Requirements to Be a Teacher's Aide in Arizona
Teaching aides can be integral in helping teachers carry out their duties in the classroom. These aides are generally expected to support teachers by supervising students, reinforcing lessons that have been taught and maintaining attendance. In Arizona, these professionals need to meet education or exam requirements before they can qualify for employment.
Overview of an Arizona Teacher's Aide Career
In Arizona, teachers' aides are also commonly called paraprofessionals. Paraprofessionals may be classified according to grade-level or the type of students they will be working with. While there may be additional criteria that interested persons will have to satisfy, the general requirements are shown in the table below.
<table border="1"><tr><td>Education/Experience Required</td><td> High school diploma and associate's degree or 60 college credit hours</td></tr>
<tr><td>Exam Requirements </td><td> ETS Parapro//or ACT Workkeys//or Master Teacher's ParaEducator PD Now</td></tr>
<tr><td>Median Salary (2018) </td><td> $25,620 (teacher's assistants in AZ)*</td></tr>
<tr><td>Estimated Job Growth (2016-2026) </td><td>8% (teacher's assistants nationally)*</td></tr>
</table><p><i>Source: *U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics</i>
</p><h3 id="section---TeacherSAideJobDescription">Teacher's Aide Job Description</h3><p>A teacher's aide can perform both clerical and instructional tasks to assist certified teachers. They might help set up equipment and other materials needed to deliver the day's lesson, assist with small group instruction and record grades. A large part of their duties also involves monitoring student behavior while outside the classroom, during lunch breaks or recess for example. Teacher's aides who work with children in special education classes might also be responsible for helping students with meals and other functional tasks.
</p><h3 id="section---TeacherSAideEducationRequirements">Teacher's Aide Education Requirements</h3><p>In order to qualify for teacher's aide positions in schools that receive Title I funding, an interested candidate will need a high school diploma or GED and an associate's degree at a minimum. Alternatively, a candidate must have completed two years of study, which should have comprised 60 or more credit hours, at an accredited institution. A third option is to receive a passing grade on one of the exams listed below.
</p><h3 id="section---ExamRequirements">Exam Requirements</h3><p>If a candidate is taking the route of passing an exam in order to qualify to be a teacher's aide, they must take and pass one of the following: the ETS ParaPro assessment, the ACT Workkeys exam or the Master Teacher's ParaEducator PD Now exam.
</p><p>The ETS ParaPro Assessment measures a candidate's proficiency in the areas of reading, writing and basic math as well as their ability to apply these skills in the classroom. It is a computer-based test with 90 multiple-choice questions, and it must be completed in two and a half hours. The required ACT Workkeys exams are Applied Mathematics, Writing, and Reading for Information.
</p><p>The MasterTeacher's ParaEducators PD Now assessment also covers reading, writing and math and can be completed after taking online courses.
</p><p>In all cases, candidates are responsible for obtaining their exam results and providing them to the learning institution to which they have applied.
</p><h3 id="section---FingerprintClearance">Fingerprint Clearance</h3><p>Teacher's aides may need to go through a background check and have their fingerprints taken in order to work in a school system. Once an interested candidate has identified the learning institution to which they would like to apply, they should contact that school district's educational agency to confirm the necessary requirements. If fingerprinting is required by the school, an interested candidate will initiate the fingerprinting process by registering on the Fieldprint website. After registration, the candidate will schedule an appointment at a collection location where the fingerprint scans will be done. The results of the test will be submitted electronically to the Arizona department of education.</p>