Licensure tests should be an efficient and comprehensive way for policymakers to ensure that all teachers possess the basic knowledge and skills they need to effectively teach students to read. Yet more than half of states use a weak licensure test that fails to adequately measure elementary teachers' knowledge of scientifically-based reading instruction. This shortcoming means that annually, nearly 100,000 elementary teachers across the country enter classrooms with false assurances that they are ready to teach reading, and the districts that hire them have false assurances that those teachers are adequately prepared. The National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ) new analysis of the quality of reading licensure tests required for elementary teachers reveals not only some bright spots and strong test options used in some states, but also systematic weaknesses in the tests many states use to vet new teachers. While this analysis focuses on tests required for general elementary teachers' certification, every teacher of elementary-age students, including those certified in special education or teaching English learners, should demonstrate their knowledge of reading instruction. For this analysis, NCTQ examined two key questions: (1) What is the quality of the licensure tests? and (2) Which states use acceptable tests? Findings reveal: (1) Less than half of elementary teacher reading licensure tests adequately assess the core components of scientifically based reading instruction; and (2) Fewer than half of states use tests that signal whether teachers have the knowledge they need to teach students to read.