What Is the GACE? Georgia’s Educator Certification Assessments Explained

What Is the GACE?

The GACE is the Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators: the set of tests the state of Georgia uses to decide whether someone has the knowledge to be certified as an educator there. The Georgia Professional Standards Commission calls it Georgia’s state-approved educator certification assessment program. Its testing supplier changed in 2025, which matters more than most pages admit.

Who Sets the GACE, and Who Runs It Now

Two different organisations are involved, and keeping them apart saves a lot of confusion. The Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC) is the state body that decides what Georgia requires. Pearson VUE records that “Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators and GACE are trademarks of the Georgia Professional Standards Commission”. The GaPSC’s own testing page says the assessments “have been developed by the GaPSC and Evaluation Systems, Pearson (ES)” and describes them as “criterion-referenced, objective-based assessments”.

The second organisation is the testing supplier, and this is the part that has changed. The GaPSC states plainly: “The testing supplier for the GACE program has changed from Educational Testing Service (ETS) to Evaluation Systems of Pearson (ES).” Pearson VUE puts a date on the handover: “Registration for GACE assessments begins July 1, 2025.”

One consequence is easy to miss and expensive to get wrong. The GaPSC adds that “examinees must pass all parts of an assessment with the same testing supplier for that assessment to count toward certification”. If you passed one part of a multi-part assessment under the old supplier and were planning to finish it under the new one, that sentence is the one to read twice before you book anything.

The GACE Assessment Types

The GaPSC groups its certification and licensure assessments into six headings:

• Content assessments
• Literacy assessments
• Certificate Upgrade assessments
• Educational Leadership assessments
• Ethics assessments
• Licensure assessments

A separate Statewide Educator Ethics Assessment is listed under the Ethics heading. Which of these you need depends on the certificate you are applying for, not on a single universal list.

What the Rule Actually Requires

The requirement lives in Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 505-2-.26, “Certification and Licensure Assessments”. The version currently published by the Commission is marked “Effective October 15, 2026”, and its authority line reads “O.C.G.A. § 20-2-200”. That date matters: a good deal of what is written about the GACE elsewhere describes an older version of this rule.

GACE content assessments

The rule says GACE content assessments “measure an individual’s specific professional knowledge in a content area”, and then lists who has to pass one. The categories include people seeking a Provisional certificate, a foreign language permit, an Adjunct licence, and an initial Service field. The rule also notes that some teaching fields generally require completion of an approved preparation programme rather than a test, and that the option of testing into certain fields closed on dated deadlines, the most recent of which is 1 July 2025.

The ethics assessments

The Educator Ethics assessment is, in the rule’s words, “designed to both teach and assess knowledge and skills in the areas of the Georgia Code of Ethics for Educators”. There are two: GACE Ethics for Teachers, required for Pre-Service, initial Clearance, Provisional, Five-Year Induction, International Exchange and certain Permit and conversion certificates; and GACE Ethics for Leaders, required for certain Educational Leadership and Superintendent certificates.

When a content assessment can be waived

The rule opens its exemptions section with “The GACE content assessment requirement may be exempted in the following circumstances”. Two of those circumstances are worth knowing: holding a valid National Board certification in the specific field (with a stated exception for the NBPTS Middle Grades Generalist field), and seeking certification “in a field for which the GaPSC has not adopted a content assessment”. Separately, out-of-state educators applying by reciprocity may exempt the Ethics for Teachers assessment with three or more years of experience, and Ethics for Leaders with five or more years of leadership experience.

Is the GACE Program Admission Assessment Still Required?

This is one of the most-asked GACE questions, and the current answer is no.

In the rule now in force, Program Admission does not appear among the current requirements. It appears instead in the section listing previous state-approved assessments, under the heading “Program Admission Assessment, March 6, 2007 – July 1, 2022”. The rule records what it used to be needed for: “A passing score on the Program Admission Assessment was required for issuance of a Provisional certificate,” and for “extension of a Permit, and in certain instances, issuance of a Professional certificate in School Social Work”.

Georgia continues to honour passing scores on previous state-approved assessments under the conditions the rule sets out, so a score earned in that window has not simply evaporated. But it is no longer a live requirement, and any page that still presents it as one is describing the programme as it was more than four years ago.

Where the GACE Meets English Language Teaching

A GACE content assessment measures subject knowledge in a certification field. On its own it says nothing about teaching a child who is still learning English. Georgia puts that knowledge somewhere specific: the English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Endorsement, governed by Rule 505-3-.89, which the Commission publishes as “Effective August 15, 2023”.

The rule’s in-field statement is short: completers of the programme “are qualified to teach ESOL courses in grades P-12”. What is more interesting to anyone from an English language teaching background is what the preparation programme has to contain.

The five standards an ESOL endorsement programme must cover

The rule requires an approved provider to offer preparation “addressing the following standards”, which it says are “adapted from the standards published in 2018 by the specialized professional association”, “Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc.” They are:

1. Knowledge about Language
2. Language and Culture
3. Planning and Implementing Instruction
4. Assessment and Evaluation
5. Professionalism and Leadership

Under Planning and Implementing Instruction, the rule requires candidates to use “WIDA Consortium English Language Development (ELD) standards”. Each standard carries its own indicators, running from language acquisition theory through to advocating for the educational rights of English learners.

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What that means if your background is TEFL

Read as a list, those five headings are recognisable to anyone who has worked through a TEFL or TESOL syllabus: how language works, how culture shapes learning, how to plan instruction a learner can access, how to assess proficiency, and how to behave as a professional. That resemblance is not a coincidence — the rule says outright that it adapted them from an international TESOL association’s standards. It is also not a shortcut. The endorsement is earned through a GaPSC-approved preparation programme, and the rule describes what that programme must teach, not what an outside certificate can substitute for. The overlap is in the subject matter, not in the paperwork. For the vocabulary itself, our TEFL qualifications and terminology guide sets out how terms like ESOL, ESL and TESOL relate to one another.

GACE at a Glance

Data checked: 29 October 2026. Every row below is taken from an official source opened on that date. Fees, passing scores, test codes and test dates are deliberately absent — see the section further down on what this page does not tell you.

Item	What the official sources say	Source
Full name	Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators (GACE)	GaPSC
What it is	“Georgia’s state-approved educator certification assessment program”	GaPSC
Test design	“criterion-referenced, objective-based assessments”	GaPSC
Developed by	“the GaPSC and Evaluation Systems, Pearson (ES)”	GaPSC
Trademark holder	Georgia Professional Standards Commission	Pearson VUE
Supplier change	“changed from Educational Testing Service (ETS) to Evaluation Systems of Pearson (ES)”	GaPSC
Registration with new supplier opened	1 July 2025	Pearson VUE
Same-supplier rule	“examinees must pass all parts of an assessment with the same testing supplier for that assessment to count toward certification”	GaPSC
Current programme website	www.gace.es.pearson.com	Former programme site notice
Scores from before 1 July 2025	Retrieved via instructions on the former programme site	Former programme site notice
Governing rule	Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 505-2-.26, Certification and Licensure Assessments	GaPSC rule
Version of that rule in force	“Effective October 15, 2026”	GaPSC rule
Rule authority	“O.C.G.A. § 20-2-200”	GaPSC rule
Assessment categories listed	Content, Literacy, Certificate Upgrade, Educational Leadership, Ethics, Licensure	GaPSC
Program Admission Assessment	Listed as a previous assessment, 6 March 2007 – 1 July 2022	GaPSC rule
Ethics assessments named	GACE Ethics for Teachers; GACE Ethics for Leaders	GaPSC rule
ESOL endorsement rule	505-3-.89, “Effective August 15, 2023”	GaPSC rule
ESOL endorsement in-field statement	“qualified to teach ESOL courses in grades P-12”	GaPSC rule
ESOL standards adapted from	Standards published in 2018 by Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc.	GaPSC rule
Appointment scheduling	“Assessment appointments are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis”	Pearson VUE
Candidate support line	833-998-9209, Monday–Friday, 7:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m. CT	Pearson VUE

How to cite this page: The TEFL Institute, “What Is the GACE? Georgia’s Educator Certification Assessments Explained”, https://teflinstitute.com/blog/what-is-the-gace/, data checked 29 October 2026. The Georgia Professional Standards Commission amends its rules, and Pearson changes its scheduling arrangements; check the linked official sources before relying on any figure or date here. This page is information, not legal or certification advice.

Three Websites, One Programme: Which GACE Page Is Current

Searching for the GACE turns up at least three different official-looking websites, and only one of them is the live programme site. This is worth a minute of anyone’s time, because the out-of-date ones still rank.

• The current programme site is www.gace.es.pearson.com. This is where registration, test information and scores now live.
• The former programme site, www.gace.nesinc.com, now carries a notice headed “The GACE Program Has a New Home”, telling visitors to “Please visit the new program website at www.gace.es.pearson.com”. It also explains that “For access to your testing history and score reports for assessments taken prior to July 1, 2025” you should follow the instructions it links to.
• The previous supplier’s site, gace.ets.org, now redirects to the Commission’s own educator assessment page.

Much of the third-party GACE advice online — test-prep pages, university guidance, aggregator explainers — was written before July 2025 and still describes the previous arrangement. If a page does not mention the change of supplier, treat its practical detail, especially fees and booking steps, as unverified.

How the GACE Compares With Other State Requirements

Teacher certification in the United States is set state by state, so the GACE has counterparts rather than equivalents. Georgia’s system uses content assessments plus ethics assessments; other states structure theirs differently.

• The Praxis tests are used by a number of states and by some licensing bodies, which makes them the nearest thing to a multi-state comparison point.
• edTPA assesses teaching practice through submitted evidence rather than a sit-down examination, a different instrument answering a different question.
• TELPAS is a Texas assessment of students’ English language proficiency, not of teachers — a useful contrast, because state acronyms in this field point at both groups and are easily confused.

The common thread is that none of them is a TEFL qualification, and none of them substitutes for one. Our TEFL qualifications and terminology guide is the hub for the whole vocabulary.

Does a TEFL Certificate Count Toward the GACE?

No, and it is worth being direct about that. The TEFL Institute sells TEFL courses, so we have an obvious interest in the answer being yes. It is not.

The GACE is a state licensure instrument for teaching in Georgia’s public schools, and a TEFL certificate is not one of its assessments, nor is it a Georgia educator certificate. The two qualifications answer different questions: whether a state will license you to teach its children, and whether you are prepared to teach English as a foreign language, usually abroad or online. Where they genuinely touch is the subject matter described in the ESOL endorsement standards above — language, culture, planning, assessment, professionalism — which is the same ground a good TEFL syllabus covers. That is a real overlap in knowledge. It is not a credit toward certification, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling something.

What This Page Does Not Tell You

• Fees. No current fee figure is stated here. The live programme site is a dynamic application that could not be read directly for this page, and quoting a fee from the previous supplier’s materials would be worse than quoting none.
• Passing scores. The rule in force does not publish numeric passing scores for GACE content assessments; it directs readers to the Commission’s own site. No number is invented here.
• Test codes and the full assessment list. The six categories above come from the Commission’s published menu. The individual field-by-field test list and its codes sit on the programme site.
• Test dates, registration windows and retake rules. None are stated. These change, and they belong to the programme site.
• Which assessment your particular certificate needs. The rule lists categories of applicant, not individuals. That judgement belongs to the GaPSC and to your preparation programme.
• Routes to the ESOL endorsement other than an approved programme. Rule 505-3-.89 describes what an approved preparation programme must contain. It is not a complete list of every certification route Georgia offers.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does GACE stand for?

GACE stands for Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators. The Georgia Professional Standards Commission describes it as Georgia’s state-approved educator certification assessment program, and holds the GACE trademark.

Who runs the GACE now?

The Georgia Professional Standards Commission states that the testing supplier changed from Educational Testing Service to Evaluation Systems of Pearson, and that the assessments have been developed by the GaPSC and Evaluation Systems, Pearson. Pearson VUE says registration with the new supplier began on 1 July 2025.

Is the GACE Program Admission Assessment still required?

No. In the current rule, effective 15 October 2026, Program Admission appears in the list of previous state-approved assessments, covering 6 March 2007 to 1 July 2022. It is no longer a current requirement, although passing scores earned in that window are still honoured.

Can I mix GACE scores from the old and new suppliers?

No. The Commission’s own testing page states that examinees must pass all parts of an assessment with the same testing supplier for that assessment to count toward certification. If you part-passed a multi-part assessment under the previous supplier, check this before you book anything.

Is there a GACE test for teaching English learners?

Georgia’s English to Speakers of Other Languages endorsement is governed by Rule 505-3-.89, effective 15 August 2023. Completers are qualified to teach ESOL courses in grades P–12. The rule sets out five standards a preparation programme must cover, adapted from standards published in 2018 by Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc.

Does a TEFL certificate count toward GACE or Georgia teacher certification?

No. A TEFL certificate is not a GACE assessment and it is not a Georgia educator certificate. GACE is a state licensure instrument for teaching in Georgia’s public schools. A TEFL qualification is for teaching English as a foreign language, most often outside the United States.

Sources

• Georgia Professional Standards Commission, Educator Assessment – Testing. Opened 29 October 2026.
• Georgia Professional Standards Commission, Rule 505-2-.26, Certification and Licensure Assessments (PDF), effective 15 October 2026. Opened 29 October 2026.
• Georgia Professional Standards Commission, Rule 505-3-.89, English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Endorsement (PDF), effective 15 August 2023. Opened 29 October 2026.
• Former GACE programme site notice. Opened 29 October 2026.
• Pearson VUE, Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators (GACE). Opened 29 October 2026.