NOTICE TO

TEACHER EDUCATION STUDENTS AT ALABAMA

COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

Alabama State Department of Education

Post Office Box 302101

Montgomery, AL 36130-2101

ALABAMA PROSPECTIVE TEACHER TESTING PROGRAM

The next administration for the Alabama Prospective Teacher Testing Program (APTTP) is April 5, 2003. Test registration will open after January 1, 2003, and may be completed by Internet or telephone. The Internet address is http://www.act.org/alabamapttp. The telephone number is 1-800-294-2105 or 319-341-2500. The registration deadline is February 27, 2003.

You are subject to the test requirements if you are a prospective teacher completing a teacher education program or applying for certification through other approaches to certification, including alternative and preliminary routes, on or after January 1, 2003, unless you previously passed the Basic Sills Test when it was a program requirement or you passed the “pilot” APTTP. In addition, individuals who are seeking to reinstate certificates that have lapsed more than six months are also subject to meeting the test requirements. Please note: Individuals who currently hold a valid Alabama Professional Educator Certificate are not subject to the APTTP. Please refer to our Internet website at www.alsde.edu for additional information concerning test candidacy specifications.

If you are a test candidate and will apply for certification between January 1, 2003, and August 31, 2003, you are required to successfully complete the Reading for Information assessment and the Applied Mathematics assessment prior to certification. A Writing assessment is currently under development and is anticipated to be effective for individuals applying for certification on or after September 1, 2003. Test candidates who apply for certification on or after September 1, 2003, will be required to successfully complete the Reading for Information assessment, the Applied Mathematics assessment, and the Writing assessment pending approval by the State Board of Education. Please note, however, that test candidates who will complete teacher education programs at Alabama colleges and universities on or before December 31, 2003, will be required to pass only the Reading for Information assessment and the Applied Mathematics assessment provided they apply for the appropriate certificate no later than July 1, 2006.

Additional information about the testing program is available at www.alsde.edu.