As the rules and regulations surrounding becoming a teacher change, Eastern has provided students with the Center for Teacher Education Assessment and Certification Testing Support.

Aaron Chun, a graduate assistant in the center, said this is the first semester the center has had an actual office.

The center, in Buzzard Hall Room 2303, provides resources for students who are working on their teacher certification requirements.

“We can help students deal with all the logistical aspects of the test,” he said. “The main thing we’re pushing are our workshops.”

Chun said there are two paid workshop facilitators who moderate practice tests and are available after the practice test for any questions and to offer advice.

“We like to send our students to the workshops first because we know that (the facilitators) are great and have helped a lot of people,” he said.

Another resource available to students through the center is software, including My Foundations Lab, which helps students track their progress on reading, language arts and math.

“It’s so helpful because it has a pretest for every section, and it helps mold your studying experience so you study exactly what you need to and don’t study too much of what you already know,” Chun said.

The center can help students in all phases of studying to take their Basic Skills Test, now known as the Test of Academic Proficiency, or TAP.

Since the requirements to get a teacher certification have changed to include an ACT score of 22 instead of taking the TAP, the center has had to include resources for both tests now.

“All of this is in light of the test getting a little bit harder throughout the years,” he said. “We want people to succeed and be educators, but it’s definitely not a cakewalk like people might’ve previously thought.”

Chun said the feedback has been good for the center.

“Seeing people come in that are so happy that they’ve passed makes me feel great,” Chun said. “The responses have been trickling in, and so far, they’ve all been good.”

He said he hopes more students come to the center as the year goes on because there are many resources they can offer students to help them get through the test and figure out what they need to do personally to get certified.

“We offer a lot here, but it’s all customized to where the student is at in the test process,” Chun said.

Olivia Dziedzinskyj, a senior education major, said the center was helpful for her while she was studying.

“I used it specifically for the reading section of the test because that’s what I was having the most trouble with,” she said. “I went three times a week when I was trying to pass the Basic Skills Test.”

Dziedzinskyj said going to the center regularly did help her improve her score.

The main goal of the center is for students to pass and get their certification, Chun said.

“We want them to pass and become educators,” he said. “This test is important, and it’s the thing many juniors and seniors need to go be able to do the thing they love the most.”

Robyn Dexter can be reached at 581-2812 or redexter@eiu.edu.