What Is the OAE? Ohio Assessments for Educators and the Hearing Test That Shares the Name

What Is the OAE?

OAE most often means the Ohio Assessments for Educators, the tests Ohio uses to license teachers. The State Board of Education of Ohio contracted Evaluation Systems of Pearson to run the programme. In audiology, OAE means otoacoustic emission, a hearing test. Context decides which one you need.

Last reviewed: 4 November 2026. All figures and test codes on this page were read from the official sources named below on that date.

The Two Meanings of OAE, Side by Side

Search for “OAE” and you get two unrelated subjects in the same set of results: a teacher licensure programme in Ohio and a hearing test used in clinics. They have nothing to do with each other beyond the letters. This page answers both, and names a third use of the abbreviation that trips people up on Ohio’s own government websites.

Abbreviation used for	Field	What it is
Ohio Assessments for Educators	Teacher licensure, United States	The tests Ohio uses to assess candidates for an educator licence
Otoacoustic emission	Audiology	A test of hair cell function in the inner ear
Ohio Administrative Code	Ohio state law	Used as “OAE” in places on Ohio State Board of Education pages

If you landed here looking for teacher licensure, the next six sections are for you. If you landed here looking for the hearing test, skip to the audiology section.

What the Ohio Assessments for Educators Actually Test

The programme’s own description is narrow and worth reading closely. The official site states that “the Ohio Assessments for Educators (OAE) program assesses the content-area and professional (pedagogical) knowledge of candidates who are seeking initial Ohio educator licensure or adding a new licensure area.”

Two things follow from that sentence. First, the OAE is aimed at people entering the profession in Ohio or adding a new area to an existing licence — it is not a general teaching qualification. Second, it is split into two halves: what you know about your subject, and what you know about teaching.

The tests are tied to the state’s curriculum: the same page states that “the assessments are aligned with Ohio’s New Learning Standards.”

On who administers it, Pearson’s page is explicit: “The State Board of Education of Ohio contracted with Evaluation Systems of Pearson for the administration of the Ohio Assessments for Educators program (OAE).” The state sets the requirement; a contractor delivers the tests.

Format

From the official test list: “The assessments include multiple-choice questions and some also include constructed-response assignments.” Scoring is taken across the whole test rather than section by section — “Passing status is based on a candidate’s performance across all sections of an assessment.”

OAE Test Codes: Dated Data Block

Source: the official Ohio Assessments for Educators test list and licensure mapping table, published by Evaluation Systems of Pearson for the State Board of Education of Ohio. Read on 4 November 2026. This is a selection of the published list, chosen for relevance to English language and general classroom teaching; the full list runs to more than fifty tests.

Code	Test title as published	Type and notes
057	Assessment of Professional Knowledge: Primary Education (PK–5)	Pedagogy
002	Assessment of Professional Knowledge: Middle Childhood (4–9)	Pedagogy
003	Assessment of Professional Knowledge: Adolescence to Young Adult (7–12)	Pedagogy — anticipated testing end date fall 2027
103	Assessment of Professional Knowledge: Secondary Education (7–12)	Pedagogy — anticipated testing start date fall 2027
004	Assessment of Professional Knowledge: Multi-Age (PK–12)	Pedagogy — anticipated testing end date fall 2027
104	Assessment of Professional Knowledge: Multi-Age (PK–12)	Pedagogy — anticipated testing start date fall 2027
121	English to Speakers of Other Languages	Content — the TESOL subject test
020	English Language Arts	Content
028	Middle Grades English Language Arts	Content
190	Foundations of Reading	Required for several licensure areas since 1 July 2017
018 / 019	Elementary Education (Subtests I and II)	Content
055	Primary Education (PK–5)	Content
043	Special Education	Content
053	Gifted Education	Content
040	School Counselor	Content
115	Educational Leadership	Content — anticipated testing start date fall 2027
NT517	Foundations of Classroom Support	Support staff

How to cite this table: “OAE test codes, selected, as published on the official Ohio Assessments for Educators test list and read on 4 November 2026. Compiled by The TEFL Institute, https://teflinstitute.com/blog/what-is-the-oae/.” Codes and testing dates change; check the official list before you book.

Several codes are in transition. The published list marks 003, 004, 015 and the Reading subtests with an anticipated testing end date, and 103, 104, 115 and 138 with an anticipated testing start date, in most cases fall 2027. If you are planning more than a year ahead, check which version of your test will be running when you sit it. Source: the official OAE test list.

Which OAE Tests You Need Depends on Your Licence Type

There is no single “OAE exam”. The official guidance says plainly that “testing requirements are dependent on licensure type”, and directs candidates to a mapping table: “the following table maps each Ohio licensure type to its corresponding assessment in the OAE program.”

The one rule that applies to nearly everyone is this: “Ohio licensure candidates are required to successfully complete only ONE assessment of professional (pedagogical) knowledge for their first license.” So the usual shape is one pedagogy test plus one content test, not a long series.

For the licence requirements themselves, as opposed to the tests, the official guidance points to the State Board of Education, whose page states that “Ohio educator licenses are issued based on Ohio Teacher Education and Licensure Standards, which are the sections of the Ohio Administrative Code (OAE) and Ohio Revised Code (ORC) that establish requirements for educator licensing.” Source: the Ohio State Board of Education licensure page.

Note the collision in that quotation: Ohio’s own State Board uses “OAE” there for the Ohio Administrative Code, not the testing programme. It is the clearest illustration of why this abbreviation needs a disambiguation page at all.

The OAE Test for English Language Teachers: 121 and 004

If your subject is English as a second or additional language, the OAE has a specific test for you. On the published list, code 121 is titled “English to Speakers of Other Languages”.

The official licensure mapping table sets out two routes, and they are not the same:

• Full TESOL licence — the table lists pedagogy “004 Assessment of Professional Knowledge: Multi-Age (PK–12)” together with content “121 English to Speakers of Other Languages”.
• TESOL (PK–12) endorsement — the same table lists pedagogy as “Not required” and content as “121 English to Speakers of Other Languages”.

The practical difference is one test. A teacher already licensed in another area who is adding TESOL as an endorsement is shown as needing the subject test only. Source: the official OAE licensure mapping table.

This is the same pattern seen in other states. Massachusetts, for example, has a separate English as a Second Language route within its own licensure regulations, which we covered in our guide to the MTEL.

The Foundations of Reading Requirement

One OAE test sits outside the usual pedagogy-plus-content pattern. The official guidance states that “the State Board of Education has approved the Foundations of Reading test as a requirement for the following licensing areas, effective July 1, 2017”, and explains the background:

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“In accordance with Ohio’s new educator licensure requirements, beginning July 1, 2017, new educator licenses issued in several licensing areas shall require the applicant to attain a passing score on an examination of the principles of scientifically research-based reading instruction that is aligned with the reading competencies adopted by the State Board of Education.”

On the published list, that test is code 190. Which licensing areas it applies to is set out on the official page, and it is worth checking against your own route rather than assuming.

A Note on World Languages

Not every subject is assessed through the OAE at all. The official page states that “educator candidates seeking Foreign/World Language licensure must successfully complete the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) and Writing Proficiency Test (WPT).” Those are externally run proficiency assessments, not OAE tests. American Sign Language is the exception, appearing on the OAE list as codes 050 and 051.

OAE in Audiology: The Otoacoustic Emission Hearing Test

The second meaning is unrelated to teaching. Johns Hopkins Medicine describes it as follows: “The otoacoustic emission test (OAE) measures hair cell function in the inner ear. An emission refers to the sound generated within the normal cochlea of the ear in response to stimulation.”

On what it is used for, the same source states that “OAE testing is used for a number of reasons, including screening of infants and other special populations”, and that “the OAE test is noninvasive and requires a small probe to be inserted in the ear.”

That is the extent of what we will say about it: we are a teacher training organisation, not a medical one. If you need clinical information, go to Johns Hopkins Medicine or to your own audiologist rather than to a TEFL website.

What This Page Does Not Tell You: Fees, Passing Scores and Test Dates

Three things you may be looking for are deliberately absent from this page, and we would rather say so than publish a number we cannot stand behind.

• The test fee. The official OAE registration page carries no fee figure. Figures circulating on test preparation websites are not the registering authority, so none is repeated here.
• The passing score. None of the official pages read for this article states a passing score.
• Test dates. Scheduling is handled through the official OAE website, and dates change.

For all three, the official OAE site and Pearson’s OAE page are the places to look. Note that the test preparation sites currently ranking for questions like “how much does the OAE cost” are commercial study-aid vendors, not the awarding body.

OAE, Praxis and MTEL: Why the Letters Keep Changing

Teacher licensure in the United States is run state by state, not nationally, and each state chooses its own testing programme. That is why the acronym changes as you cross a state line:

• OAE — Ohio Assessments for Educators, used by Ohio.
• Praxis — the ETS test family used by many states. See our guide to what Praxis is, which also covers the unrelated educational theory of the same name.
• MTEL — the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure. See what the MTEL is.

A passing score in one programme does not transfer automatically to another state. If you are moving between states, the licensing authority in the destination state decides what it will accept.

Does an OAE Score Help You Teach English Abroad?

Generally, no — and it is worth being clear about why. The OAE is an instrument of Ohio state licensure. Employers recruiting English teachers in Spain, Japan, Vietnam or the Gulf are not assessing candidates against Ohio’s licensure standards, and most have never heard of it.

What they do ask for is usually a recognised TEFL qualification, commonly 120 hours or more, and often a degree. A US state teaching licence is a genuine asset in international schools and in better-paid public programmes, where qualified teacher status is a hiring condition — but it sits alongside a TEFL certificate rather than replacing it.

If you are weighing up which qualification does what, our hub page on TEFL qualifications and terminology sets out the acronyms side by side.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does OAE stand for?

In education, OAE stands for the Ohio Assessments for Educators, the licensure testing programme used by the state of Ohio. In audiology, OAE stands for otoacoustic emission, a hearing test. On Ohio government websites the same three letters are also used for the Ohio Administrative Code. The surrounding words tell you which one is meant.

Who runs the Ohio Assessments for Educators?

Pearson runs the testing programme under contract to the state. Pearson’s own page states that “The State Board of Education of Ohio contracted with Evaluation Systems of Pearson for the administration of the Ohio Assessments for Educators program (OAE).” Registration is handled on the official OAE website.

How many OAE tests do I have to take?

It depends on the licence you are applying for. The official guidance states that “Ohio licensure candidates are required to successfully complete only ONE assessment of professional (pedagogical) knowledge for their first license.” Most candidates take that one pedagogy test plus the content test that matches their subject.

Which OAE test covers teaching English to speakers of other languages?

The content test is 121, English to Speakers of Other Languages. For the full TESOL licence the official mapping table pairs it with pedagogy test 004, Assessment of Professional Knowledge: Multi-Age (PK–12). For the TESOL (PK–12) endorsement route, the same table lists pedagogy as “Not required” and content as 121.

What format are the OAE tests?

The official test list states that “The assessments include multiple-choice questions and some also include constructed-response assignments” and that “Passing status is based on a candidate’s performance across all sections of an assessment.”

Is the OAE the same as the Praxis?

No. They are separate programmes. Ohio uses its own Ohio Assessments for Educators, while many other states use the Praxis tests from ETS, and Massachusetts uses the MTEL. Each state or licensing agency decides which tests it accepts, so a score from one programme does not automatically satisfy another state.

Sources

• Ohio Assessments for Educators — About the Assessments — read 4 November 2026.
• Ohio Assessments for Educators — test list and codes — read 4 November 2026.
• Ohio Assessments for Educators — which tests you need, licensure mapping table — read 4 November 2026.
• Pearson — Ohio Assessments for Educators (OAE) — read 4 November 2026.
• Ohio State Board of Education — Educator Licensure — read 4 November 2026.
• Johns Hopkins Medicine — Otoacoustic Emission Testing (OAE) — read 4 November 2026.

This page explains a state licensure testing programme and is general information, not legal or professional advice. The State Board of Education of Ohio and its testing contractor are the authorities on what is required; check the official sources above before making a decision.