• The Application of the Science of Reading Assessment (Test Code 418) is aligned with the following preparation programs:
  • Birth Through Kindergarten and Special Education Preschool
  • Elementary Education (P-5), Special Education General Curriculum/Elementary Education (P-5), and Middle Grades Reading
  • Special Education (P-12) fields of General Curriculum, Adapted Curriculum, Physical and Health Disabilities, and Visual Impairment
    *Note: The appropriate literacy assessment for the field of Visual Impairment will be available at a later date.
• The Application of Literacy Instruction for Deaf Education (Test Code 406) is aligned to the field of Deaf Education.
• The Fundamentals of the Science of Reading Assessment (Test Code 350) is aligned with the following preparation programs:
  • Middle Grades (4-8) English language arts, mathematics, science, and social science
  • Secondary (6-12) fields: Agriculture Education, Business Education, Career & Technical Specializations, JROCT, Economics Education, English Education, Family and Consumer Sciences Education, Geography Education, Healthcare Science, History Education, Marketing Education, Mathematics Education, Political Science Education, Science Education, and Speech Education
  • P-12 fields of Art, Computer Science, Dance, Drama, Engineering and Technology, English to Speakers of Other Languages, Health and Physical Education, Music, and World (formerly Foreign) Languages

• In-State: Initial Teaching Preparation
  • Candidates beginning (enrolled and taking one or more classes) a GaPSC-approved initial teacher certification program on or after June 1, 2025, must attempt the appropriate literacy assessment prior to program completion and must pass the appropriate literacy assessment for certification. Candidates who begin taking classes prior to June 1, 2025, are not required to attempt the test.
• Out-of-State: Initial Teaching Preparation
  • Candidates beginning (enrolled and taking one or more classes) an out-of-state educator preparation program in an initial teaching field(s) on or after June 1, 2025, who are completing field and clinical experiences in Georgia must attempt the appropriate Literacy assessment prior to program completion and must pass the appropriate literacy assessment for Georgia certification. Candidates who begin taking classes prior to June 1, 2025, are not required to attempt the test.
• Adding a Teaching Field to a Georgia Teaching Certificate
  • Georgia educators seeking to add a new teaching field to a five-year Induction or Professional teaching certificate must pass the appropriate content assessment, and, effective July 1, 2025, the appropriate literacy assessment.
• Reciprocity
  • Effective July 1, 2026, all out-of-state educators applying for Georgia Teaching certification must meet the literacy assessment requirement by passing the appropriate Georgia state-approved literacy assessment or by passing a GaPSC-accepted literacy assessment approved by another state.
• Changing Teaching Placements
  • Once the appropriate literacy assessment requirement has been met, educators who are assigned to teach a different subject or grade level do not need to retake the same literacy assessment.
  • Educators who take the Application of the Science of Reading for a teaching field, do not need to take the Fundamentals of the Science of Reading for a different field aligned to the Fundamentals assessment.
  • Educators who take the Fundamentals of Science of Reading for their field of preparation, must take and pass the Applications of the Science of Reading to receive certification in a field aligned with the Application of the Science of Reading assessment.

Important Notes:

• The content assessment for the field of Middle Grades Reading and for the field of Reading P-12 is the Applications of the Science of Reading Assessment (Test Code 418). There is no separate content assessment for these two fields.
• Passing any Literacy Assessment does not add the field of Reading to an initial teaching certificate or a Reading academic concentration.
• Test takers adding a Special Education Academic Content Concentration(s) to a Special Education certificate do not need to also take a Literacy Assessment.
• Literacy Assessments do not satisfy the Literacy Training requirement should it be applicable to your assignment.