Candidates in the teacher licensure program must pass a licensure exam in the content area where they are seeking endorsement. The state of Tennessee stipulates what exams qualify in each endorsement area. The information on this page comes from Policy 5.105 "Professional Assessments for Tennessee Educators," which candidates can look up by typing the policy number into the search bar at the State Board of Education Policy website. This information was last updated on October 14th, 2022. Candidates are responsible for ensuring the information on this page is accurate and up-to-date.
If you need support to pass the Praxis exam, there are free Test and Career Prep modules available through the University of Memphis. Click this link to explore the options.
All endorsement areas except for one require candidates to submit a qualifying score on the relevant Praxis exam. Candidates can schedule their Praxis exam by going to the Praxis page at the ETS website. Candidates are responsible for ensuring their scores are reported both to Rhodes College (code: RA1730) and the Tennessee State Department of Education (code: R8190). Candidates will be financially responsible for ordering any additional score reports if they do not provide these codes when they register for their Praxis exam.
Endorsement Area | Test Code | Qualifying Score |
Elementary Education K-5 | ||
Mathematics | 5003 | 157 |
Reading and Language Arts | 5002 | 157 |
Science | 5005 | 159 |
Social Studies | 5004 | 155 |
OR Multiple Subjects (four tests above combined) | 5001 | See above |
AND Teaching Reading: Elementary | 5205 | 159 |
English | ||
English 6-12 | 5038 | 167 |
Mathematics | ||
Mathematics 6-12 | 5165 | 159 |
Social Studies | ||
Government 6-12 | 5931 | 149 |
History 6-12 | 5941 | 157 |
Science | ||
Biology 6-12 | 5235 | 148 |
Chemistry 6-12 | 5245 | 152 |
Physics 6-12 | 5265 | 144 |
World Languages | ||
Chinese 6-12 | 5665 | 164 |
French 6-12 | 5174 | 160 |
German 6-12 | 5183 | 163 |
Latin 6-12 | 5601 | 148 |
Russian 6-12* | n/a | n/a |
Spanish 6-12 | 5195 | 163 |
*Candidates seeking an endorsement in Russian 6-12 must take the Alta Language Services Speaking and Listening Assessment administered by the Tennessee Language Center.
Endorsement Area | Alta Assessment Title | Qualifying Score |
Russian 6-12 | Speaking and Listening Assessment in Russian and English, and Written Assessment in Russian and English | Advanced Low (i.e., 8 on a scale of 1 to 12) or an average of 8 for the speaking and written tests with no score below 7 on either test. |