Students seeking certification from the State of Georgia Professional Standards Commission are required to pass the GACE Basic Skills Assessment (or provide an exemption) and GACE Content Assessment in their fields.
The Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators is developed and administered by National Evaluation Systems, Inc. (NES®). Subject Assessments include the Professional Pedagogy Assessment, Paraprofessional Assessments, and Content Assessment Area tests. The GACE program helps the PSC meet its goal of ensuring that candidates have the knowledge and skills needed to perform the job of an educator in Georgia public schools. The GACE are aligned with state and national standards for educator preparation and with state standards for the P–12 student curriculum (Georgia Performance Standards). Information about the assessments is available at www.gace.nesinc.com and www.gapsc.com/.
Students must present passing scores on the GACE Basic Skills Assessment or demonstrate an exemption upon application to an initial educator preparation program. The current options for satisfying the Basic Skills Assessment, including the exemptions, are outlined at www.gapsc.com/documentation/basicskillsinfo.asp. Under "Basic Skills Testing," go to "Options to Satisfy the Basic Skills Requirement".
A requirement for educator certification in the State of Georgia is a passing score on appropriate tests of the GACE Content Assessment series. This test is administered at various times throughout the year. Test applications are available at www.gace.nesinc.com. Unless otherwise indicated in a program description, passing the GACE Content Assessment is not a degree-program requirement. All initial certification students must submit copies of complete GACE Content Assessment scores (all pages of the score report) to the Office of Academic Assistance in order to be recommended for educator certification by Georgia State University. Students are encouraged to take the test during the last term of enrollment.
Questions about educator certification in other states should be addressed to the State Department of Education in the capital city of that state.