Support for Removing Praxis Core in NC - January 2025
The North Carolina Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (NCACTE) advocates for comprehensive, quality teacher preparation and believes removing Praxis Core or a similar basic skills assessment as an admission requirement to teacher education programs in NC is a positive step forward for the field for the following reasons:
Requiring a basic skills assessment for admission to EPPs is not universal. Requiring a basic skills assessment for EPP admission has decreased in popularity over the last decade. With the growing teacher shortage, only 15 states retained this requirement in 2021.1
Praxis Core serves as a barrier to admission and hinders efforts to diversify the teacher pipeline. During the COVID-19 pandemic, North Carolina suspended the requirement of Praxis Core for admission to EPPs for the 2020-21 academic year. Statewide enrollment in EPPs increased 34.3% from the previous year.2 Enrollment of minoritized teacher candidates increased during this time, with Black and Hispanic candidate enrollment increasing 51.5% and 48.2%, respectively, from the previous year.2
In many cases, rather than setting a high standard for entry into EPPs, Praxis Core simply delays and makes more costly potential educators’ pathway to teaching. Praxis Core is required for admission to EPPs only for candidates who do not hold a bachelor’s degree. Admission to post-baccalaureate and graduate initial licensure programs does not involve Praxis Core as applicants have already completed their undergraduate studies. As a result, the following scenario is created:
At EPPs across the state, it is common for aspiring teachers unable to pass Praxis Core to pursue their undergraduate degree in another discipline and then enroll in an EPP at the post-baccalaureate or graduate level. This roundabout trajectory requires additional time - years in some cases - and potentially thousands of dollars in additional education-related expenses, with the same end result: a teacher prepared by a quality North Carolina EPP enters the classroom.
Praxis Core is not predictive of educator success or effectiveness in NC. NCDPI analyzed outcomes of educators admitted to EPPs during the 2020-21 academic year without Praxis Core. Compared to educators who passed Praxis Core, those who did not have take the exam were just as likely to (1) complete the EPP, (2) pass pedagogy licensure exams, (3) teach within a year of EPP completion, (4) receive employer evaluation ratings of proficient or above on NCEES, and (5) meet or exceed student growth expectations (EVAAS).3 Clearly, Praxis Core is only serving as a gatekeeper, not a quality marker.
During the 2023-24 academic year, public school units across North Carolina reported over 6,000 instructional vacancies on the 40th day of school.4 This concerningly high number suggests any effort to remove barriers to EPP admission, especially those with no impact on educator success or effectiveness, is worthy of serious consideration.
NCACTE Advocacy and Policy Committee - https://www.ncacte.org/advocacy
____________________________________________________________________________ 1 - 1 - 1 - Puitman, H. & Walsh, K. (2021). State of the States 2021: Teacher Preparation Policy. NCTQ.
2 - North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (2025) EPP Enrollment (Data Set)
3 - North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (2024). Core Waiver Analysis
4 - North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (2024). 2022-2023 State of the Teaching Profession in North Carolina