Elementary Teacher Preparation Policy
Mathematics Content Test Requirements: Oregon's endorsement 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."
The Course to Endorsement Catalogue indicates that teachers with the Elementary—Multiple Subjects license are authorized to teach elementary subjects through grade 6 as well as through grade 8 in self-contained classrooms.
The National Evaluation Series (NES) Elementary Education content test consists of two separately scored subtests. Mathematics counts for 50 percent of subtest two and is combined with other subject areas, e.g., science and the arts, health and fitness. Because the test does not report a specific math score, a teacher candidate could answer many math questions incorrectly and still pass the test.
The framework for Oregon's test covers numbers and operations, data analysis, and basic concepts of geometry and algebra. However, the standards are not specifically geared to meet the needs of elementary teachers.
Require teacher candidates to pass a rigorous mathematics assessment.
Although Oregon is on the right track in requiring an elementary assessment with subtests, the state's efforts fall short because it combines math with other subjects and does not report a specific subscore for math. Oregon should strengthen its policy by testing mathematics content with a rigorous assessment tool, such as the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL) mathematics test, which 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. To help ensure that all students are taught by a teacher who has demonstrated adequate mathematics content knowledge, teacher candidates who lack this knowledge should not be eligible for licensure.
Require teacher preparation programs to provide mathematics content specifically geared to the needs of elementary teachers.
Oregon must ensure that new teachers are prepared to teach the mathematics content required by college- and career-readiness standards. Although Oregon requires some coursework in mathematics, the state 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 coursework. To help ensure that all students are taught by a teacher with adequate mathematics content knowledge, teacher candidates who lack this knowledge should not be eligible for licensure.
Oregon stated that all candidates pursuing an Elementary - Multiple Subjects endorsement must complete the edTPA. This includes Task Four, Elementary Education Mathematics Task.
2B: Teaching Elementary Mathematics
Required math coursework should be tailored in both design and delivery to the unique needs of the elementary teacher. Aspiring elementary teachers must acquire a deep conceptual knowledge of the mathematics that they will teach, moving well beyond mere procedural understanding.[1] Their training should focus on the critical areas of numbers and operations; algebra; geometry; and, to a lesser degree, data analysis and probability.
To ensure that elementary teachers are well trained to teach the essential subject of mathematics, states must require teacher preparation programs to cover these four areas in coursework that is specially designed for prospective elementary teachers.[2] Leading mathematicians and math educators have found that elementary teachers are not well served by courses designed for a general audience and that methods courses also do not provide sufficient preparation.[3] According to Dr. Roger Howe, a mathematician at Yale University: "Future teachers do not need so much to learn more mathematics, as to reshape what they already know."
States' policies should require preparation in mathematics of appropriate breadth and depth and specific to the needs of the elementary teacher. Reports by NCTQ on teacher preparation, beginning with No Common Denominator: The Preparation of Elementary Teachers in Mathematics by America's Education Schools (2008) and continuing through the Teacher Prep Review, have consistently found few elementary teacher preparation programs across the country providing high-quality preparation in mathematics.[4] Whether through standards or coursework requirements, states must ensure that their preparation programs graduate only teacher candidates who are well prepared to teach mathematics.
Many state tests offer no assurance that teachers are prepared to teach mathematics. An increasing number of states require passage of a mathematics subtest as a condition of licensure, but many states still rely on subject-matter tests that include some items (or even a whole section) on mathematics instruction. However, since subject-specific passing scores are not required, one need not know much mathematics in order to pass. In fact, in some cases one could answer every mathematics question incorrectly and still pass.[5] States need to ensure that it is not possible to pass a licensure test that purportedly covers mathematics without knowing the critical material.
The content of these tests poses another issue: these tests should properly test elementary content but not at an elementary level. Instead, problems should challenge the teacher candidate's understanding of underlying concepts and apply knowledge in nonroutine, multistep procedures.[6] The MTEL test required by both Massachusetts and North Carolina remains the standard bearer for a high quality, rigorous assessment for elementary teachers entirely and solely focused on mathematics.