Middle School Content Knowledge: Louisiana
Secondary Teacher Preparation Policy
Analysis of Louisiana's policies
Content Test Requirements: Louisiana requires a middle grades certificate (grades 4-8) for all middle school teachers. All new middle school teachers in Louisiana are required to pass a single-subject Praxis II content test to attain licensure; a general
content knowledge test is not an option.
Louisiana also allows teachers to add middle school area endorsements to existing certificates with either 30 credit hours in the area or a passing score on a content test.
Recommendations for Louisiana
Ensure that content tests adequately measure sufficient knowledge in all subjects.
Louisiana should ensure that its subject-matter tests for middle school teacher candidates is sufficiently rigorous. The state should ensure that the required passing scores on each test reflect high levels of performance. Doing so will help to ensure that every student is taught by a teacher with adequate subject-matter knowledge.
Close the loophole that allows teachers to add middle-grade levels to an existing license without demonstrating content knowledge.
NCTQ urges the state to require that all teachers who add the middle-grade levels to their certificates pass a rigorous
subject-matter test to ensure content knowledge of all subject areas
before they teach in a classroom as the teacher of record.
State response to our analysis
Louisiana recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis. The state also indicated that In October 2016, the Board of
Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) adopted updated competencies,
including literacy competencies, that identify the essential knowledge and
skills that aspiring teachers must demonstrate in order to be eligible for
initial certification. According to the state, its competencies for initial
teacher certification define what a teacher candidate must know and be able to
do in order to be eligible for certification upon completion of a BESE-approved
teacher preparation program and are aligned with student standards.
In addition, Louisiana noted that the competencies were developed in
collaboration with content experts, elementary and secondary educators, and
postsecondary education leaders. Preparation providers and their school system
partners co-construct preparation experiences that develop these competencies
through quality practice experiences, including a yearlong residency.
Updated: December 2017
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Louisiana
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General Teacher Preparation
- Program Entry
- Teacher Shortages and Surpluses
- Program Performance Measures
- Program Reporting Requirements
- Student Teaching/Clinical Practice
- Teaching Methods
Elementary Teacher Preparation
Secondary Teacher Preparation
- Middle School Content Knowledge
- Middle School Licensure Deficiencies
- Adolescent Literacy
- Secondary Content Knowledge
- Secondary Licensure Deficiencies
Special Education Teacher Preparation
Alternate Routes
Hiring
- Requirements for Out-of-State Teachers
- Provisional and Emergency Licensure
- Licensure for Substitute Teachers
- Supporting New Teachers
Teacher and Principal Evaluation
Teacher Compensation
Retaining Effective Teachers
Early Childhood Preparation
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