Middle School Licensure Requirements: Oregon
Secondary Teacher Preparation Policy
Analysis of Oregon's policies
Licensure rules in Oregon allow teachers to "accept any instructional assignment from prekindergarten through grade 12 within
the scope of the subject-matter endorsement(s)."
The rules
indicate that "the scope of the endorsement shall be determined by the
National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) course codes
associated with the endorsement." Because the elementary endorsement
chart lists core content subjects and self-contained course codes
through grade 8, it appears that elementary teachers can teach grades 7
and 8 in a self-contained classroom. Therefore, there is no assurance that all middle school teachers will have sufficient knowledge in each subject they teach.
Oregon also offers, but does not require foundational level endorsements in: English Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Studies. These are the state's middle school level
endorsements.
Recommendations for Oregon
Prepare middle school teachers to teach middle school.
Oregon should not allow middle school teachers to teach on a generalist
license that does not differentiate between the preparation of middle
school teachers and that of elementary teachers. These teachers are less
likely to be adequately prepared to teach core academic areas at the
middle school level because their preparation requirements are not
specific to the middle or secondary levels, and they need not pass a
subject-matter test in each subject they teach. Adopting middle school
teacher preparation policies for all such teachers will help ensure that
students in grades 7 and 8 have teachers who are appropriately
prepared to teach grade-level content, which is different and more
advanced than what elementary teachers teach.
Require content testing in all core areas.
Oregon should require subject-matter testing for all middle school teacher candidates in every core academic area they intend to teach as a condition of initial licensure. The state's policy of only requiring middle school teachers who teach multiple subjects to take the same subject-matter test as elementary teachers is simply not adequate. Oregon should set its passing scores to reflect high levels of performance to ensure meaningful middle school content tests.
State response to our analysis
Oregon did not respond to NCTQ's request to review this analysis for accuracy.
Updated: February 2020
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Oregon
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Teacher Preparation
- Program Entry
- Teacher Shortages and Surpluses
- Program Performance Measures
- Program Reporting Requirements
- Student Teaching/Clinical Practice
Elementary Teacher Preparation
Secondary Teacher Preparation
- Middle School Content Knowledge
- Middle School Licensure Requirements
- Secondary Content Knowledge
- Secondary Licensure Requirements
Special Education Teacher Preparation
Alternate Routes
Teacher Diversity
Hiring
Teacher and Principal Evaluation
Teacher Compensation
Early Childhood Preparation
Retaining Effective Teachers
How we graded
3B: Middle School Licensure Requirements
- Specific Licensure: The state should not permit middle school teachers to teach on a generalist license that does not differentiate between the preparation of middle school teachers and the preparation of elementary teachers.
The total goal score is earned based on the following:
- Full credit: The state will earn full credit if it requires teachers to teach on a middle school license (No K-8).
- 1/2 credit: The state will earn one half credit for either maintaining specific requirements limiting elementary teachers ability to teach in departmentalized middle schools or requiring teachers holding a K-8 license to demonstrate some relevant content knowledge at the middle school level.
- 0/0 credit: The state will not earn any credit if it offers a K-8 license or a K-8 license in addition to a middle school license, allowing elementary teachers to teach single subjects at the middle school level without passing single-subject tests, or if the state offers a K-8 license and teachers can teach grades 7 and 8 in a self-contained classroom.
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.