help support Florida's high-quality education system

for students of all backgrounds and abilities

About

The Department has initiated activities to review and update examinations that are needed for educator certification in Florida. The FTCE tests allow educator candidates to demonstrate their mastery of general knowledge, competency in professional education, and subject-area knowledge. The examinations are designed to be aligned with the relevant state-approved standards. Please help maintain high-quality education in Florida public schools by applying for participation in FTCE test development activities or nominate a colleague.

The Department and Evaluation Systems are seeking educators who are:

  • exemplary in their subject areas; and
  • representative of all areas and populations of the state.

You are qualified if you:

  • are a public school teacher certified and currently working in a subject area under development;
  • are a school district-level coordinator or supervisor in a subject area under development;
  • are a college faculty member who is training educators at the undergraduate or graduate level and who has expertise in a subject area under development;
  • hold a professional certificate in the subject area(s) you would like to contribute to; or
  • have at least three years of effective teaching experience.

Your participation is encouraged. Your expertise is vital to the test development process.

Questions? Please contact Evaluation Systems at EvaluationSystemsCRG@pearson.com.

Development

The Department invites you to participate in the development, revision, or validation of various test materials, including test items and forms, information guides, subject area blueprints, etc.

As a Florida educator, you could be involved in one or more of the following test development activities:

Competencies, Skills, and Blueprint Development

Develop and validate the competencies, skills, and blueprints.

Learn about competencies & skills and test blueprints

Test Item Specification Development

Participate in developing and validating test item specifications.

Learn about item specifications

Test Item Development & Test Form Validation

Develop and validate test items, review tests, and verify answer keys.

Learn about development and validation

Test Information Guide Development

Review these important resources for teacher candidates.

Learn about test information guides

If you become involved in any of the above activities, you may be asked to participate in one or more meetings.

Test Areas Under Development

Review the list of test areas currently being developed. If you are currently certified and practicing in one or more of these areas or preparing educator candidates in one or more of these areas, then we encourage your participation!

Reimbursement

These guidelines apply to individuals who attend the program's test development conferences/meetings. Additional reimbursement instructions will be made available before each conference/meeting. Completed online expense forms should be submitted to Evaluation Systems as soon as possible after the conference to ensure reimbursement in four to six weeks.

Please send all correspondence regarding these policies to EvaluationSystemsCRG@pearson.com.

Please note: The Internal Revenue Service requires Evaluation Systems to have a social security number or tax identification number for all conference participants receiving a stipend payment and/or expense reimbursement.

Benefits of Participation

Benefits of participating in this process include:

  • opportunities for professional growth and inservice credits (individuals should refer to their district's master inservice plan to determine if their participation qualifies for inservice credits); and
  • substitute reimbursement or a stipend of $250 per 8-hour meeting day for your time and effort (individuals should refer to their district or institution policy to determine if they are eligible to receive the stipend).

Substitute Teacher

During the school year (contract days), Evaluation Systems will reimburse a PreK–12 educator's school district for the cost of a substitute teacher, if a substitute is required for the day(s) of attendance. Payment will come from Pearson and will be sent directly to the participant's designated school/district office. Instructions for requesting substitute reimbursement will be provided to participants via email following the meeting.

Lodging

Hotel accommodations are available for those residing 50 or more miles from the meeting location, for those who are unable to travel due to adverse weather conditions, or as otherwise approved by Evaluation Systems. Hotel accommodations will be directly billed to Evaluation Systems. Although committee members will not be charged for their rooms, they will need to leave a deposit or credit card number at check-in to cover incidental expenses.

Travel

Evaluation Systems will reimburse personal automobile use, round-trip ground transportation, or airfare. Parking and toll expenses will also be reimbursed.

Meals

Participants are responsible for purchasing their own meals and will be reimbursed based on meal allowance amounts set by the Department. Additional meal reimbursement details will be made available before each conference/meeting.

Your Reimbursement

Reimbursement checks will be sent approximately eight to ten weeks from the date that Evaluation Systems receives your accurately completed online expense form. If you elect to receive your payment via direct deposit, your payment will be deposited approximately four to six weeks from the date that Evaluation Systems receives your accurately completed online expense form. You will have the opportunity to select this payment option when you complete the online expense form following the meeting.

FAQs

The first step is to complete an application or nominate a colleague. In order to have fair and equal representation, committees are formed based on professional responsibility (i.e., teacher, district subject area coordinator, university/college faculty member), area of expertise, diversity, and a geographic distribution from across the state.

You could be involved in the following test development activities:

  • Competencies, skills, and blueprint development
  • Test item specification development
  • Test item development and test form validation
  • Test Information Guide development
  • Marker response selection meeting
  • Standard setting meeting

For more information about these activities, see Development above.

We understand that educators have many other commitments and may not be able to participate in all of the meetings. The successful review and updating of the Florida Teacher Certification Examinations relies upon the participation of multiple educators throughout the test development process.

Instructions for requesting substitute reimbursement will be provided to participants via email following the meeting. Payment will come from Pearson and will be sent directly to the participant's designated school/district office.

For individuals whose attendance requires their school district to hire a substitute teacher, reimbursement is available to the district. Other individuals, not requesting substitute reimbursement to their school district, will receive a stipend of $250 per 8-hour meeting day. Individuals should refer to their district or institution policy to determine if they are eligible to receive the stipend. Evaluation Systems will either pay substitute reimbursement directly to the school district or a stipend directly to the committee member, but not both.

Evaluation Systems will submit your overnight accommodation request to the hotel. No action is needed on your part. Room and tax are directly billed to Evaluation Systems. You will be asked to provide a credit card for incidentals.

Please hold on to all your receipts and keep track of your mileage. Following your participation in the meeting, you will receive a link and instructions for completing an online expense reimbursement form.

All participants need to submit an application, which must be approved. Please ask your colleagues to complete and submit an application, or you may nominate them by completing the nomination form.

Apply

To apply for committee participation, please click the link below and follow the instructions provided.

Nominate

To nominate a colleague for committee participation, please click the link below and follow the instructions provided.

Spread the Word

Share with school administrators and colleagues. Share this information with district-level human resource personnel, school principals, administrators, subject-area coordinators, and supervisors who may be able to nominate exemplary educators to participate in test development activities.

Share with program provider personnel. Share this information with deans/chairs, faculty, and others who may be able to nominate exemplary educators to participate in test development activities.

Apply Nominate
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliate(s).
All rights reserved. Pearson, 300 Venture Way, Hadley, MA 01035
Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Trademarks