Secondary Content Knowledge: Arizona
Secondary Teacher Preparation Policy
Analysis of Arizona's policies
Content Test Requirements: Arizona offers single-subject secondary licenses to teach grades 6-12. New legislation allows candidates pursuing the Subject Matter Expert Standard Teaching Certificate the following options to meet the state's subject-knowledge proficiency requirements:
- Has taught courses relevant to a content area or subject matter for the last two consecutive years
- Has either a baccalaureate degree, a master's degree or a doctorate degree in a specific subject area that is directly relevant to a content area or subject matter taught in public schools, or
- Demonstrates expertise through relevant work experience of at least five years in a field that is relevant to a content area or subject matter taught in public schools.
Endorsements: Secondary teachers in Arizona may add approved areas to their licenses as outlined above.
Secondary Licensure Deficiencies: Unfortunately, Arizona allows both general science and general social studies licenses without requiring subject-matter testing for each subject area within these disciplines. Because secondary content testing loopholes are scored in 3-E: Secondary Licensure Deficiencies, it is not considered as part of the score for the Secondary Content Knowledge goal.
Recommendations for Arizona
Require content testing in all core areas for secondary teacher candidates.
Arizona should require subject-matter testing for all secondary teacher candidates in every core academic area they intend to teach as a condition of initial licensure. To ensure meaningful secondary content tests, the state should set its passing scores to reflect high levels of performance. The state's new policy allows teacher candidates to demonstrate content knowledge in ways that do not include the passage of a test with individual subscores. Relevant upper-level coursework lays the foundation for requisite content knowledge, but to ensure that teacher candidates possess sufficient subject-matter knowledge for the secondary classroom, Arizona should require all teacher candidates to pass a single-subject test.
Require subject-matter testing when adding subject-area endorsements.
Arizona should require passing scores on subject-specific content tests, regardless of other coursework or degree requirements, for teachers who are licensed in core secondary subjects and wish to add another subject area, or endorsement, to their licenses.
State response to our analysis
Arizona specified that the subject-matter option regarding teaching courses also includes teaching for a total of at least three years at one or more regionally or nationally accredited public or private post-secondary institutions.
Updated: December 2017
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How we graded
3D: Secondary Content Knowledge
- Content Tests: The state should require that all new secondary teachers pass a separately scored subject-matter test in every subject they are licensed to teach.
- Additional Endorsements: The state should require that all secondary teachers pass a separately scored subject-matter test when adding subject-area endorsements to an existing license.
One-half of the total goal score is earned based on the following:
- One-half credit: The state will earn one-half of a point if it requires all new secondary teachers to pass a separately scored licensing test in every subject they are licensed to teach.
One-half of the total goal score is earned based on the following:
- One-half credit: The state will earn one-half of a point if it requires all secondary teachers to pass a separately scored content test to add subject-area endorsements to an existing license.
Research rationale
Completion of coursework provides no assurance that prospective teachers know the specific content they will teach. Secondary teachers must be experts in the subject matter they teach, and a rigorous, subject-matter specific test ensures that teacher candidates are sufficiently and appropriately knowledgeable in their content area. In fact, research suggests that a positive correlation exists between teachers' content knowledge and the academic achievement of their students.[1] Coursework is generally only indicative of background in a subject area; even a major offers no certainty of what content has been covered. A history major, for example, could have studied relatively little American history or almost exclusively American history. To assume that the major has adequately prepared the candidate to teach American history, European history, or ancient civilizations is an unwarranted leap of faith, whereas a rigorous content test could verify aspiring teachers' knowledge in each topic area.
Requirements should be just as rigorous when adding an endorsement to an existing license. Many states will allow teachers to add a content area endorsement to their license simply on the basis of having completed coursework. As described above, the completion of coursework does not offer assurance of specific content knowledge. Even states that require a content test for initial licensure should require an additional content test for adding an endorsement.
[1] Monk, D. (1994). Subject-area preparation of secondary mathematics and science teachers and student achievement. Economics of Education Review, 13(2), 125-145; Goldhaber, D. D., & Brewer, D. J. (1997). Why don't schools and teachers seem to matter? Assessing the impact of unobservables on educational productivity. Journal of Human Research, 32(3), 505-523.; National Council on Teacher Quality. (2010). The all-purpose science teacher: An analysis of loopholes in state requirements for high school science teachers. Retrieved from http://www.nctq.org/p/publications/docs/NCTQ_All_Purpose_Science_Teacher.pdf; National Council on Teacher Quality. (2014). Infographic on secondary certification. Retrieved from http://www.nctq.org/dmsView/NCTQ_-_Standard_7,8_Groundwork_-_Infographic_on_Secondary_Certification; For consideration for elementary teachers' need to master content knowledge, see: Goldhaber, D. (2007). Everyone's doing it, but what does teacher testing tell us about teacher effectiveness? Journal of Human Resources, 42(4), 765-794.; See also: Harris, D. N., & Sass, T. R. (2011). Teacher training, teacher quality and student achievement. Journal of Public Economics, 95(7), 798-812. Retrieved from
http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED509656.pdf; For research on this effect specific to reading achievement: Carlisle, J. F., Correnti, R., Phelps, G., & Zeng, J. (2009). Exploration of the contribution of elementary teachers' knowledge about reading to their students' improvement in reading. Reading and Writing, 22(4), 457-486.