ETS's Praxis Program Partners with Washington Professional Educator Standards Board to Eliminate Entry Barriers to State's Paraeducator Workforce

PRINCETON, N.J. and OLYMPIA, Wash., Sept. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- ETS's Praxis program and the Washington Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) today announced a statewide partnership that integrates ParaPathways, an ETS Praxis solution, to eliminate barriers to entry into Washington's paraeducator workforce.

"Paraeducators play an indispensable educational role daily for our P-12 students and families in Washington state," said Dr. Ron Jacobson, Interim Executive Director, PESB. "Ensuring that paraeducators have the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to effectively support student learning continues to be a high priority for the Professional Educator Standards Board, as well as Washington state legislators. High-quality preparation is crucial, and removing barriers to such training is essential. Our partnership with ETS in the use of the ParaPathways program is a key element in paraeducator licensure and support. In addition, the vouchers offered by ETS for the assessment remove financial barriers, allowing our paraeducator workforce access to this important preparation component."

A Model Built Around Three Stages of Development

Praxis' ParaPathways assessment model supports paraeducators across three stages: preparation, licensure, and skill development. Rather than treating certification and classroom readiness as separate tracks, the model integrates them, helping ensure candidates meet state requirements while also building the practical competencies they need in schools.

As part of this partnership, Washington's paraeducator workforce will have access to a full suite of core resources each year, including:

• Assessment Preparation: interactive practice tests, diagnostic score reports, and preparation ebooks that help candidates identify gaps early and get ready for entry into the field.
• ParaPathways Assessment: the assessment paraeducators need to meet Washington's minimum employment requirements, with vouchers available to remove cost as a barrier to taking it.
• ParaPathways Bridge: an alternative passing solution providing a quicker route to employment.
• Educator-Aligned Progression: A coordinated path that connects preparation, assessment, and entry into the profession, creating a more seamless journey for candidates from building the foundational knowledge and skills they need to demonstrating their qualifications and successfully entering the education workforce.

"ETS is proud to support Washington's efforts to strengthen paraeducator recruitment," said Vince Dean, Associate Vice President of Praxis at ETS. "ParaPathways helps fill a real gap aligned with the state's employment requirements. It's a resource districts can lean on to recruit more paraeducators, and we're glad to help Washington lead the way in showing what a stronger entry point into the profession can look like."

Building a Scalable Pipeline for the Future

Paraeducators represent one of Washington's most promising pipelines for growing a diverse, locally rooted educator workforce. By pairing ParaPathways' preparation resources directly with PESB's minimum employment requirements – which call for paraeducators to hold a high school diploma or equivalent and meet one of several qualifying pathways, including a passing score on a board-approved assessment such as ETS Praxis' ParaPro test – the partnership gives districts a consistent, statewide standard for who is ready to step into a paraeducator role. PESB and ETS see this integrated approach as a foundation other states can look to as they work to recruit, prepare, and retain paraeducators as part of a broader educator workforce ecosystem.

About Praxis

Building on ETS's 78-year legacy of research and innovation, the Praxis® program delivers a comprehensive suite of solutions that support educators from their first steps toward teaching through continued growth in their careers. Best known for the Praxis licensure assessments that help aspiring teachers demonstrate their readiness to teach, the program also includes ParaPathways™, Praxis Bridge™, Praxis Steps™, and ProEthica® – offering access, flexibility and support for educators while helping schools bring more qualified teachers into classrooms. Learn more at praxis.ets.org.

SOURCE ETS