Middle School Content Knowledge: Arizona
Secondary Teacher Preparation Policy
Analysis of Arizona's policies
Content Test Requirements: Arizona offers a middle grades endorsement to teach grades 5-9. However this endorsement is optional. Candidates must add this endorsement to an existing elementary or secondary license. The state offers the National Evaluation Series (NES) middle school single-subject content assessments for candidates who are adding the middle grades endorsement.
Additionally, in lieu of passing the state's required content test, Arizona also allows candidates to demonstrate subject-matter
knowledge using one of the following methods:
- National Board Certification,
- "Verification of experience teaching courses relevant to a content matter or subject area for the past two consecutive years, and a total of three years at one or more accredited postsecondary institutions."
- Minimum of five years of work experience "relevant to a subject area of certification,"
- Three years of full-time teaching experience "in any state, including Arizona in a self-contained K-8 classroom," or
- A bachelor's degree or higher in a "relevant subject area."
Middle School Licensure Deficiencies: Unfortunately, Arizona also offers a generalist K-8 license. Because middle school licensure deficiencies are scored in Middle School Licensure Deficiencies, it is not considered as part of the score for the Middle School Content Knowledge goal.
Provisional and Emergency Licensure: Because provisional and emergency licensure requirements are scored in Provisional and Emergency Licensure, only the test requirements for the state's initial license are considered as part of this goal.
Recommendations for Arizona
Require content testing in all core areas.
Arizona should require subject-matter testing for all middle school teacher candidates in every core academic area they intend to teach as a condition of initial licensure. To ensure meaningful middle school content tests, the state should set its passing scores to reflect high levels of performance. The state's policy allows teacher candidates to demonstrate content knowledge in ways that do not include the passage of a single-subject test. Relevant upper-level coursework lays the foundation for requisite content knowledge, but to ensure that teacher candidates possess sufficient subject-matter knowledge for the elementary classroom, Arizona should require all teacher candidates to pass a single-subject test.
State response to our analysis
Arizona was helpful in providing NCTQ with facts that enhanced this analysis.
Updated: February 2020
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Arizona
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Teacher Preparation
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How we graded
3A: Middle School Content Knowledge
- Content Tests: The state should require that all new middle school teachers pass a separately scored subject-matter test in every core academic area for which they are licensed to teach.
The total goal score is earned based on the following:
- Full credit: The state can earn full credit if it offers a middle school license and requires teachers to pass a licensing test in every core academic area in which they are licensed to teach.
- One-quarter credit: In some cases, a state can earn one-quarter of a credit for mitigating the negative aspects of a K-8 license, for example, requiring a single subject test to teach that subject at the middle school level.
- 0/0 credit: The state will not earn any credit if it only offers a K-8 license and only requires an elementary content test.
Research rationale
Middle school grades are critical years of schooling. It is in these years that far too many students fall through the cracks. However, requirements for the preparation and licensure of middle school teachers can be especially problematic. States need to distinguish the knowledge and skills needed by middle school teachers from those needed by an elementary teacher. Whether teaching a single subject in a departmentalized setting or teaching multiple subjects in a self-contained setting, middle school teachers must be able to teach significantly more advanced content than elementary teachers. In order to do so, middle school teachers must be deeply knowledgeable about every subject they will be licensed to teach, and able to pass a licensing test in every core subject to demonstrate this knowledge.[1] The notion that someone should be identically prepared to teach first grade or eighth grade mathematics seems ridiculous, but states that license teachers on a K-8 generalist certificate essentially endorse this idea.
[1] For additional research on the importance of subject matter knowledge, see: Dee, T. S., & Cohodes, S. R. (2008). Out-of-field teachers and student achievement: Evidence from matched-pairs comparisons. Public Finance Review, 36(1), 7-32.; Chaney, B. (1995). Student outcomes and the professional preparation of eighth-grade teachers in science and mathematics. NSF/NELS: 88 Teacher Transcript Analysis. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED389530; Weglinsky, H. (2000). How teaching matters: Bringing the classroom back into discussions of teacher quality (Policy Information Center report). Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service. Retrieved from http://www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/PICTEAMAT.pdf ; A report published by the National Mathematics Advisory Panel (NMAP) concludes that a teacher's knowledge of math makes a difference in student achievement. National Mathematics Advisory Panel. (2008). Foundations for success: The final report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel. US Department of Education. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/mathpanel/report/final-report.pdf