Educator License Exams - Initial Licensure

As part of the process of becoming a licensed educator in Ohio’s pre-kindergarten through grade 12 system, candidates must pass licensure exams. Depending upon the content area, the tests for initial licensure are the Ohio Assessment for Educators, the ACTFL/LTI examinations for candidates who wish to teach world languages and Praxis assessments in selected areas.

What Tests Do I Need to Take? 

Test Series for Initial Licensure

  • Ohio Assessments for Educators (OAE) measure professional, pedagogical and subject-specific knowledge and skills. Pearson's Evaluation Systems group provides these tests. 
  • ACTFL/LTI World Languages Examinations provide a system of assessing and ensuring the spoken and written language proficiency of candidates for licensure in these areas.
  • The Praxis SeriesTM is provided by Educational Testing Service and includes Praxis II, which measures professional, pedagogical and subject-specific knowledge and skills. Ohio uses Praxis tests for initial licensure in school audiology, school speech pathology and school psychology. 

Military Fee Waiver 

Learn about seeking reimbursement for Ohio Assessments for Educators here. 

Foundations of Reading Exam

Educators seeking any of the following teaching licenses with issue dates of July 1, 2017, or later must pass the Ohio Assessment for Educators (OAE) Foundations of Reading test. Please note the previous 090 Foundations of Reading test will be replaced with the OAE 190 Foundations of Reading test January 9, 2023. The last administration date for the OAE 090 is January 8, 2023.

  • Early childhood education (grades PreK-3);
  • Primary education (grades PreK-5);
  • Middle childhood education (grades 4-9);
  • Early childhood (grades PreK-3) intervention specialist;
  • Primary (grades PreK-5) intervention specialist;
  • Intervention specialist: mild/moderate;
  • Intervention specialist: moderate/intensive;
  • Intervention specialist: hearing impaired;
  • Intervention specialist: visually impaired; and
  • Intervention specialist: gifted.
Middle Childhood Licensure

The option for in-state applicants to request single-content area middle childhood licenses closed June 30, 2019. Candidates completing an Ohio Department of Higher Education approved middle childhood licensure program must meet all requirements (including exams) for two content areas when applying for the Ohio license on or after July 1, 2019. 

Praxis Exams

Candidates who passed Praxis exams for licensure but were never issued the license must meet current Ohio licensure exam requirements when applying for the Ohio license on or after July 1, 2019. Please note that candidates seeking school audiologist, school psychologist or school speech-language pathologist licensure may still use the Praxis exam.

Last Modified: 1/6/2023 8:27:51 AM