Teachers' math-test woes prompt hunt for answers

South Dakota officials want to make it easier for some teachers to get the credentials they need to teach high school math.

Getting certified has proven to be a struggle for some fledgling educators in the state hoping to earn the qualifications they need to teach in high school math classrooms.

According to numbers presented Monday to the state's top education officials, 47.5 percent of the teachers who have taken the required Praxis certification exam failed.

Officials won't lower their standards for teachers, but they want to see if there are alternatives better suited to teachers who might not specialize in math, or those who only teach lower levels, said Don Kirkegaard, president of the state Board of Education.

"Our benchmark isn't too high," Kirkegaard said. "It's the same benchmark that other states have as well."

The good news is, South Dakota isn't alone. The state's Department of Education contracts with the New Jersey-based Educational Testing Service for its teacher certification tests. Thirty-six states turn to the group for the same kind of service, using its subject-based Praxis exams as a gate-keeper for qualified instructors.

All but three states use the same cut score as South Dakota for future math teachers.

National math Praxis results from the 2014-15 school year show South Dakota teachers are actually outshining the 35 states, on average.

"We're not the only state that really has concerns," said Abby Javurek-Humig, director of the DOE's division of assessment and accountability.

But officials won't be lowering the cut scores for teachers, Kirkegaard said. Instead, they hope to help the people struggling most.It might seem like common sense, but teachers who are trained in K-12 math instruction have far less trouble making it past the test and getting certified. More than 7 in 10 pass.

Officials hope to introduce a new kind of math endorsement for teachers who might have a science background and want some kind of math credential, or for middle school teachers who want to teach high school-level algebra, but not calculus.

Teachers in this position would be able to earn a separate endorsement and avoid the current Praxis test, which is the same test taken by high school calculus teachers."It would emphasize not lowering the bar," Kirkegaard said. "Just a different bar for different classes."

This new endorsement would brought forward as a proposed rule at the Board of Education's next meeting, July 27, in Rapid City. The rule would be subject to a public hearing.Javurek-Humig describes the credential as an "intermediate level of math endorsement," which would allow a South Dakota teacher to teach algebra or geometry without worrying about calculus.

After it's adopted, DOE staffers would find and recommend a fitting certification test to go along with the endorsement, Javurek-Humig said.

Problem is, the Educational Testing Service doesn't yet have a separate Praxis test for teachers who want to be certified in algebra and geometry but not calculus. It's all the same test.South Dakota education officials are trying to change that, Javurek-Humig said.

"Right now, we are working with Praxis," Javurek-Humig said.