Secondary Teacher Preparation Policy
Content Test Requirements: Mississippi offers a middle school license to teach grades 4-8. All new middle school teachers in Mississippi teaching the core subjects in middle school grades are also required to pass a single-subject Praxis II content test to attain licensure; a general content-knowledge test is not an option. The state also offers a supplemental endorsement to teach grades 7-8 that can be added to an existing license.
Ensure that content tests adequately measure sufficient knowledge in all subjects.
Mississippi 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.
Mississippi recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis.
3A: Middle School Content Knowledge
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.