Certification

Certification Exam Waiver  

Frequently Asked Questions: Certification Exam Waiver

At its February 2025 meeting, the Board of Regents adopted amendments to Section 80 of the Commissioner’s regulations, establishing a waiver process for the content knowledge certification examination requirement. This applies to candidates seeking a certificate in the classroom teaching service, educational leadership service, school counseling, or an applicable extension under Section 80.

Candidates who score within 0.5 standard error of measurement (SEM) of the passing score on a required NYSTCE test may apply for a waiver.  

Below is a list of eligible, current NYSTCE exams, their passing scores, and the 0.5 SEM eligibility threshold. Candidates may refer to this list to determine their eligibility.

Please note that the NYSTCE Educating All Students is not eligible for the waiver as this examination is not a CST pursuant to the definitions established in Section 80 of the Commissioner’s regulations. 

If you believe you are eligible for a waiver, please complete the following steps:
  1. Be sure you have a valid application for certification on file. To do this, log into your TEACH account, select Account Information and then select Applications. If that section is empty, you must apply for the certification that the waiver will be applied to.
  2. Check the score on your score report against the scores below to determine if you are within 0.5 SEM. If you have taken a particular exam multiple times, you can check each of the scores against the chart.
  3. Check your Bachelor's and/or Master's degree transcripts to determine if your overall GPA is 3.5 or higher. Note: The submitted transcript must show the conferral of a Bachelor's or Master's to be eligible for this waiver. Incomplete degree programs will not be considered for eligibility.
    1. If you find you have a 3.5 or higher GPA for either the Bachelor's or Master's degree, check your TEACH account under Correspondence to see that your most up to date transcripts are on file. If the transcripts on file are more than 5 years old, please request new official copies be sent.
    2. Note: If you earned your previous certificates through a college recommendation, the Office of Teaching does not receive copies of your transcripts. Please contact your college/university's Registrar's Office to request official transcripts be sent to the Office of Teaching. Please see our website for more information regarding transcripts: Submitting College Transcripts
  4. Once you have determined your score falls within the score range AND your GPA satisfies the waiver requirement, please complete and submit the Request for NYSTCE Exam Score Waiver form.
  5. Once you have submitted your form, please monitor your TEACH account for any changes. Once your request has been evaluated, one of two things will happen:
    1. The certificate in question will be issued, or
    2. You will receive a Notice of Uncompleted Requirements both to your email on file and to the Correspondence section of your TEACH account that indicates the deficiencies and how to resolve them.
NYSTCE Test Code Passing Score 0.5 SEM Score
Communication and Quantitative Skills
Communication and Quantitative Skills Test (CQST) 080220211
Assessment of Teaching Assistant Skills
Assessment of Teaching Assistant Skills (ATAS)095220215
School Leadership Assessments
School District Leader Part One103220212
School District Leader Part Two104220211
School District Business Leader Part One105220211
School District Business Leader Part Two106220212 
Revised (May 2019) School Building Leader Part One109520512
Revised (May 2019) School Building Leader Part Two110520509
Content Specialty Tests
Agriculture068520515
American Sign Language130520511
Biology160520514
Blind and Visually Impaired117520511
Business and Marketing168520514
Cantonese120520512
Chemistry161520514
Dance164520514
Deaf and Hard of Hearing063520511
Earth Science162520514
Educational Technology Specialist071520513
English Language Arts003520513
English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)116520515
Family and Consumer Sciences072520511
French121520509
German122520512
Gifted Education064520513
Greek123520511
Health Education073520509
Hebrew124520510
Italian125520511
Japanese126520511
Latin119520513
Library Media Specialist074520513
Literacy065520513
Mandarin127520512
Mathematics004520512
Multi-Subject: Teachers of Childhood (Grade 1–Grade 6) Part One221520512
Multi-Subject: Teachers of Childhood (Grade 1–Grade 6) Part Two222520514
Multi-Subject: Teachers of Middle Childhood (Grade 5–Grade 9) Part One231520511
Multi-Subject: Teachers of Middle Childhood (Grade 5–Grade 9) Part Two232520514
Multi-Subject: Secondary Teachers (Grade 7–Grade 12) Part One241520511
Multi-Subject: Secondary Teachers (Grade 7–Grade 12) Part Two244520515
Multi-Subject: Early Childhood Teachers (Birth–Grade 2) Part One211520512
Multi-Subject: Early Childhood Teachers (Birth–Grade 2) Part Two246520514
Multi-Subject Part 3: Arts & Sciences245520515
Music165520515
Physical Education192520TBD
Physics163520514
Russian128520511
School Counselor193520512
Social Studies115520515
Spanish129520511
Students with Disabilities060520512
Technology Education118520515
Theater166520514
Visual Arts167520515
Safety Nets
Revised (Sept. 2013) School Building Leader Part One107520511
Revised (Sept. 2013) School Building Leader Part Two108520508
Safety Net Educational Technology Specialist971220213
Bilingual Education Assessments (BEAs)
BEA—Albanian045220214
BEA—Arabic174520507
BEA—Bengali185520507
BEA—Cantonese171520507
BEA—Farsi038220214
BEA—Finnish085220214
BEA—French175520507
BEA—German056220214
BEA—Greek042220214
BEA—Guyanese English Creole086220214
BEA—Haitian Creole170520507
BEA—Hebrew180520507
BEA—Hindi035220214
BEA—Igbo059220214
BEA—Italian178520507
BEA—Japanese044220214
BEA—Korean176520507
BEA—Malayalam053220214
BEA—Mandarin172520507
BEA—Polish179520507
BEA—Portuguese033220214
BEA—Punjabi046220214
BEA—Romanian057220214
BEA—Russian173520507
BEA—Serbo-Croatian058220214
BEA—Spanish169520507
BEA—Swedish082220214
BEA—Tagalog051220214
BEA—Tamil081220214
BEA—Turkish083220214
BEA—Ukrainian084220214
BEA—Urdu177520507
BEA—Vietnamese049220214
BEA—Yiddish184520507
Last Updated: March 17, 2025