Requirements/Pennsylvania
Special Education Teacher in Pennsylvania.
One content test.
- Exams
- 1
- Passing
- 145
- Certificate
- Special Education PK-12
The exam you have to pass
In the order most candidates take them.
01
Praxis Special Education: Foundational Knowledge5355
Pass145
What people get wrong
Each of these costs a candidate either money or a test date.
- Pennsylvania issues separate certificates for Hearing Impaired (5272 at 160), Visually Impaired (5282 at 163) and Speech and Language Impaired (5331 at 162). Confirm which you are seeking.
- Special Education PreK-8 has its own PECT modules rather than a Praxis test, mirroring the PreK-4 split.
- Pennsylvania does not add a separate pedagogy exam. There is no Principles of Learning and Teaching requirement here, unlike Nevada, Maine and Colorado.
Required, but not an exam
- A bachelor’s degree
- A PDE-approved educator preparation program, or an approved alternative route
- Act 34, 151 and 114 clearances, and application through TIMS
Now go pass it.
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 2026-08-04 against Pennsylvania Educator Certification Tests (pa.nesinc.com) and PDE certification testing. Certification rules change by state board vote. Confirm with the state before you register for a test.