4 EDCAL April 1, 2019
Report: Elementary teachers lack prep
needed to pass state licensing tests
New analysis from the National Council
on Teacher Quality reveals both astonish-
ingly high numbers of elementary teacher
candidates failing their professional licens-
ing tests each year, as well as widespread
evidence that teacher preparation programs
give scant attention to the content knowl-
edge candidates need. Teacher candidates
who do not pass these tests, even though
they have finished their program of study,
are generally denied a standard license by
their state to teach.
As documented in “A Fair Chance:
Simple steps to strengthen and diversify the
teacher workforce,” few teacher preparation
programs either conduct any sort of screen-
ing or require specific coursework in the
subject area knowledge traditionally taught
in elementary grades.
The fact that more candidates fail their
professional exams on their first attempt
(54 percent) than pass them suggests a lack
of adequate preparation and lies in stark
comparison to other professions. Nursing,
for example, achieves an 85 percent first-
time pass rate.
Candidates of color are hit hardest. Al-
ready more likely to be disadvantaged by an
inequitable system of K-12 education, only
38 percent of black teacher candidates and
57 percent of Hispanic teacher candidates
pass the most widely used licensing test
even after multiple attempts, compared to
75 percent of white candidates. If the pass
rate for black and Hispanic teacher candi-
dates were comparable to white candidates,
the diversity of the new teaching pool
would increase by half.
The report features the many voices of
aspiring teachers who were unable to pass
their test, as well as those teachers who
needed multiple attempts.
Says one aspiring teacher: “It’s just really
frustrating and discouraging. I was Dean’s
List, Ed Honors Society. You think you are
prepared, and it’s the only thing holding
you back from doing the thing you love.”
The report examined the undergraduate
course requirements at each of 817 institu-
tions, both the “general education” course-
work required of all students at an insti-
tution and the coursework required by the
education program. The dearth of relevant
coursework is unmistakable:
• A tiny percentage of programs (3 per-
cent) require courses to ensure candidates
gain foundational knowledge across science
topics. For example, instead of directing
teacher candidates to a basic chemistry
course (or first requiring evidence of the
candidate’s knowledge of chemistry), can-
didates often have a choice of courses, such
as how chemistry is used in art restoration
or herbal medicines. Further, while some
courses appear to be suitable, they are often
too narrow in scope (e.g. “Lightning and
Thunderstorms”) to benefit a teacher who
lacks a broad knowledge of science.
• Only a quarter of programs (27
percent) require sufficient coursework in
mathematics.
• History, geography and literature
courses aligned with elementary stan-
dards are similarly absent from course
requirements. For example, only half of
all programs even require an adequate
course in children’s literature, in spite of the
fundamental role it plays in all elementary
curricula.
“Of all the different strategies to try
and attract more individuals of color to
the teaching profession, here we surface
thousands of candidates a year who want to
teach, who would teach, but whose insti-
tutions are not providing what they need
to be successful,” said NCTQ President
Kate Walsh. “Few challenges faced by the
teaching profession can be solved as easily
as this one — just guide them to the right
coursework.”
Low pass rates on the elementary con-
tent licensing exam have fueled a backlash
in many states against the tests themselves,
with calls to discard licensing tests or lower
the passing scores to make it easier to
diversify the profession.
But these responses elide the central
problem that these tests diagnose: Aspiring
teachers are not prepared by either their
K-12 education or their teacher preparation
programs in the content they will have to
teach. Government surveys routinely report
elementary teachers feel inadequately pre-
pared for the classroom.
The NCTQ analysis uses data from
the most popular elementary content test,
found in 23 states, the Praxis Elementary
Education: Multiple Subjects Exam, but
uncovers evidence that states using other
tests also have low pass rates. Currently 45
states and the District of Columbia require
aspiring teachers to pass one of 22 content
tests that are on the market for becoming
licensed to teach, with five states (Hawaii,
New Jersey, Ohio, Iowa and Arizona)
exempting some elementary teachers from
content tests. Only two companies, ETS
and Pearson, are in this market.
While the report includes details on
what each of the 817 institutions provide
by way of content coverage, it was not
able to report the pass rates for individual
institutions.
Although every state publishes insti-
tution-level pass rate data, NCTQ could
not identify a single state that publishes
first-time and final pass rate data for all
programs, for all licensure exams. State data
reported to the federal government are only
available for “program completers,” which
many institutions define as individuals who
have passed the licensing tests, not all test
takers.
Accordingly, these pass rates are mis-
leading, with programs posting average pass
rates of 95 to 96 percent. In the handful
of states that claim to post data on all test
takers, their data are generally fraught with
other reporting issues.
Recommendations for higher ed
leaders and teacher prep programs
• Provide better parameters for selecting
from courses that count toward general
education requirements for undergradu-
ate students who indicate an interest in
teaching.
• Use the teacher preparation program
admissions process as an opportunity to
diagnose weaknesses in content knowledge,
then tailor teacher candidates’ course of
study to fill in gaps.
• Set undergraduate and graduate
program content course requirements to
align with what elementary teachers need
to know.
Recommendations for state
policymakers
• Revisit current licensing tests to
ensure they capture the content knowledge
teachers need to fully prepare students to
meet college-and-career readiness stan-
dards.
• Understand that the response to low
pass rates is not to abandon tests or make
them easier to pass, but to hold teacher
prep programs accountable for preparing
candidates in the content aligned to ele-
mentary standards.
• Publish first-time and highest-score
licensing test pass rates for all candidates
enrolled in a teacher prep program to give
prospective teacher candidates the infor-
mation they deserve to choose a program
where they are more likely to be successful.
Read the full NCTQ report at https://
www.nctq.org/publications/A-Fair-Chance.
ACSA's Resource Hub offers a plethora of useful information for school leaders on
such issues as student safety, credentialing, increasing community engagement,
deepening student learning, dealing with crises and much more.
Access resources on these and other topics at http://content.acsa.org.
Leadership Institute now open for registration in Southern California
Principals’ Summer
Institute
June 23-29, 2019
Institute for New &
Aspiring Principals
June 24-28, 2019
ACSA has opened enrollment of a new credentialing program offering the Preliminary
Administrative Services Credential. The credential is earned over the course of a year
via the Southern California Leadership Institute. ACSA’s offering of the Leadership
Institute is made possible by strategic partnerships with the Sacramento County
Office of Education and San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools.
The Leadership Institute has been well-received by participants. Current and former
students assert that the credentialing experience, in comparison to others they have
had, reside with Program Director Michael Roe – whose unconventionally direct and
inspiring leadership style challenges students to explore, question and discover their
learning in relationship to their leadership journey and impact on the profession.
Couple that with an outstanding faculty with a wealth of experience and the foun-
dation is set for a program designed to cultivate a leadership experience that takes
learning from the theoretical and directs it towards the real challenges we face in
our profession.
Courses are taught by experienced school leaders such as superintendents Terrence
Davis and Martinrex Kedziora; assistant superintendents Perry Wiseman and Darren
Daniel; consultants and former district leaders Suzette Lovely, LaFaye Platter and
Kenn Young. ACSA is pleased to announce that Robert Taylor, superintendent of
Walnut Valley USD, signed on to teach the program for 2019-20.
Main faculty are joined by established Mini Session Experts, which comprise ele-
mentary and secondary principals, directors and assistant superintendents from all
over the state who share their exceptional knowledge in a specific area related to the
course. Online chats take place weekly in small groups, which are rotated between
each course and mediated by online principal-coaches.
In order to be eligible for the Leadership Institute, applicants must have:
• An earned teaching credential or service credential.
• Five years of full-time teaching experience.
• Passing score on either the California Basic Educational Skills Test or the California
Subject Examination for Teachers.
The program curriculum is based on the California Professional Standards for
Education Leaders, and is comprised of 154 hours of in-class instruction and 77 hours
of online chats, which take place over the course of the year. This time is organized
in six courses, and are directly aligned to the new CalAPA. In-person meetings of
the entire cohort are held every other Saturday from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. in San
Bernardino County.
Additionally, each student
creates an end-of-program
project based on a “Focus
School” intended to put
concepts and standards
from the coursework into action. The project centers around a need of the participant’s
school or district which assists with continued development and implementation, and
each project proposal is developed collaboratively with the program director and facul-
ty, as well as with the participant’s district coach and peers. Participants present their
projects at the end-of-program symposium.
By completing four additional classes the following year (a two-year program total),
candidates may apply the work from Leadership Institute courses toward earning
their master’s degree in Applied School Leadership – an option made possible
through ACSA’s collaboration with National University.
Participants have a support system and wealth of resources available to them through-
out the program. Key concepts, requirements and program expectations are provided
throughout so that participants are inspired and set up to succeed from the beginning.
Live support includes the Leadership Institute Team, a faculty mentor, district coach, and
online principal-coaches, while the participant handbook provides details about course-
work, fieldwork, online instruction, policies and procedures. Additionally, Leadership
Institute all-inclusive reading materials are provided on a Kindle Fire, which participants
keep, that are distributed to candidates at the onset of the program.
Upon successful completion of the coursework for the Preliminary Administrative
Services Credential, participants’ names will be submitted to the program office at
CTC for either the Certificate of Eligibility or the Preliminary Administrative Services
Credential, if the participant has received an offer of administrative employment by
a district, along with passing scores on the CalAPA.
The 2019-20 Leadership Institute application period is now open through mid-May.
The online application as well as additional information are available at https://
www.acsa.org/credentialing.
To reserve a spot or for more information contact Program Director Michael Roe, at
[email protected] or (951) 746-5974 for more information.