The numbers of individuals passing Florida’s teacher certification exams in math, chemistry, biology and Earth/space science on the first attempt trended upward in 2021, according to a report just released by the Florida Department of Education.
After years of declines, the number of individuals taking the Math 6-12 exam for the first time started rising in 2019 and has risen sharply during the last two years. However, the number passing that exam on the first attempt has risen much more modestly during the last two years.
The numbers of first-time exam takers in chemistry, biology and Earth/space science have also risen dramatically during the last two years. However, in all three cases the number of individuals passing these exams on the first attempt have risen much more modestly. This is also the case for the exam leading to Math 5-9 certification, which allows a teacher to teach courses as high as Algebra 2, but not precalculus or calculus.
The number of individuals taking the certification exam in Physics for the first time has risen by 74% since 2018, but the number passing on that first attempt was actually lower in 2021 than it was in 2018.
What is not clear is why the number of first-time exam takers has risen so dramatically. There has not been any corresponding increase in the numbers graduating from Florida’s teacher preparation programs. Two possible explanations come to mind. First, it may be that some individuals who are established in other careers have decided to break into teaching, perhaps drawn in part by the widely advertised starting salary of $47,500. Those individuals might not be well prepared for the subject certification exams. Second, it may be that teachers already in the classroom are trying to add certifications in other subjects to plug holes in staffing as other teachers leave. Those teachers have been very busy and even burned out, and it’s difficult to imagine when a biology teacher would have the time or energy to prepare for (for example) the physics certification exam.
Nevertheless, the modestly rising number of individuals passing exams on the first attempt in some of the subjects with the greatest shortages – like Math 6-12, Chemistry, Biology and Earth/Space Science – is good news.
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