Secondary Teacher Preparation: Maryland

Analysis of Maryland's policies

Maryland offers a secondary license in single-subjects for grades 7-12. The state requires that its secondary teacher candidates pass a Praxis II content test to teach any core secondary subjects. 

Unfortunately, Maryland permits a significant loophole to this important policy by allowing both physical science and general social studies licenses without requiring subject-matter testing for each subject area within these disciplines (see "Secondary Teacher Preparation in Science and Social Studies" analysis and recommendations).

To add an additional subject or field to a secondary license, teachers in Maryland may either complete coursework requirements (up to 30 credits, depending on the area) or submit a passing score on a content test.

Maryland addresses some of the instructional shifts associated with college- and career-readiness standards toward building content knowledge and vocabulary through careful reading of informational and literary texts associated with these new standards and through its required assessment for English language arts teachers, the Praxis II English Language Arts: Content and Analysis (5039) test.

Secondary tests in other content areas do not address incorporating literacy skills into all content areas. Maryland requires all secondary teachers to take coursework in "reading instruction that integrates content area goals with reading goals including strategies for students to communicate effectively orally and in writing about what they have read in content area texts." However,  this requirement does not go far enough to ensure that teachers include literacy skills across the core content areas.

Regarding struggling readers, Maryland also requires coursework covering the following:    

• Use of reading assessment data to improve instruction    
• Reading instruction including reading-aloud strategies and methods for diagnosing reading difficulties and making instructional modifications and accommodations for the student.

Citation

Praxis Test Requirement www.ets.org COMAR 13A.12.02.06 and 13A.12.01.13 Adding Endorsement http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE/divisions/certification/certification_branch/certification_inf/apply/docs/obtain_8.htm

Recommendations for Maryland

Require subject-matter testing for all secondary teacher candidates.
Maryland wisely requires subject-matter tests for most secondary teachers but should address any loopholes that undermine this policy (see "Secondary Teacher Preparation in Science and Social Studies" analysis and recommendations).

Require subject-matter testing when adding subject-area endorsements. 
Maryland should require passing scores on subject-specific content tests, regardless of other coursework or degree requirements, for teachers who are licensed in core secondary subjects and wish to add another subject area, or endorsement, to their licenses. While coursework may be generally indicative of background in a particular subject area, only a subject-matter test ensures that teachers know the specific content they will need to teach.

Ensure that secondary teachers are prepared to meet the instructional requirements of college- and career-readiness standards for students.

Incorporate informational text of increasing complexity into classroom instruction.
Although Maryland's required secondary English language arts content test addresses informational texts, the state should strengthen its policy and ensure that teachers are able to challenge students with texts of increasing complexity.

Incorporate literacy skills as an integral part of every subject.
To ensure that secondary students are capable of accessing varied information about the world around them, Maryland's teacher preparation requirements should be expanded to more specifically include literacy skills and using text to build content knowledge in history/social studies, science, technical subjects and the arts.

State response to our analysis

Maryland recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis. The state also noted that each secondary area of content in the Maryland College and Career Ready Standards (MCCRS) is accompanied by a literacy component. In addition, a Secondary Reading Work Group will conclude its work at the end of August 2015 with recommended revisions to the six credit requirement for reading in the content area. This work ramps up the ability of teachers to motivate and engage readers, to recognize and intervene with struggling or resistant readers, and to make use of the literacy components embedded in the MCCRS secondary content areas.