Mississippi has faced teacher shortages for many years, and the state has addressed these shortages by lowering the standards for who may become a teacher.
Below is an overview, starting in 2017, of Mississippi’s attempts to address teacher shortage’s by lowering teacher licensing requirements and standards.
November 2017– Facing a critical teacher shortage, the Mississippi state Board of Education votes to grant aspiring teachers a temporary, one-year teaching license to those with at least a bachelor’s degree in the subject area without taking a Praxis or licensing exam.
November 2018- Mississippi state board of education announces a pilot program that loosens the requirements to become a teacher. Mississippi requires that teaching candidates make a 21 on the ACT or pass the Praxis licensing exam. Teachers must also pass a test in the content area they wish to teach. The pilot program allows for the possibility of the content area requirement to be removed.
June 2019: Mississippi department of education votes to lower the Praxis/teacher test math score to 130. Before this, the passing score was 150.
Sept. 2019- Praxis tests, required for teacher licensing, place less emphasis on algebra and geometry.
March 2020- Mississippi state board of education suspends the licensure testing criterion. through Dec. 2021.
PDE’s research did not discover Board follow up on the temporary provision Although, below is an update from Jackson, Mississippi public schools dated Nov. 5, 2021 stating that teachers may have a 21 ACT score or above or Praxis Core exam passing score as established by the State Board of Education and “Passing scores on the appropriate Praxis Subject Assessment.”
August 2022– Mississippi offers free Praxis prep courses for aspiring teachers.
Despite lowering the requirements for becoming a teacher, Mississippi still faces critical teacher shortages. According to an Oct. 5, 2022 report from Mississippi’s WLBT, 1 in 5 teachers left in 2021.
