Secondary Teacher Preparation: South Carolina

Analysis of South Carolina's policies

South Carolina requires that its secondary teacher candidates pass a Praxis II content test to teach any core secondary subjects. 

Unfortunately, South Carolina permits a significant loophole to this important policy by allowing both general science and general social studies licenses, without requiring subject-matter testing for each subject area within these disciplines.

General social studies candidates are required to pass the Praxis II Social Studies: Content and Interpretation test. Teachers with this license are not limited to teaching general social studies but rather can teach any of the topical areas.

Further, although the state offers additional secondary certifications in the specific social studies areas (e.g., history, government, geography), it still only requires the same general content tests mentioned above. (For the state's science loophole, see Goal 1-G.)

Further, to add an additional field to a secondary license, teachers must also pass a Praxis II content test. However, as stated above, South Carolina cannot guarantee content knowledge in each specific subject for secondary teachers who add general science or general social studies endorsements. 

Citation

Praxis Testing Requirements www.ets.org Teacher Certification Manual http://ed.sc.gov/agency/act/se/ec/cert/certpdf/teachercertificationmanual.pdf

Recommendations for South Carolina

Require subject-matter testing for all secondary teacher candidates. 
South Carolina wisely requires subject-matter tests for most secondary teachers but should address any loopholes that undermine this policy (see Goal 1-G). This applies to the addition of endorsements as well.

To ensure that its secondary content tests are meaningful, South Carolina should also reevaluate its passing scores so that all tests reflect high levels of performance. For example, the passing score for the Praxis II Mathematics: Proofs, Models and Problems test is set just below the 7th percentile. 

Require secondary social studies teachers to pass a content test for each discipline they are licensed to teach.
By allowing a general social studies certification—and only requiring a general knowledge social studies exam—South Carolina is not ensuring that its secondary teachers possess adequate subject-specific content knowledge. The state's required assessment combines all subject areas (e.g., history, geography, economics) and does not report separate scores for each subject area.

State response to our analysis

South Carolina recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis. The state added that this goal is one that the state superintendent has placed as a high priority item. South Carolina has recently reviewed and set initial cut-scores for secondary content examinations in the areas of biology, chemistry, physics and science. It will require teachers licensed in the sciences to first pass a content test in one disciplinary area (e.g., biology, chemistry, physics). Those who pass the appropriate test will initially be licensed in the disciplinary field of the test and thereafter be eligible to seek certification in broad-field science as an add-on certification only. This item will go before the state board in October 2013.

South Carolina also noted that this same process is being reviewed in the licensure area of social studies. The state will consult with constituencies on the process of requiring initial licensure in history, economics, government or psychology with the option to subsequently seek add-on certification in broad-field social studies.