Ensuring the presence of high-quality teachers in all classrooms is a vital element of the state’s educational system. In order to secure that presence, the Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission (TSPC) established a four-tier licensure structure for educators, aligned with the development levels of students. After preservice preparation (and/or receiving a transitional license), every educator must meet the standards for an initial license, which authorizes the educator to work with a specific authorization level in the Oregon school system and recognizes the competencies the educator has demonstrated. Under Oregon laws, an educator must hold the appropriate Oregon license prior to beginning employment in a public school or Education Service District.

The TSPC has contracted the Evaluation Systems group of Pearson to develop and administer licensure tests in the Oregon Educator Licensure Assessments® (ORELA®) program. The ORELA program includes the Administrator, Civil Rights and Equity in the Educational Environment, and English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Examinations, as well as the Multiple Subjects Examination.


Test Development

The ORELA tests are criterion referenced and objective based. Criterion-referenced tests are designed to measure a candidate’s knowledge and skills in relation to an established standard of performance (a criterion) rather than in relation to the performance of other candidates. The tests are designed to help identify those candidates who have the level of knowledge and skills required to perform satisfactorily as Oregon educators.

The content of each ORELA test is documented in the test framework. The test framework consists of test subareas that each include a set of test objectives, along with sets of descriptive statements that further elaborate the content of each test objective. During preparation of the test framework, key state and national documents were consulted. The content of the test objectives was determined by input from Oregon educators, the TSPC, and applicable Oregon standards (e.g., the Oregon Content Standards and Benchmarks, Oregon Grade-Level Foundations, Oregon Grade-Level Standards, Common Curriculum Goals, Discrimination and the Oregon Educator, English Language Proficiency Standards). The content of the Multiple Subjects Examination is aligned with the Oregon focus areas for student learning and teacher preparation. Committees of Oregon educators reviewed the test frameworks and made revisions, as necessary, to ensure that the test frameworks were accurate, free of bias, job related, and important for the job of an educator in Oregon. Test items that were developed to assess the content defined by the test framework were similarly reviewed and approved by the Oregon review committees.

Content validation surveys involving randomly selected practicing Oregon public school educators and educator preparation program faculty were conducted for each test framework. Field testing of test questions was conducted throughout the state to ensure that the test materials were accurate and reasonable.

A committee of Oregon educators convenes following the first test administration to recommend the passing score for each test or subtest. The final passing scores are determined by the TSPC.