Requirements/West Virginia
Early Childhood Teacher in West Virginia.
One content test from a choice of two, plus the reading test.
- Exams
- 4
- Passing scores
- 163 · 160 · 159
- Certificate
- Early Childhood Education (K-4), endorsement 3601
The exams you have to pass
In the order most candidates take them.
Praxis Early Childhood Education: Foundational Knowledge and Content5534
Route 1, and the route that survives past August 2026.
Praxis Education of Young Children5024
Route 2, accepted only until 31 August 2026.
Praxis Teaching Reading: Elementary (TREE)5205
Required by the Third Grade Success Act. Applies to every elementary route.
Praxis Principles of Learning and Teaching: K-65622
The professional education test. An approved TPA can take its place.
What people get wrong
Each of these costs a candidate either money or a test date.
- Route 2 has a deadline printed on it. West Virginia accepts Education of Young Children 5024 only until 31 August 2026. After that date the K-4 endorsement runs through 5534 alone, so if you are starting now, start on 5534 rather than the test that is being retired underneath you.
- K-4 is a different endorsement from K-6, and the content test is different too. If you want the broader elementary certificate, look at the K-6 page instead, because 5534 does not cover it.
- Pre-K-K is a third endorsement again, 3603, and it currently requires no reading test. Early Education Pre-K-K takes either 5531 at 155, also expiring 31 August 2026, or 5533 at 156.
- Every West Virginia chart prints a second, higher number labelled "+2 SEM". That is not a harder passing score. It is the score that lets you ADD an endorsement to a certificate you already hold through the content proficiency route, without going back through a preparation program. If you are already licensed, that column is the one worth aiming at.
- The PLT is not the only way through. Candidates who finished a WVBE-approved program and passed an approved Teacher Performance Assessment after 12 July 2023 are exempt from the PLT. Out-of-state candidates get a real choice here: the PLT leads to a Non-Transferable certificate, while an approved TPA leads to a Professional certificate that transfers.
Required, but not an exam
- A bachelor’s degree
- A WVBE-approved preparation program, or an approved alternative route
- The pre-professional skills requirement, which a long list of ACT, SAT, GRE and coursework routes can waive
- Background check and application through WVDE
Now go pass them.
Knowing the list is the easy part. Built To Pass teaches the strategy layer that works on any of these, aimed at the domains where you are actually losing points.
Start with your examVerified 2026-08-06 against WVDE Licensure Testing Directory, effective 3 June 2026. Certification rules change by state board vote. Confirm with the state before you register for a test.