Nonprofit Mississippi News CLARKSDALE – K’Acia Drummer, a native of Cleveland, knew that she wanted to be a teacher after receiving a bachelor’s in sociology from Tougaloo College in 2015. K’Acia Drummer, 26, looked up requirements for a Mississippi teacher’s license online. She needed to complete a bachelor’s program in teacher preparation and pass the Praxis exams – national certification exams that assess teachers’ knowledge in certain subjects. In October 2016, Drummer began work as a substitute teacher in Greenville Public Schools, making $11,520 per year. Drummer took the Praxis Core without any guidance or preparation. Drummer failed the Praxis Core and vows to never do it again. For Drummer, an aspiring teacher, it was a difficult task to become certified in Mississippi. According to Mississippi Today, one of the problems is being able to pass Praxis exams. This article is part three in a series about the teacher shortage. The most difficult time to become certified as a teacher is for minority candidates, who are traditionally underserved and have only a few advanced courses in K-12 education. Many colleges don’t have the right programs to fill the gaps and students end up falling between the cracks. A study by the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), which advocates for greater diversity in the teaching workforce, has been released recently. It shows the struggles of Praxis exam candidates of color. These results also demonstrate that teacher preparation programs don’t require teacher candidates to take the classes required to teach in the classroom. According to the study, teachers interested in teaching elementary education fail their licensing exams due to a lack of alignment between the preparation program coursework and content knowledge states require for effective elementary teachers. In an interview with Mississippi Today reporter Hannah Putman, the Managing Director for Research at NCTQ, said that this is content that teachers candidates should already know and it shouldn’t be left up to teacher preparation programs to teach it. It should be known by all college students, and everyone who has completed high school, but they don’t. This is why teacher preparation programs are so important. They are the last line for defense, filling in these gaps.” Mississippi currently has 33,936 teachers. 24461 of these teachers are white; 9,064 are African Americans and 189 are Hispanic. The report “A Fair Chance” shows that 46 percent of teachers pass the exam in all four subject areas. * 38 percent pass African Americans. * 57 percent pass Hispanics. * 75 percent pass white candidates. The NCTQ is a Washington, D.C.-based research and policy group advocating for stricter teacher evaluations. The report examined 817 undergraduate teacher preparation programs, which accounts for 71 percent of all the country’s programs. The report also examined 250 graduate programs, and 30 alternative routes. Do institutions prepare students to teach after graduation? Preparing students to teach in the four major subject areas required for Praxis certification or teaching effectiveness is not something that many prep programs do. The study found that only half of undergraduate programs require children’s literature courses that align with elementary curriculum. One in four programs doesn’t cover science content. One in three programs doesn’t require geography or history. Only 21 of 817 undergraduate prep programs align content coverage with most elementary subjects — California, Michigan and Texas to name a few. The study revealed that none of these programs exist in Mississippi. Nineteen of the thirteen Mississippi institutions included in the study require students take less than half the recommended classes. You can see the complete list of requirements for Mississippi schools by clicking here. Kate Walsh, NCTQ’s executive director, said that it is a strange phenomenon that teacher candidates are not given any guidance or requirements that will prepare them for teaching. Drummer did not enter through a traditional prep school, but she taught seventh through 12th graders. Drummer recalls not being efficient when she first began teaching the material. This is not uncommon among new teachers. According to a U.S. Department of Education survey two-thirds of all new teachers admitted that they didn’t have a good grasp of elementary subjects. Drummer was frustrated at missing the mark by just a few points and missing out on about 11 points. Drummer didn’t know why Drummer couldn’t pass. Drummer realized that the exam content doesn’t match what teachers actually teach in the classroom. “I have taken two tests. On the English/language arts test, you can talk about Victorian periods and Romanticism. You don’t teach this (in the classroom). Drummer stated that if you go into a classroom today, you won’t hear this. Drummer said, “I had a question with a list of authors and books… where can I get that?” Seth Weiner is the executive director of Educational Testing Services. He said that they are aware of this problem and have a process to review Praxis tests both internally and externally in order to ensure they are “balanced.” Weiner stated that they don’t want one person’s literature or culture to be favored over another. “We do a lot more counting when we review the test in order to have a fair representation cultural achievements of men and women, African-American authors, white authors, and Hispanic Americans… it’s not easy to alienate anyone when they take a test.” Black teachers pass Praxis exams with lower rates. It has been a long struggle to recruit and retain certified individuals in the state, especially in the Mississippi Delta school districts. Seven districts in the Delta had at least 19% of their teachers not certified last year. Some cases had a 34 percent rate of teachers without certification. Drummer was determined to become a teacher and decided to take the ACT instead of retaking Praxis Core. Drummer scored 21 which means she was exempted from the Praxis Core. The average Mississippi score is 18.6. She made a binder containing Praxis materials and practice exams she purchased, and forced herself to go through the pages every day. She took the Praxis Subject test, or Praxis II in English/language arts (ELA), seven times over a year in various locations throughout the state. Each time she failed, it cost her more time, patience, and more than $1,000. She said, “Out of seven times, none” of the experiences she’s had – hands-on training, teaching experience in the field – are on the exam. Hispanic and black teachers who are aspiring to teach in the field of education pass licensure exams at lower rates than their white counterparts. Only 46 percent pass the ETS Praxis Elementary Education Multiple Subjects test as a teacher candidate on their first attempt. This is a very low percentage compared to other professions. For example, only 69 percent of those who took the bar exam passed it on their first attempt. 90% of internal medicine doctors pass the exam. Weiner, director of ETS, stated that the numbers are misleading because people look at pass rates for all four sections instead of individual rates. Inequitable K-12 education is the reason why some people fail to pass their exams. Officials at NCTQ said that they lack a solid knowledge base in the material. Erica Webber Jones, a 15-year Praxis instructor and secretary-treasurer of the Mississippi Association of Educators pointed out the different courses offered to students in predominantly black schools. “At the black highschool, students had seven options for math classes to choose from while at the white school, there were 21. Webber-Jones said that the course choices can have an impact on how students perform on Praxis exams, especially if you consider rural and black. Weiner stated that he doesn’t believe it’s about the Praxis exams as much as it’s about achievement gaps. He stated, “I am certain that it stems out of a deep seeded inequality in this country where deep seeded roots are… I don’t think it’s about test.” This multiple subject test is required by 18 states, but it is still the most commonly used. Mississippi has adopted the Praxis Elementary Education: Curriculum Instruction and Assessment. This test combines content and pedagogy assessments (the practice of teaching). This test is different because it unites all content areas into one test. Putman stated that the test is “all kind of lumped together” and has fewer questions than other states’ stronger tests. Mississippi may require 17 questions on social studies, while the multiple subject test requires 60. Putman said that the weaker content requirements are in line with the rest of the country’s. They’re not making sure candidates understand core content. Mississippi’s pass rate for test-takers is 86%. However, this number includes both those who successfully pass their licensure exams the first time and those who have tried multiple times. Walsh, NCTQ director, stated that Mississippi’s required exam is “probably the most difficult in the country” to pass. What’s the next step? State officials say that there are many initiatives to improve diversity in the classroom and increase the number of candidates of color who can be licensed. Despite innovation, many candidates still fail the Praxis tests. The state Board of Education decided to lower the math Praxis cut score last year. Critics claimed they were lowering standards. Walsh said, “It makes me blood boil because those students won’t get back to that grade… That teacher is teaching people that are traditionally underserved.” Officials from the MDE claim that the reduction in score was done based on an “adjustment” and does not affect the benchmark. Debra Burson, director for Educator Preparation at the MDE, stated that ETS has identified the math Praxis Core. “It was designed around Common Core math. A vast majority of candidates entering… haven’t gone through Common Core.” While passing the test does not mean that a teacher cannot be effective in the classroom it does indicate that teachers with higher passing scores are more effective. Research shows this. Drummer persevered despite the challenges. She sought out help from Regional Initiatives for Sustainable Education, a Delta-based non-profit that helped teachers pass the Praxis in 2018. She passed the Praxis in January after receiving additional tutoring. She passed the Praxis in January after her ninth attempt, but it was her first time taking special education tests. She stated that she passed the test because it teaches you how teachers and students interact. Drummer stated, “If we’re going be tested on content, and if content is what we want to know, then we need to also be able prepare on how to teach in a specific area of study.” Drummer is now a seventh- and eighth grade English teacher at W.A. Higgins Middle School in Clarksdale. Webber-Jones said that students are most affected by inefficiency and poor preparation. “It’s almost like a domino effect. You have to pass the exam first, then you spend a lot of money trying get certified. After you have spent all your money to become certified, you are forced into a school district where you don’t get the right pay. Webber-Jones said that many people do not decide to move on and stay. “Students are left behind, and the cycle repeats itself over-and-over,” said Drummer. Drummer added that she had 16- and 15-year-olds in her seventh grade class last year. They were cheated by the system. They failed because the teachers were not prepared. They didn’t know how to teach. Drummer stated that they didn’t know what content to teach. Officials stated that the state Department of Education recognizes the problem and is working to fix it. We recognize the problem. Burson stated that everyone recognizes the problems and is working together to find solutions. “We need diverse teachers for all children, not just those of color. We know that there are institutions that do it well and that we also know of others who struggle. Advocates say that while this problem did not start in higher education, it can be solved with higher education. “The fulfillment is realizing the dream of these people to get a college education, not handing them a piece of paper. It’s not imposing any burden on higher education, as these courses are already available on campus. Walsh, NCTQ director, said that it is important to ensure they receive the right information. Advocates say that in order to reverse decades worth of historical segregation, systemic racism and inequality in educational institutions, all stakeholders – test makers and state legislators as well as state education officials and school district representatives – must work together and discuss the issues. Webber-Jones stated that “we have the state Department of Education doing something, school districts doing something, and then exams putting out content to assess nationwide rather than being specific to Mississippi… it will always be an issue.” Contributing: Kelsey Davis