Elementary Teacher Preparation in
Mathematics: Maryland

Analysis of Maryland's policies

Maryland relies on its coursework requirements as the basis for articulating its requirements for the mathematics content knowledge of elementary teacher candidates.

The state requires elementary teaching candidates to earn at least 12 semester hours of credit in mathematics. However, Maryland stipulates neither the requisite content of these classes nor that they must meet the needs of elementary teachers.

The state also requires that teacher preparation programs prepare elementary teacher candidates to teach to the state's elementary student curriculum. As discussed in Goal 1-B, this requirement is difficult for a state to monitor or enforce.

Finally, Maryland requires that all new elementary teachers pass a general subject-matter test, the Praxis II. This commercial test lacks a specific mathematics subscore, so one can likely fail the mathematics portion and still pass the test. Further, while this test does cover important elementary school-level content, it barely evaluates candidates' knowledge beyond an elementary school level, does not challenge their understanding of underlying concepts and does not require candidates to apply knowledge in nonroutine, multistep procedures.

Citation

COMAR 13A.12.02.04 www.ets.org/praxis "No Common Denominator: The Preparation of Elementary Teachers in Mathematics by America's Education Schools," NCTQ, June 2008 http://www.nctq.org/p/publications/docs/nctq_ttmath_fullreport.pdf

Recommendations for Maryland

Require teacher preparation programs to provide mathematics content specifically geared to the needs of elementary teachers.
Although Maryland requires mathematics coursework, 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. 

Require teacher candidates to pass a rigorous mathematics assessment.
Maryland should assess mathematics content with a rigorous assessment tool, such as the test required in Massachusetts, that 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. Teacher candidates who lack minimum mathematics knowledge should not be eligible for licensure.

State response to our analysis

Maryland asserted that it meets this goal by ensuring, through the program approval process and ongoing monitoring, that its teacher preparation programs provide elementary teachers with a broad liberal arts education. Further, elementary mathematics content is based on the standards of ACEI.  

The state also noted that the Praxis II test required for certification at the elementary level is Elementary Education: Instructional Practice and Analysis (5015) with a passing score of 161. It includes test items on the following four content areas: reading and language arts, math, science and social studies. This is a new test that will be offered for the first time in the 2011-2012 academic year. Some colleges and universities require the Praxis tests as exit requirements; the state requires them for certification.

Last word

The issue is that mathematics as part of a liberal arts framework does not specifically provide the mathematics content that elementary teachers need. Further, while the ACEI standards address content in mathematics foundations, they lack the specificity needed to ensure that teacher preparation programs deliver mathematics content of appropriate breadth and depth to elementary teacher candidates. For example, ACEI algebra standards state that teacher candidates should "know, understand and apply algebraic principles," but they make little mention of the actual knowledge that might contribute to such an understanding.