Every state, with sources
Paraprofessional requirements by state
What your state asks of a paraprofessional depends on where you work, and the answer is not the same in any two places. Find your state below for the exam it uses, the passing score where one is published, and the three routes to qualifying.
Start here if you are not sure what you are sitting
Three things decide what you need, and only the third is about studying.
Which exam your state accepts
Most states use a Praxis para assessment. Six do not, and one runs no exam at all. Your state page says which.
What score it takes
Set by the state or by your district, never nationally. Where there is no published number we say so rather than guessing one.
Whether you need the exam at all
Federal law also accepts two years of college or an associate degree. The exam is simply the fastest of the three.
Find your state
52 jurisdictions. We prepare you for the para exam in 45 of them today.
The state publishes a passing score (24)
Praxis ParaPathways, with a statewide number on Reading and Writing, then Mathematics.
Your district sets the score (5)
Praxis ParaPathways, but no statewide number. The district you apply to decides.
Still on the ParaPro (16)
These states qualify paras on the Praxis ParaPro and have not published a ParaPathways score yet.
A different exam entirely (6)
Not a Praxis exam. Each of these runs its own assessment, with its own passing standard.
Where these numbers come from
Praxis passing scores come from the ETS state requirements map. The states that use a different exam are sourced individually from the agency that runs it, and each state page links the page its numbers came from. Requirements change, sometimes mid-year, so treat your state or district as the authority and confirm before you book a test.
Where a state has not published a number, this site says so. It does not fill the gap with the score most other states use and attach your state’s name to it.