NYSTCE Testing Program Update

Educator Involvement Opportunities

NYSED seeks qualified educators to serve as committee members for ongoing test development activities for the New York State Teacher Certification Examinations (NYSTCE). For more information, visit the NYSED website link opens in a new window .

Test Redevelopment Schedule updated July 2026

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) and the New York State Board of Regents in May 2010 approved the initiative to revise the Content Specialty Tests (CSTs).

The following non-regulatory guidance is subject to revision throughout the redevelopment process. Please consult this page frequently for updates to this guidance.

Test Field	Frameworks Posted	Test Operational	Date New Test Is Required
CST Group 1: English Language Arts Health Education Library Media Specialist Literacy Mathematics Multi-Subject Physical Education	Fall 2014	September 2014	Required for all candidates taking a Group 1 CST on or after September 22, 2014
CST Group 2: Agriculture Business and Marketing Deaf and Hard of Hearing Educational Technology Specialist Family and Consumer Sciences Gifted Education Students with Disabilities	Fall 2014	September 2014	Required for all candidates taking a Group 2 CST on or after September 22, 2014
CST Group 3: Blind and Visually Impaired Technology Education	Spring 2015	Fall 2015	Required for all candidates taking a Group 3 CST on or after September 21, 2015
CST Group 4a: English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Social Studies	Fall 2015	Fall 2016	Required for all candidates taking a Group 4 CST on or after November 14, 2016
CST Group 4b: American Sign Language Cantonese French German Greek Hebrew Italian Japanese Latin Mandarin Russian Spanish	Spring 2015	Fall 2016	Required for all candidates taking a Group 4 CST on or after November 14, 2016
CST Group 5: Biology Chemistry Earth Science Physics	Summer 2018	Fall 2019	Required for all candidates taking a Group 5 CST on or after November 11, 2020
CST Group 6: Dance Music Theater Visual Arts	Summer 2019	Fall 2020	Candidates may take either the CST or Safety Net CST through November 8, 2021
BEA Group 7: Arabic (10/7/2024 and after) Bengali (10/7/2024 and after) Cantonese (10/7/2024 and after) French (10/7/2024 and after) Haitian Creole (10/7/2024 and after) Hebrew (6/17/2024 and after) Italian (10/7/2024 and after) Korean (10/7/2024 and after) Mandarin (6/17/2024 and after) Polish (10/7/2024 and after) Russian (6/17/2024 and after) Spanish (4/22/2024 and after) Urdu (10/7/2024 and after) Yiddish (10/7/2024 and after)	Summer 2021	April–October 2024	When they are available in 2024
Group 8a: Revised (May 2019) School Building Leader	Spring 2019	Spring 2021	Candidates may take either the Revised (Sept. 2013) SBL assessment or Revised (May 2019) SBL assessment during the safety net period, which ends on 8/31/2025
CST Group 9a: Business and Marketing	May 2021	Fall 2022	When it is available in Fall 2022
CST Group 9b: Computer Science	Fall 2022	Fall 2025	When it is available in Fall 2025
CST Group 10a: School Counselor	Fall 2022	February 2024	When it is available in February 2024
CST Group 10b: Physical Education	Fall 2022	December 2024	When it is available in December 2024
NYSTCE Flex Group 1: NYSTCE Flex Multi-Subject: Teachers of Early Childhood (Birth–Grade 2) Mathematics Template Only NYSTCE Flex Multi-Subject: Teachers of Childhood (Grade 1–Grade 6) Mathematics Template Only		January 2026	Candidates who meet the eligibility requirement have the opportunity to submit a NYSTCE Flex assessment rather than retaking their NYSTCE test on or after January 2026.
NYSTCE Flex Group 2: NYSTCE Flex Mathematics Template Only NYSTCE Flex English Language Arts Template Only		July 2026	Candidates who meet the eligibility requirement have the opportunity to submit a NYSTCE Flex assessment rather than retaking their NYSTCE test on or after July 2026.
NYSTCE Flex Group 3: NYSTCE Flex Multi-Subjects: Teachers of Middle Childhood: Grade 5–Grade 9) Mathematics Template Only NYSTCE Multi-Subjects: Secondary Teachers (Grade 7–Grade 12) Mathematics Template Only		August 2026	Candidates who meet the eligibility requirement have the opportunity to submit a NYSTCE Flex assessment rather than retaking their NYSTCE test on or after August 2026.
NYSTCE Flex Group 4: NYSTCE Flex Students with Disabilities Template Only		October 2026	Candidates who meet the eligibility requirement have the opportunity to submit a NYSTCE Flex assessment rather than retaking their NYSTCE test on or after October 2026.
CST Group 1: Evidence Based-Reading Instruction Redeveloped Literacy Redeveloped Multi-Subject: Teachers of Early Childhood (Birth–Grade 2) Part One ELA Redeveloped Multi-Subject: Teachers of Childhood (Grade 1–Grade 6) Part One ELA		Fall 2026	Summer 2028
CST Group 2: Redeveloped Multi-Subject: Teachers of Middle Childhood (Grade 5–Grade 9) Part One ELA Redeveloped Multi-Subject: Secondary Teachers (Grade 7–Grade 12) Part One ELA		Fall 2026	Winter 2028/2029
SLA Group 11: Administrator Certification Assessment (ACA)	Fall 2027	Winter 2029	9/1/2030

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