Florida’s teacher shortage: Numbers of first-time examinees taking and passing state’s high school math certification exam continued their sharp declines in 2018

The number of high school math teaching candidates taking Florida’s Math 6-12 certification exam for the first time continued to decline in 2018, as did the number of first-time examinees passing the exam. The number of candidates taking the Math 6-12 exam for the first time has dropped by 42% since 2013, and the number of first-time examinees passing the exam has declined by 45% during that period.

The continuing decline in the number of individuals seeking high school math teaching certification provides yet another signal that Florida’s teacher shortage is intensifying, and that the steps taken so far to address the shortage – like the Best and Brightest bonuses for first-year teachers with SAT or ACT scores in the 80th percentile or above – have been ineffective.

The numbers of teachers taking certification exams in high school science subjects for the first time (and passing those exams) are either constant or declining. The sharpest decline is in the number of candidates seeking certification in Earth/Space Science. The high school science certification exam results are shown below.

The exam results for 2015-18 are taken from a report that the Florida Department of Education posted late last week. Earlier years were taken from previously posted reports.