Effective July 23, 2023, there will be changes to paraeducator minimum employment requirements. Previous legislation had specifically allowed for only one assessment to meet the requirement. That has now changed.
HB 1015 passed during the last legislative session, granting the Paraeducator Board the authority to approve the assessments, and set the passing scores, that will meet minimum employment requirements for paraeducators in Washington.
New Requirements
At the May board meeting, the Paraeducator Board selected the following assessments and passing scores to meet the minimum employment requirements:
Effective beginning July 23, 2023:
ETS ParaPro assessment: 455 (from 461 current)
Pearson Paraprofessional assessment: 220 (that score is equivalent to the 50 out of 72 scorable multiple choice questions set by the Board)
The Master Teacher Inc. Paraeducator Online Training Program: 65%
Key Points
- The Board was also granted authority to create its own assessment and will be exploring that option in the 2023-24 school year.
- PESB staff are working with ETS to contact ParaPro assessment takers who scored 455-460, dating back to July 2019, to notify them that they will meet minimum employment requirements come July 23rd.
- Pearson’s Paraprofessional assessment will not be available for implementation at the effective date.
- There are two components to The Master Teacher Inc. Paraeducator Online Training Program: a knowledge and an instructional component. Candidates must earn 65% on each to meet the passing score threshold for the assessment.
Questions and more information
PESB staff will host a webinar on June 15th at 2 p.m. to discuss this topic and answer your questions. Registration is required.
A recording of the webinar will be made available on the PESB YouTube channel.
