Secondary Teacher Preparation in Science:
Louisiana

Analysis of Louisiana's policies

Louisiana requires that secondary science teachers have a focus area in general science, which requires 22 hours of science coursework, in addition to the nine hours required for general education. Candidates must also pass the Praxis II "General Science" test. Teachers with this license are not limited to teaching general science but rather can teach any of the topical areas.

Middle school science teachers in Louisiana must have two focus areas and must take a total of 19 semester hours of science: 15 hours are a general education requirement, and four hours are a focus-area coursework requirement. Commendably, candidates must also pass the Praxis II "Middle School Science" test.

Citation

Louisiana Administrative Code Title 28, Bulletin 746, sections 209, 211 Praxis Testing Requirements www.ets.org

Recommendations for Louisiana

Require secondary science teachers to pass tests of content knowledge for each science discipline they intend to teach.
States that allow general science certifications—and only require a general knowledge science exam—are not ensuring that these secondary teachers possess adequate subject-specific content knowledge. Louisiana's required general assessment combines all subject areas (e.g., biology, chemistry, physics) and does not report separate scores for each subject area. Therefore, candidates could answer many—perhaps all—chemistry questions, for example, incorrectly, yet still be licensed to teach chemistry to high school students. The state's single-subject testing option could result in a teacher teaching physics, having only been tested in biology. 

State response to our analysis

Louisiana asserted that secondary science candidates who pass the Praxis II General Science test are issued a general science certification and are limited to teaching general science courses. The state also noted that it offers additional secondary science endorsements in the following areas: biology, chemistry and physics. These endorsements require passing scores on the corresponding subject-specific Praxis II exam. 

Last word

NCTQ is unable to find policy that limits teachers with a general science certificate to teaching only general science courses. Rather than rely on assumed common understandings regarding which courses a teacher with a general science certificate may or may not teach, Louisiana should articulate specific policy ensuring that all science teachers are required to pass a subject-specific content test for each area they plan to teach.