Welcome to the Pathways to Teach Canada FAQ

Pathways to Teach Canada is an initiative led by 10 provincial and territorial regulatory bodies for the teaching profession to streamline the first step of the certification process by offering a single point of entry for the assessment of your credentials and language competency.

Any internationally educated teacher (IET) who wants to become a certified teacher in one of the participating provinces or territories and who:
• has completed a teacher education program;
• is a teacher of one or more academic disciplines (mathematics, language, physical education, computer science, visual arts, etc.); and
• has not previously been certified in a province or territory.

No. After you complete your requested assessments, Pathways will send the results to your chosen province or territory. At this point, you need to contact your chosen province or territory to begin the second step of your certification process directly with them, which is your certification application. It is then up to that province or territory to determine whether you meet the requirements for certification.

No. Successful completion of a teacher education program is one of the requirements to become a certified teacher in Canada.

Your tailored credential assessment report will be available indefinitely or until you request us to delete it.

Your LCATP results report will be available for two years from the date you received your score. After two years, your LCATP results will expire and no longer be valid.

If you have created an account, but you have not purchased any of our assessments, your account will remain active for 12 months from the last time account activity was logged. You may delete your account at any time.

Pathways to Teach Canada has partnered with World Education Services (WES) Canada to evaluate the credentials of internationally educated teachers (IETs) who wish to settle and teach in a participating Canadian province or territory. IETs who meet the necessary requirements will need to request a tailored credential assessment report through the Pathways portal. The regular course-by-course assessment offered by WES is not accepted for certification by the participating provincial or territorial regulatory bodies for the teaching profession.

Once your credential assessment request has been submitted via Pathways, you have 180 calendar days to provide the necessary documents to WES. Should you fail to do so, your WES account will be deactivated. You will need to contact WES customer service if you choose to reactivate your account.

You can provide up to 10 credentials.

The WES Gateway Program is available for applicants who cannot obtain their original documents. The program involves several steps and eligibility criteria. If your documents are not available, please contact WES directly so they can assess your eligibility for the program.

Your account will automatically be deactivated after 180 calendar days of inactivity, following your last activity on the account or file. To reactivate your account, contact WES for assistance.

Once all your documents have been received and reviewed by WES, it will take 14 business days for your credential assessment to be completed.

You will receive a notification from WES during each step of the process. You can also review the status of your application with WES on your WES account, using your Pathways portal login information.

The Language Competency Assessment for the Teaching Profession (LCATP) is a Canadian language competency assessment developed specifically for the teaching profession. The LCATP is a test that comprises four one-hour-long online modules, which assess your writing, reading, listening, and speaking skills. The test is powered by the XpressLab software, is available in English and in French, and is proctored remotely and in real-time by Managexam.

No, test-takers cannot practise the test before booking the LCATP on the Pathways portal. Once you schedule the test, you will have access to practice tests to help you prepare.

Test-takers can practice as many times as they want.

Yes, you can retake the LCATP as many times as you wish. Note that you cannot book a new test until you have received your latest results. The score of your final attempt will be your official score, whether it’s higher or lower than your previous attempts.

The practice test closely mimics the real test, with a few differences. The items and item types are similar, the test environment is identical, the time limits are the same, and machine scoring also functions the same. However, in a practice test, your responses to the writing and speaking modules won’t be scored, but guidance will be provided on the responses expected.

The practice test closely mimics the real test, with a few differences. The items and item types are similar, the test environment is identical, the time limits are the same, and machine scoring also functions the same. However, in a practice test, your responses to the writing and speaking modules won’t be scored, but guidance will be provided on the responses expected.

Yes, there is a minimum gap of 15 business days between the time you book your exam and the appointment date.

Tests may be rescheduled at no additional cost, but you must provide at least 15 business days’ advance notice.

The LCATP includes four one-hour-long modules: listening, reading, speaking, and writing.

Test-takers have 15 business days before the scheduled test date to cancel their test and receive a full refund.

• We suggest that you review the LCATP test-taker guide to help you better understand the LCATP structure, expectations, and process.
• You should also review the video guides for information on how to create a Pathways account; how to book your LCATP and prepare for it; and the steps to be taken on your scheduled test date.
• Aim to set aside time to take the practice test to familiarize yourself with the LCATP structure and platform.
• Finally, you should also review our policy document entitled LCATP Information for Test-Takers.

The order of the modules is randomly selected by the platform. We recommend attempting the practice test in different orders to help you prepare for your actual test. 

The listening and reading modules are multiple-choice tests that are machine scored by testing software. The scoring possibilities are either 0 for an incorrect response or 1 for a correct response.

For the writing and speaking modules, two human scorers independently score each writing and speaking response. For each response, if the pair of assigned scores differ by two or more points, it is considered a scoring disagreement, and the item, response, scores, and scorer comments will be reviewed by an adjudicator who will assign the final score. If a pair of assigned scores differ by only one point, the final score is calculated to be the average of the two scores.

If you face a barrier because of a disability or other special need, you may request accommodation(s). Where a disability or special need is established, Pathways is committed to providing reasonable accommodation(s) up to the point of undue hardship. The following are examples of accommodations that Pathways may provide in appropriate circumstances:

• Extended time
• Scheduled breaks
• Test scheduled at a specific time of day
• Use of text-to-speech software (screen reader) during the LCATP
• Use of speech-to-text software (voice control/voice-to-text entry) during the LCATP
• Live reader (someone who reads the questions aloud to the test-taker)
• Scribe (someone who writes down the test-taker’s answers)