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the best prepared, best qualified

and most ethical educator workforce in the nation

About

The involvement of public school teachers and educator preparation faculty is critical to the success of the GACE program. Please help us maintain high-quality education in Georgia public schools. The Georgia Professional Standards Commission encourages your participation.

You are welcomed to get involved now!

The GACE program is aligned with state and national standards for educator preparation and is designed to help identify educator candidates who have demonstrated the level of knowledge required to perform satisfactorily in their fields of specialization. The tests measure a candidate's knowledge and skills in relation to an established standard rather than in relation to the performance of other candidates.

Development

The test development process may include the following activities:

Objective Development

Review the draft test objectives and test specifications for the test in your field.

Learn about objective development
Item Review & Validation

Review draft test items to confirm that they correspond to the approved test objectives.

Learn about item review & validation
Bias and Equity Review

Review draft test materials for bias prevention and the inclusion of diversity.

Learn about bias and equity reviews
Results Review & Standard Setting

Participate in a process to recommend a passing score for the test to the GaPSC.

Learn about results review & standard setting

Test Areas Under Development

Review the list of test areas currently being developed. If you are currently practicing in one or more of these areas, then we encourage your participation!

Reimbursement

These guidelines apply to individuals who attend the program's test development conferences/meetings. Additional reimbursement instructions will be made available before each conference/meeting. Completed forms should be submitted to Evaluation Systems as soon as possible after the conference to ensure reimbursement in four to six weeks.

Please send all correspondence regarding these policies to EvaluationSystemsCRG@pearson.com.

Please note: The Internal Revenue Service requires Evaluation Systems to have a social security number for all conference participants receiving expense reimbursements.

Substitute Teacher

During the school year (contract days), Evaluation Systems will reimburse a public school educator's school district for the cost of a substitute teacher. Substitute reimbursement forms with additional instructions are distributed at each meeting. Please note that payment will be sent directly to the committee member's designated school/district office.

Lodging

Hotel accommodations are available for those residing 50 or more miles from the meeting location, for those who are unable to travel due to adverse weather conditions, or as otherwise approved by Evaluation Systems. Hotel accommodations will be directly billed to Evaluation Systems. Although committee members will not be charged for their rooms, they will need to leave a deposit or credit card number at check-in to cover incidental expenses.

Travel

Evaluation Systems will reimburse personal automobile use at the federal mileage rate, roundtrip ground transportation, or airfare. Evaluation Systems requires prior approval for car rental and airfare expenses. Parking and toll expenses will also be reimbursed.

Meals

Depending on the conference agenda, a continental breakfast and lunch may be provided on the day of the conference. For meals that are not provided as a part of the meeting, a per diem reimbursement of $25 will be provided.

Your Reimbursement

Your expense reimbursement will be sent within approximately four to six weeks upon receipt of your correctly completed expense statement(s) and if you have submitted the following:

  • W–9 form

Please note that a new W–9 form should be completed and returned for each test development conference that you attend. This policy is in place to ensure that there is no delay in processing your reimbursement check.

FAQs

Participation in development activities provides educators with an opportunity to collaborate with colleagues from across the state, earn professional development clock hours (where applicable), and contribute to the quality of public education in their field.

All educators are welcome to apply, but those educators who are selected to participate in GACE test development activities should be aware that they will not be eligible to take the GACE tests for three years from the date of the conference.

The first step is to complete and submit an application. Once an application is received, it will be sent to the Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC) for review. Depending upon available committee spaces, GaPSC will then send out an invitation to selected educators.

Committee meetings are held at various times throughout the year, both in person and virtually, as test development needs require.

You will receive your substitute reimbursement form at each meeting. You should bring the substitute reimbursement form back to your school district so they can fill it out and submit it for payment. For your mileage and travel expenses, an online expense form will be sent to you after the meeting.

All interested participants need to submit an application, which will be considered by GaPSC. Please ask your colleague(s) to submit an application from this website. You may also nominate colleague(s) by completing a nomination form available on this website.

Yes, you could be involved in the following types of test development activities:

  • Content Validation Survey. As a public school educator or as a higher education faculty member you may be selected to participate in a survey to verify that the test objectives identified for each field represent important aspects of the field and are consistent with the practice of Arizona public school educators.
  • Field Testing. If you are a faculty member in an educator preparation program, you may be asked to assist in field testing the draft test items for your field by encouraging your students to participate. Participating in the field test will allow students to preview the types of items that may be on the actual GACE tests.

Evaluation Systems will reserve a hotel room for you, if needed. The cost of the room and tax will be directly billed to Evaluation Systems. You will be asked to provide a credit card number for incidentals. Should you need to cancel your attendance at the meeting, or cancel or modify your overnight accommodations reservation, please contact Evaluation Systems as soon as possible. (Evaluation Systems incurs charges for no-shows and for sleeping room cancellations that occur later than 3:00 p.m. the day before check-in.) If you need to cancel your accommodations after 5 p.m., please contact the hotel directly.

Evaluation Systems selects menus that we hope everyone will enjoy. We realize that some individuals have special dietary requests. Attendees who notify us about special dietary requests are provided with a meal based as closely as possible on their specific dietary needs. Due to the large number of attendees and the ability of the conference facility to accommodate, substitutions to the standard conference meal may not be possible. Please make alternative meal arrangements if you have very specific dietary restrictions, as our food and beverage options may not meet your needs.

Evaluation Systems strives to hold meetings that are accessible to all. If you require special assistance, auxiliary aids, or other reasonable accommodations to participate fully in the meeting, please let us know. Any information regarding your disability will remain confidential.

Apply

To apply, please complete an online application. We will review your application, and if your qualifications match an opening, you will be sent an e-mail invitation. If all committees are full, we will keep your application on file for future use.

Nominate

Do you know an interested party? Nominate your colleagues for consideration in serving on a Content Advisory Committee or the Bias Review Committee.

Spread the Word

Share with school administrators. Share this information with district-level human resource personnel, school principals, administrators, subject-area coordinators, and supervisors who may be able to nominate exemplary educators to participate in test development activities.

Share with college personnel. Share this information with college deans, educator preparation personnel, faculty, and others who may be able to nominate exemplary educators to participate in test development activities.