Applicants for membership in the Ontario College of Teachers required to write the Ontario Teacher Qualifying Test will be able to do so on November 23, 2002.

The registration deadline is October 15. The Educational Testing Service (ETS) says that registration forms will be available at all faculties of education and at the Ontario Principals’ Council by September 13. As with the test in April, test registrants must use the form to register and may not fax it.

ETS has addressed some of the issues raised by Ontario teacher graduates who completed the test in April. Registrants will be able to mail the form to an Ontario address and there will be a toll-free number for people to call if they have questions. All the contact information will be in the registration form.

Test centres will be listed in the registration form and registrants will be able to choose their preferred site. Once all registrations are in, ETS will finalize the list according to registration numbers and each registrant will be informed of where they must write the test.

Results of the test will be sent to the Ontario College of Teachers and to participants by mid-January. ETS estimates that between 1,800 and 2,200 people will register.

Most graduates of Ontario’s faculties of education must write the test before the College can issue them a Certificate of Qualification. Technological Studies, Native Language (second language) and Native Ancestry teachers, as well as teachers for the deaf, dance teachers and teachers for the developmentally delayed are exempt from the test.

Teacher candidates enrolled in faculties of education for the 2002- 2003 school year cannot write the test in 2002.

The test will be scored, but the results of the test will not count for College membership in 2002. Writing the test will be considered as having met the test requirement. As of January 1, 2003, writing and passing the test will be a requirement for membership in the College.

Successful applicants for membership in the College trained outside Ontario are issued an Interim Certificate of Qualification (ICQ). Anyone issued an interim certificate after March 15, 2002 must take the test within one year of the issue date of the interim certificate. ICQ holders may write the test in 2002.

More information on who must write the test is available on the College web site at www.oct.ca l Ontario Teacher Qualifying Test.