Delivering Well Prepared Teachers Policy
The District of Columbia requires middle-level certification for all middle school teachers. The District also requires that all middle school teachers complete a minimum of 30 semester hours in a content-related major.
All new middle school teachers in the District are also required to pass a single-subject Praxis II content test to attain licensure; a general content knowledge test is not an option.
Strengthen middle school teachers' subject-matter preparation.
The District of Columbia is commended for not allowing middle school teachers to teach on a K-8 generalist license. However, it should encourage middle school teachers who plan to teach multiple subjects to earn two minors in two core academic areas, rather than a single major. The District should retain its requirement for a subject-area major for middle school candidates who intend to teach a single subject.
The District of Columbia recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis.