skip to main content

Educator Certification

Per the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), licensure of professional education personnel by the State is established to offer assurance to the citizens of the State that:

  1. Professional public educational staff possess the minimum essential knowledge and skills needed to achieve outcomes for public education declared by the State Board of Education;
  2. Academically successful, multiply talented, and ethnically and experientially diverse individuals are being sought and retained by local school system and licensed education personnel maintain competent practice through career long engagement with their content area, research, best practices, and expert opinion.
  1. Article 2-205, 2-303(g) and 6-701-6-705, Annotated Code of Maryland
    • HCPSS Certification Specialists process certification requests for current HCPSS employees within certified positions. If you are a current HCPSS employee in a position that does not require educator certification, you can request certification directly through MSDE.
  2. Maryland certificates are issued with a validity date either in January or July. Maryland does not issue permanent certificates.
  3. Teaching credentials are important documents. Keep all documents pertaining to certification in one file in a safe, but convenient place (e.g., teaching certificates, CPD forms, transcripts, PRAXIS score reports, etc.).

PRAXIS Test Registration Fee – Only Pay Once

PRAXIS test takers will only have to pay the registration fee the first time they register during the testing year. Any subsequent registrations within the testing year will not require a registration fee.

Visit www.ets.org for test registration, test preparation materials, and more information.

Praxis Basic Skills Test

On August 26, 2014 the Maryland State Board of Education adopted a new basic skills test. The new test is entitled Core Academic Skills for Educators. The Core Academic Skills for Educators (CORE) test has replaced the PRAXIS I, Pre-Professional Skills tests.

As of September 1, 2014, Educational Testing Service (ETS) no longer offers the PRAXIS I, Pre-Professional Skills tests. For individuals who have not yet completed the Basic Skills testing requirement, a policy has been introduced to facilitate the certification process. If an individual has presented a qualifying score on any of the PRAXIS I tests prior to September 1, 2014, the remaining requirement can be completed with the CORE test to fulfill the basic skills test requirement.

At this time, Maryland will still accept qualifying scores on any of the following tests to meet the certification basic skills test requirement: CORE, PRAXIS I, SAT, ACT and GRE.

Visit www.ets.org for further information.

Adding Additional Endorsement Areas

There are two ways to add content areas to a current teaching certificate.

  • One is to take and pass the appropriate PRAXIS II test.
  • The second is 30 credits in the specific content area.

Other endorsement areas such as Administration, Pupil Personnel Worker, Reading Teacher, and Reading Specialist require specific graduate level course work. Guidance Counselor and School Psychologist require a Master’s degree in the area.

Senior Teacher Waiver Notice

Retroactive to July 1, 2005, HCPSS will no longer require a teacher or administrator qualifying for the Senior Teacher Waiver at the expiration date of his/her current certificate to submit reading credits. The qualifying requirement for Senior Teacher Waiver as defined in Maryland COMAR is having 25 years of experience or 55 years of age by the expiration date of current certificate.

Certification Resources