Apply to the Teacher Education Program

Students seeking teacher certification must formally apply and be accepted into the Lewis-Clark State College Teacher Education Program in order to become teacher candidates, allowing them to take teacher preparation courses, participate in clinical experiences, and be eligible for state certification.

Note for Students with Out-of-State Home Addresses: If considering an academic program that leads to a professional license or certification in your state, it is highly recommended that you first seek guidance from the appropriate licensing agency in your home state BEFORE beginning this academic program located outside your state, or upon changing states. Please visit the Professional Licensure Disclosures website for more information.

Before starting the application, you must meet the following requirements:

  • Complete or enrolled in final semester of LCSC General Education coursework (having achieved C- or better in all courses.)
  • Complete or enrolled in final semester of Phase I courses for your program (having achieved C- or better in all courses.)
    • Elementary:
      • ED 214 - Principles of Education & Field Experience
      • ED 216 - Physical Education for Elementary Teachers
      • ED 225 - Technologies for Teaching K12 
      • RE 217 - Children's Literature & Storytelling
      • HLTH 215 - Elementary Health Science Methods
    • Secondary:
      • ED 214 - Principles of Education
      • ED 225 - Technologies for Teaching K12
      • ED 318 - Assessment of Learning
      • ED 321 - Educational Psychology

Application Requirements

Transcripts: Official transcripts from all institutions attended other than Lewis-Clark State College.

GPA: Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Entrance Essay: Response to the prompt in the application.

Standardized Test Scores:  Regular admission to the program (called provisional) requires that you provide one of the following set of tests with at least the scores shown:

Taken by 2016:
     Reading  470
     Math       470

Taken after 2016 (RSAT):
     Reading  500
     Math       500

Reading  19
Math       19

Reading (test #5713): 168

Writing (test #5723): 165

Math (test #5733): 162

ALEKS is math only: You will need a different test for reading qualification.

Math: 30

This is an option for elementary candidates. Take & pass the Praxis series that will be required for your elementary license before applying to the program.

5001:  Required Scores on Component Tests:

5002  157

5003  157

5004  155

5005  159

OR

7811: Required Scores on Component Tests:

7812   161

7813   150

7814   154

7815   161

You may apply for conditional admission if your scores meet the following minimums:

Taken by 2016:
     Reading  420
     Math       420

Taken after 2016 (RSAT):
     Reading  450
     Math       450

Reading  15
Math       16

Reading (test #5713): 160

Writing (test #5723): 158

Math (test #5733): 155

ALEKS is math only. You will need a different test for reading qualification.

Math: 27

If you are admitted with conditional status based upon these scores, there will be two conditions that you must meet:

  1. Enroll in and attend the Division of Teacher Education’s Praxis Preparation courses.
  2. Take any of the qualifying tests for which you were at the conditions-only level and achieve a score that qualifies you for regular (provisional) admission.

Interview Process

Once your application materials have been verified, and if you meet the testing requirements indicated above, you will be contacted to schedule the interview process.

The interview process includes the following:

  • Background check -  You must clear an initial background check (name & SSN) through State Police agencies.
  • Improvisational writing sample
  • In-person interview with panel of professional educators 

The interview panel will give numerical weights for the improvisational writing sample and the in-person interview, and then make a recommendation for admission.

Final admission to the Teacher Education program is decided for each applicant by the full faculty based upon review of the application materials and outcomes of the interview process.  

Applicants will be notified of their admission status in a formal letter.

NOTE: There are some detractors that affect admission into the teacher education program.  Those detractors are:

  • Incompletes - patterns of incompletes on transcripts
  • Withdrawals - patterns of withdrawals on transcripts
  • Para-competencies - personal characteristics/attitudes exhibited by the students such as racism, intolerance, and chronic lateness that are inconsistent with the teaching profession
  • Moral turpitude - Conviction of a felony can prohibit you from receiving a teaching certificate in Idaho and could make you ineligible for the LCSC teacher education program.  Disclosure of infractions of any law is necessary.