Elementary Teacher Preparation in
Mathematics: Mississippi

Analysis of Mississippi's policies

Mississippi relies on both coursework requirements and national accreditation standards for teacher preparation programs as the basis for articulating its requirements for the mathematics content knowledge of elementary teacher candidates.

The state requires elementary teaching candidates to earn at least nine semester hours of credit in mathematics. However, the state specifies neither the requisite content of these classes nor that they must meet the needs of elementary teachers.

Mississippi has also adopted NCATE's ACEI (Association for Childhood Educational International) standards for approving its elementary programs. ACEI standards address content in mathematics foundations, but these standards lack the specificity needed to ensure that teacher preparation programs deliver other mathematics content of appropriate breadth and depth to elementary teacher candidates. 

Mississippi requires that all new elementary teachers pass a general subject-matter test, the Praxis II. This commercial test lacks a specific mathematics subscore, so one can likely fail the mathematics portion and still pass the test. Further, while this test does cover important elementary school-level content, it barely evaluates candidates' knowledge beyond an elementary school level, does not challenge their understanding of underlying concepts and does not require candidates to apply knowledge in nonroutine, multistep procedures.

Citation

Mississippi Educator Preparation Programs, Process and Performance Reviews http://www.mde.k12.ms.us/ed_licensure/teacher_education.html http://www.acei.org/standhp.htm www.ets.org/praxis "No Common Denominator: The Preparation of Elementary Teachers in Mathematics by America's Education Schools," NCTQ, June 2008 http://www.nctq.org/p/publications/docs/nctq_ttmath_fullreport.pdf.

Recommendations for Mississippi

Require teacher preparation programs to provide mathematics content specifically geared to the needs of elementary teachers.
Although ACEI standards require some knowledge in key areas of mathematics, Mississippi should require teacher preparation programs to provide mathematics content specifically geared to the needs of elementary teachers. This includes specific coursework in foundations, algebra and geometry, with some statistics. 

Require teacher candidates to pass a rigorous mathematics assessment.
Mississippi should assess mathematics content with a rigorous assessment tool, such as the test required in Massachusetts, that evaluates mathematics knowledge beyond an elementary school level and challenges candidates' understanding of underlying mathematics concepts. Such a test could also be used to allow candidates to test out of coursework requirements. Teacher candidates who lack minimum mathematics knowledge should not be eligible for licensure.  

State response to our analysis

Mississippi asserted that all teacher candidates are required to pass the Praxis I math test before being admitted into a preparation program. The state contended that the Praxis I test exceeds the elementary level of performance. Further, teacher education majors are exempt from the Praxis I only if they score a 21 or above on their ACT test, with no subscore lower than 18. This establishes a performance level in each major area of math, reading and writing above an elementary level. 

Mississippi added that colleges are required to submit their program proposals and syllabi for review by the state. This evaluation of the syllabi requires evidence of instruction using the Mississippi Curriculum Frameworks in all subject areas including mathematics, and multiple professional national association standards are used to establish all Mississippi curriculums. Mathematics frameworks are also aligned to MCT2 and subject-area tests, as well as the Depth of Knowledge (DOK) framework. 
Mississippi also noted that the definition of "minimum mathematics knowledge" is not defined, therefore making NCTQ's recommendation regarding a rigorous math assessment somewhat ambiguous. 

Last word

The Praxis I assessment is a basic skills test. It is not intended to be a licensing test but rather an assessment to be used at the point of admission into a teacher preparation program. Such tests generally assess middle school-level skills. To ensure elementary teachers' minimum mathematics knowledge—which includes the critical areas of numbers and operations; algebra; and, to a lesser degree, data analysis and probability—Mississippi should require a rigorous math test, such as the one required in Massachusetts, which challenges candidates' understanding of underlying mathematics concepts.