Understanding Your GACE^® Scores

The following explains how to interpret your score report and what to do if you have questions about your GACE^® scores.

Putting Your Scores in Perspective

Score reports include the following types of information for most tests:

The date of the test administration
Your scaled score
Passed/Not Passed determination for each subtest (if applicable) and whether the test was passed at the induction or professional level (for content assessments)
Passed/Not Passed determination for the assessment
Explanation of the two levels of passing standards (for content assessments)
Number of scored questions
Number of questions answered correctly
Number of scored questions in each subarea (if applicable)
Number of questions answered correctly in each subarea
Number of scored questions in each objective (if applicable)
Number of questions answered correctly in each objective (if applicable)
Points possible for constructed-response questions (if your test includes a constructed-response section)
Points earned for constructed-response questions (if applicable)
Analysis of your performance

Scaled Scores

Your score report shows your Passed/Not Passed status and passing level, if appropriate. Your scaled scores show how you performed on any subtest(s) of an assessment you have taken. Scaled scores are comparable across all versions of the same subtest of an assessment. However, scaled scores across different subtests are not necessarily comparable. The scaled score range and the minimum passing score are shown in this area of the score report.

Note: Your test may include some questions that do not count toward your score. These are new questions that are being tried out in real test administrations in order to collect information about how they will perform under actual testing conditions.

Passing Scores

Minimum passing scores for the tests were established by GaPSC with input from committees of Georgia educators. Some assessments have a tiered passing score, which means that there are two different passing scores for two different certification levels.

Please note that for assessments composed of more than one test, you must pass all tests for that assessment to meet the certification requirements. Once you pass one test within an assessment composed of more than one test, you will not have to retake that part of the assessment again.

American Sign Language Proficiency Interview (ASLPI)

The ASLPI is rated by a team of evaluators, and examinees are awarded an overall proficiency level on a 0–5 rating scale. These ratings are then converted to the GACE score scale of 100-300. ASLPI has an induction passing score of 3 (GACE scale score 220) and a professional passing score of 3+ (GACE scale score 250).

Certificate Upgrade Assessments (Curriculum and Instruction, Instructional Technology)

The certificate upgrade assessments do not have tiered passing standards.

The passing score for the Curriculum and Instruction assessment and the Instructional Technology assessment is 250.

Content Assessments

A passing score for any GACE content assessment can fall into one of two categories:

220–249 — passing at the induction level
250 — passing at the professional level

At this time, passing at either of these levels meets the Georgia Special Requirement to pass the content knowledge assessment(s) appropriate to the field of certification.

If you take a combined test and pass one subtest at the induction level and the other at the professional level, the entire assessment will only be considered passed at the induction level. You must retake the subtest that was passed at the induction level if you wish to attempt to get a higher score and pass the entire assessment at the professional level.

Educational Leadership

The Educational Leadership assessment does not have tiered passing standards.

The passing score for the Educational Leadership assessment is 250.

Paraprofessional

The Paraprofessional assessment is considered an entry-level assessment and does not have tiered passing standards.

The passing score for the Paraprofessional assessment is 250.

Subarea Scores and Score Interpretation

On many of the GACE assessments, questions are grouped into subareas that contain a range of objectives. To help you in future study or in preparing to retake the test, your score report shows how many "raw points" you earned in each subarea. Compare your "raw points earned" with the maximum number of points you could have earned ("raw points available"). The greater the difference, the greater the opportunity to improve your score by further study.

This information should be interpreted with caution since different subareas contain different numbers of test questions per objective. Greater potential for score improvement through further study is likely found in focusing on those subareas that contain more numerous objectives and questions, rather than on those offering a more limited number of objectives and/or questions within each objective.

Score Scale Changes

Test development committee meetings are held regularly to review existing test questions and to create new questions. Updated tests cover the same content as the previous tests. However, scores may be reported on a different scale, so requirements may vary between the new and previous versions. All scores for current and discontinued tests are valid and reportable for 50 years.

For More Information

For more information about how GACE assessments are scored, explanations of score scales used by raters, and answers to frequently asked questions about GACE score reports and scoring policies, download Understanding Your GACE^® Scores.

See information about the Educator Ethics, Paraprofessional, and Teacher Leadership assessment scores.

Understanding Your GACE® Scores