Exam requirements for out-of-state educators
Assessment Deferral for Out-of-State Applicants
Out-of-state applicants who meet all certification criteria except Connecticut assessment requirements may be issued an interim certificate with a deferral for the required tests. An interim certificate is nonrenewable.
The standard testing deferral is three years for educators with less than two years of appropriate teaching experience. Applicants are eligible for an interim certificate only once, regardless of whether they work under the certificate. To maintain certification and obtain subsequent certificates, educators must complete all required tests before the expiration date of the interim certificate.
All applicants who are eligible for a deferral of testing requirements will automatically be issued an interim certificate once all requirements other than testing have been met.
Deferrals are not available to educators who have previously been issued a Connecticut certificate with a testing deferral or who hold a valid Connecticut educator certificate.
Assessment Exemptions for Out-of-State Applicants
Out-of-state educators may be exempt from assessment requirements, including Praxis II subject knowledge tests, Pearson tests, and/or American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL®) Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) and Writing Proficiency Test (WPT), if they meet the following criteria:
- Hold a valid certificate in another state that is equivalent to at least a Connecticut initial educator certificate AND have one of the following:
- Three years of experience in the same state (outside CT) in the endorsement requested within the past 10 years; OR
- A master’s degree in the academic subject area for which Connecticut certification is being requested (e.g. mathematics, biology, chemistry, etc). Please note that pedagogical degrees in the subject area, such as physical education, elementary education, and special education, do not meet the requirements of the exemption.
Verification of Out-of-State Educator Certification Tests
If you passed an educator certification test required in another U.S. state or territory, you’ll need to submit official verification using the Verification of Out-of-State Educator Certification Tests form (ED 711). The institution of higher education, department of education, or other authorized agency that required the test should complete and submit the ED 711 form to the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE).
The CSDE will determine if your test result qualifies as equivalent in order to waive a Connecticut assessment.
The authorized agency must mail the completed form directly to:
Connecticut State Department of Education
Bureau of Educator Standards and Certification
P.O. Box 150471
Hartford, CT 06115-0471