Secondary Teacher Preparation in Social
Studies: Tennessee

Analysis of Tennessee's policies

Tennessee does not offer certification in general social studies for secondary teachers. Teachers must be certified in a specific discipline within the subject area of social studies. 

Middle school social studies teachers in Tennessee must earn a middle grades certification. The state articulates a major requirement, which includes an interdisciplinary major that involves study in English, mathematics, science and social studies; an interdisciplinary major in two disciplines from the arts and sciences; or a major in a single discipline from the arts and sciences with an area of emphasis in at least one additional discipline outside the major. Candidates are only required to pass the Praxis II "Middle School" general content test, which combines all four subject areas.

Citation

Tennessee Licensure Standards and Induction Guidelines, pages 7-17, 13-1 http://www.tennessee.gov/education/lic/doc/accttchlicstds.pdf Praxis Testing Requirements www.ets.org

Recommendations for Tennessee

Require middle school social studies teachers to pass a test of content knowledge that ensures sufficient knowledge of social studies.
A general subject-matter test that combines literature/language arts, mathematics, history/social studies and science—without reporting separate scores—does not ensure that middle school social studies teachers possess adequate knowledge of social studies, as it may be possible to answer many—perhaps all—social studies questions incorrectly and still pass the test.

State response to our analysis

Tennessee noted that subject-specific licensure for secondary social studies teachers is offered in history, government, geography, economics, psychology and sociology. Preparation includes a set of social studies core standards that focuses primarily on middle grades social studies content. As a condition of licensure, the subject-specific Praxis II test must be passed. 

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