Teacher Recommendation for Licensure
Teacher Education graduates who complete an approved program of study and meet high academic standards (cumulative GPA of 2.5) are eligible to apply for an educator’s license. Students must make application for licensure through Montana State University-Northern’s Teacher Certification Officer to the Office of Public Instruction. Because of current review of licensure by the Office of Public Instruction, eligibility requirements from the college may change. All applications for licensure will be reviewed on the basis of the rules under which the license is issued.
Students completing Montana State University-Northern’s Elementary Teacher Education Program will be recommended for a standard Class II Educator License which qualifies holders to teach kindergarten through grade eight (K-8). Students completing one of Montana State University-Northern’s Secondary Teacher Education Programs will be recommended for a Standard Class II Secondary Educator License, which qualifies holders to teacher their subject area in grades 5-12 or K-12, depending on the program completed.
In addition to their general professional education requirements, secondary education majors will complete an academic major with no minor or a combination of a regular major with a minor. Individuals obtaining a Montana Class II Educator License will be licensed in their major and minor areas. Students who complete majors with no minor (40-60 credits) will be licensed to teach subjects within the area encompassed by that discipline. Students who complete a regular major (30-39 credits) and a minor (20-29 credits) will be licensed to teach in the two areas. Areas of concentration, an option that is available in some programs, do not lead to licensure or endorsement in that area of concentration.
Licensure Requirements
The “test” for content knowledge required by the No Child Left Behind Act for new-to-the profession elementary education majors recommended for licensure by Montana teacher preparation accredited institutions shall consist of the following elements:
1. Content Course work GPA.
- each institution shall identify at least 30 credits of content course work (i.e., course work that provides the content knowledge base for students to teach reading, writing, mathematics, science, social studies and other courses normally taught in the elementary school).
- A grade point average (GPA) of that course work will be calculated for each prospective new-to-the-profession elementary teacher on a 0 to 4 point scale after completion of the course work and prior to program completion.
- The possible range for awarding points in this component is 0-4 and will be calculated as follows:
GPA Points
3.00-4.00 4
2.50-2.99 3
2.00-2.49 1
below 2.00 0
2. Assessment of content knowledge demonstrated during student teaching by a highly qualified teacher and a university supervisor
- Each student teacher prior to recommendation for licensure shall be evaluated by a highly qualified teacher and a university supervisor during his/her student teaching on a scale of 0 to 3 based on the demonstration of content knowledge during the student teaching experience. The assessment shall be a summative assessment of knowledge of the content of subjects normally taught in the elementary school and be based on the professional judgment of the highly qualified teacher and university supervisor.
- Each institution shall use the following descriptors in making these judgments and assigned points calculated as follows:
Descriptor Points
Knowledge is Advanced 3
Knowledge is Proficient 2
Knowledge is Basic 1*
Knowledge is Unacceptable 0
* For students who achieve a passing composite score, but receive a score of 1 on demonstrated knowledge of content during student teaching, a further individualized review of the student’s content knowledge and teaching skill will be conducted to ensure that the student merits recommendation for licensure.
3. Scores on PRAXIS III Elementary Content Knowledge test:
- Prior to program completion, each prospective new-to-the-profession elementary teacher shall complete the PRAXIS II Elementary Content Knowledge Test and have that score reported to the institution that will be recommending him/her for licensure.
- Based on national data, the institution shall determine the student score as follows:
Score Range Points
164-200 6
154-163 5
139-153 3
125-138 1*
100-124 0
*For students who achieve a passing composite score, but receive a score on the PRAXIS II of 1, a further individualized review of the student’s content knowledge and teaching skill will be conducted to ensure that the student merits recommendation for licensure.
Content Knowledge Score
Each institution shall use the above components to develop a Content Knowledge Score that shall be used to demonstrate that a prospective elementary new-to-the-profession teacher has met the content knowledge requirement of the Highly Qualified Teacher provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act. The composite Content Knowledge Score (CKS) shall be calculated as follows:
CKS = Content FPA points + Student Teaching Assessment points + PRAXIS points
The possible range for the CKS score is 0-13. Students scoring lower than CKS=8 or who score zero on any of the three multiple measures shall not be recommended for licensure
Review Process
A score of 1 on any of the three multiple measures will trigger further individualized review of the student’s content knowledge and teaching skill by teacher preparation programs before recommending candidates for licensure. National Education Association Educational Testing Service (ETS)
