CSET – The Controversial California Requirement

Since its inception as a requirement for California educators in the public school system, the CSET test has been viewed by promising teachers as a necessity that does not necessarily judge the teaching ability of the individual. Most teachers agree that a standardized test like the CSET exam is inadequate for determining the person’s skill in the classroom.

Since 2004, many teachers who have achieved acclaim in the classroom as effective educators have railed about the CSET testing platform as a political answer in response to constituent demands. Many teachers, such as I, have posted commentary in blogs and forums citing the inadequacies of the CSET as a teaching evaluation tool. Regardless, if you want to teach in the public education system in California, passing the CSET test is mandated.

Surpassing Career Interference

There is no doubt in any educator’s mind that if you fail the CSET test, then your teaching career in California will be in a holding pattern. Just like me, you will either need to pass the CSET exam or seek employment in a private institution. Until the law is amended or eliminated, passing the CSET test on your first attempt is the optimum solution to keeping your career on track.

The difficulty, especially with the Multiple Subjects test requirements, is the high failure rates on many of the subset tests. I personally know several highly-qualified teachers that did not pass the CSET till their third or fourth attempt. For many of us who have been educators for a while, we know that standardized exams of any genre are not the best indicator of intelligence or attained knowledge.

Throughout our schooling we have all met highly intelligent people, extremely knowledgeable in their niche subjects, who fail every standardized test attempt. Does this mean that the person lacks capability in their field of expertise or perhaps just that they are poor test takers? Typically, it’s the latter. That accurately describes my CSET dilemma. I had attained the knowledge and I knew how to apply that knowledge in the classroom. What I had difficulty with was translating that knowledge into the CSET test format. After failing my first attempt, I searched for an answer to learning how to pass this standardized set of tests.

Translating The Knowledge To The CSET Format

I am happy to relate that my second attempt at the CSET test was an overwhelming success. I easily attained the scores necessary to receive my teacher certification in Multiple Subjects. To be blatantly honest, I could not have achieved this without assistance from Teaching Solutions. Their Comprehensive Success System for passing the CSET test was fundamental to my success.

The key was learning how to take the knowledge I had attained in my education and apply it to correctly answer the CSET test questions. The study guides were an incredible aid, as were the test coaches. The material in the study guides corresponded to the test content. The coaches were knowledgeable on the CSET test format and provided direction in formulating the retained data I knew to accurately answer each multiple choice test question and writing my essay responses.

To pass the CSET, I found that you needed both the subject knowledge and the practical experience of how to formulate that knowledge to accurately respond to the test questions. If your teaching career has been placed on hold, awaiting a passing score on the CSET test, then you need to find a prep aid that will help you pass the first time you take the exam. You need the Comprehensive Success System offered at Teaching Solutions.