Secondary Teacher Preparation: Washington

Analysis of Washington's policies

Washington offers single-subject secondary licenses to teach grades 5-12. The state requires that its secondary teacher candidates pass a content test to teach any core secondary subjects. The state's code no longer provides a link to the endorsement-related assignment table; consequently, it is unclear whether Washington has strengthened its policy by no longer allowing secondary teachers to teach certain math courses.

Washington permits other significant loopholes 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 (see "Secondary Teacher Preparation in Science and Social Studies" analysis and recommendations).

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

Washington requires secondary English teachers to pass the NES English Language Arts assessment, which includes some of the instructional shifts toward building content knowledge and vocabulary through careful reading of informational and literary texts associated with the state's college- and career-readiness standards for students. The state's competencies for English language arts teachers also address informational texts.

However, neither competencies nor secondary tests in other content areas address incorporating literacy skills.

Regarding struggling readers, English language arts competencies require teachers to "use instructional strategies to help students, including struggling readers, develop reading proficiency (such as semantic mapping, directed reading-thinking activities, comprehension skill-based activities, phonics based instruction, and scaffolding)."

Citation

NES Test www.nestest.com WEST-E Tests www.west.nesinc.com Endorsement Competencies http://program.pesb.wa.gov/endorsements/list Revised Code of Washington 28A.410.220 WAC 181-82-105 Endorsement-Related Assignment Table http://www.pesb.wa.gov/districts/endorsement-related-assignment-table

Recommendations for Washington

Require subject-matter testing for secondary teacher candidates. 
As a condition of licensure, Washington should require its secondary teacher candidates to pass a content test in each subject area they plan to teach to ensure that they possess adequate subject-matter knowledge and are prepared to teach grade-level content. Washington should not assume that science teachers are adequately prepared to teach math at the high school level. The only way to guarantee requisite subject matter is to require a passing score on a rigorous mathematics assessment. 

Require subject-matter testing when adding any subject-area endorsements. 
Washington requires passing scores on subject-specific content tests for teachers who are licensed in core secondary subjects and wish to add another subject area, or endorsement, to their licenses. However, the state has a significant loophole regarding to mathematics. The state should end the policy that allows secondary science teachers to teach certain math courses, including
general math, pre-algebra and algebra, without additional subject-knowledge testing requirements.

Ensure that secondary teachers are prepared to meet the instructional requirements of college- and career-readiness standards for students.
Incorporate informational text of increasing complexity into classroom instruction.
Although Washington's required secondary English language arts content test addresses informational texts, the state should ensure that this test really captures the major instructional shifts of college- and career-ready standards. Washington is therefore encouraged to strengthen its teacher preparation requirements and ensure that all secondary English language arts candidates have the ability to adequately incorporate complex informational text into classroom instruction.

Incorporate literacy skills as an integral part of every subject.
To ensure that secondary students are capable of accessing varied information about the world around them, Washington should also—either through testing frameworks or teacher standards—include literacy skills and using text as a means to build content knowledge in history/social studies, science, technical subjects and the arts.

State response to our analysis

Washington indicated that the state no longer allows the general science endorsement as a stand alone endorsement. It can only be added to an existing specific designated science endorsement (e.g. chemistry). The state added that this still allows the individual to teach across other sciences without a specific subject test for each. (see Goal 1-H).