The Georgia Professional Standards Commission (PSC) is the state educator licensing agency. All teachers employed by Dalton Public Schools must hold valid, professional certification to meet federal highly qualified requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).
The PSC website provides important information for Georgia educators and educators interested in a career in our state. Everything you need to understand certification, including traditional and alternative routes to certification, and keep up-to-date on changes to certification that may affect your status may be accessed at this site.
The Human Resources staff assists new employees and current teachers and administrators with certification issues. Contact Linda White, employment and certification specialist, by e-mail or at 706.876.4072.
Educator Certification Testing
Educators certified to teach in Georgia must pass the appropriate content area tests to be eligible for certification. Educators with valid professional certification from another state usually qualify for a Georgia certificate through reciprocity. However, if a content area test was not passed for the certification field requested, then testing is required.
The approved content area tests are the GACE (Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators). The GACE website is available by clicking on the graphic at the bottom of the page.
The GACE are criterion-referenced, objective-based assessments designed to measure a candidate’s knowledge and skills in relation to an established standard rather than in relation to the performance of other candidates. The tests were developed in consultation with committees of Georgia educators, educator preparation faculty, and other content and assessment specialists. Test questions were reviewed and approved by committees of Georgia educators. The passing score for each test is established by the PSC and is based on the professional judgments and recommendations of Georgia educators. [Text from the GACE website]
