an exam that you did not pass, you can register via the online registration system on the Texas Educator Certification Examination Program website. Consult the website for exam dates and registration procedures.

The best preparation for taking any Texas Educator Certification examination is the knowledge and experience acquired through training and preparation in a college, a university, or an alternative certification program. The detailed information on your score report may help you identify the specific content areas that offer the greatest opportunity to improve your score. Free exam preparation materials are available on this website. Review the Study Tips guide and preparation manual for your exam. The Study Tips guide contains useful information about preparing for an exam. The preparation manuals include test frameworks, detailed breakdowns and descriptions of the exams, sample questions with answers and rationales, and test-taking strategies. Supplemental preparation materials and other resources are also listed in most preparation manuals.