Certification Requirements for a Teacher of Middle School Education (Grades 5–9)

PURPOSE: The State Board of Education is authorized to grant certificates of license to teach in any of the public schools of the state and establish requirements and qualifications for those certificates. This rule outlines the requirements for application for a certificate of license to teach Middle School Education. (1) An applicant for a Missouri certificate of license to teach Middle School Education who possesses good moral character may be granted an initial Missouri certificate of license to teach Middle School Education subject to the certification requirements found in 5 CSR 20-400.500 and the following additional certification requirements specific to Middle School Education: (A) General Requirements. An applicant for a Missouri certificate of license to teach who has successfully completed an educator preparation program approved by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (department) must comply with the following additional criteria: 1. The applicant must possess a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university; 2. The applicant must have a recommendation from the designated official at a baccalaureate or higher-level educator preparation program approved by the department; 3. The applicant must possess a grade point average of 2.5 or higher in the specific content area for which certification is sought; 4. The applicant must achieve a score equal to or in excess of the qualifying score on the required exit assessment(s) as defined in 5 CSR 20-400.440. The official score shall be submitted to the department; 5. The applicant must complete the professional requirements as determined by the recommending educator preparation program, which may exceed these minimum requirements; and 6. Individuals who completed an educator preparation program outside of the United States shall provide documentation of completion of coursework in the following: A. English Composition, two (2) courses, each a minimum of two (2) semester hours; B. U.S. History, three (3) semester hours; and C. U.S. Government, three (3) semester hours; (B) Professional Requirements Effective until August 1, 2025. A minimum of forty-five (45) semester hours in professional education. Competency must be demonstrated in the following areas listed to the satisfaction of the educator preparation provider: 1. Content Planning and Delivery. Candidates are prepared with a deep knowledge of and understand the relationship among curriculum, instruction, and assessment— A. Curriculum and Instructional Planning; B. Instructional Strategies and Techniques in Content Area Specialty; C. Assessment, Student Data, and Data-Based Decision Making; D. Strategies for Content Literacy; E. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving; and F. English Language Learning; 2. Individual Student Needs. Candidates build a robust knowledge of learners and the learning environment— A. Psychological Development of the Child and Adolescent; B. Psychology/Education of the Exceptional Child; C. Differentiated Learning; D. Classroom Management; E. Cultural Diversity; and F. Educational Psychology; 3. Schools and the Teaching Profession. Candidates fully understand the role of schools and schooling as well as the professional responsibilities of teachers, including a means of professional growth— A. Consultation and Collaboration; B. Legal/Ethical Aspects of Teaching; and C. Middle School Philosophy and Organization; 4. Middle School Literacy (minimum of six (6) semester hours) to include coursework in methods of teaching reading and writing in the content area, and to include instructional interventions for students with reading deficits; and 5. Content Knowledge for Teaching (minimum requirement of twenty-four (24) semester hours). Subject area certification in grades five through nine (5-9) will be granted upon the basis of a minimum of twenty-four (24) semester hours with appropriate distribution as determined by the educator preparation provider and/or the department, in one (1) of the following areas: A. Agricultural Education (5-9); B. Business Education (5-9); C. Technology and Engineering (5-9); D. Language Arts (5-9); E. Mathematics (5-9); F. Science (5-9); G. Social Science (5-9); H. Speech/Theatre (5-9); and I. Computer Science (5-9), to include the following competencies: (I) Apply computer science and computational thinking skills in adaptable and effective ways; (II) Examine and use different computing devices by understanding their hardware and software, and how simplified models (abstractions) affect their use. Explore how these devices use logic to input, process, store, and output data, and apply problem-solving methods to fix system issues; (III) Show how computing devices share and organize data through networks and the internet and examine security measures and protocols while considering the balance between safety and ease of use; (IV) Gather and organize digital data in the right formats, use tools to visualize and process it, create models to identify patterns, understand real-world situations, and make predictions based on improved ideas; (V) Create, test, and improve programs by developing step-by-step solutions, using variables and control structures, writing reusable code, following organized development practices, and using appropriate programming languages and tools to write, debug, and refine programs; and (VI) Examine how computing systems affect human behavior, culture, fairness, and social interactions, and evaluate the positive and negative impacts of technology on society, considering safety, laws, and ethical issues. (C) Professional Requirements Effective August 1, 2025. A minimum of forty-five (45) semester hours in professional education. Competency must be demonstrated in the following areas to the satisfaction of the educator preparation program: 1. Content Planning and Delivery. Candidates are prepared with a deep knowledge of and understand the relationship among curriculum, instruction, and assessment— A. Curriculum and Instructional Planning; B. Instructional Strategies and Techniques in Content Area Specialty; C. Assessment, Student Data, and Data-Based DecisionMaking; D. Strategies for Content Literacy; E. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving; and F. English Language Learning; 2. Individual Student Needs. Candidates build a robust knowledge of learners and the learning environment— A. Psychological Development of the Child and Adolescent; B. Psychology/Education of the Exceptional Child; C. Differentiated Learning; D. Classroom Management; E. Cultural Diversity; and F. Educational Psychology; 3. Schools and the Teaching Profession. Candidates fully understand the role of schools and schooling as well as the professional responsibilities of teachers, including a means of professional growth— A. Consultation and Collaboration; B. Legal/Ethical Aspects of Teaching; and C. Middle School Philosophy and Organization; 4. Middle School Literacy (minimum of six (6) semester hours). Candidates demonstrate the skills and knowledge necessary to support the development of student literacy. At a minimum, coursework must address the following topics: A. The core components of reading, including phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, comprehension, morphology, syntax, and vocabulary; B. Oral and written language development; C. Identification of reading deficiencies, dyslexia, and other language difficulties; D. The selection and use of reading curricula and instructional materials; E. The administration and interpretation of assessments; F. The translation of assessment results into effective practice in the classroom specific to the needs of students; and G. Methods of teaching reading and writing in the content area; and 5. Content Knowledge for Teaching (minimum requirement of twenty-four (24) semester hours). Subject area certification in grades five through nine (5-9) will be granted upon the basis of a minimum of twenty-four (24) semester hours with appropriate distribution as determined by the educator preparation program and/or the department, in one (1) of the following areas: A. Agricultural Education (5-9); B. Business Education (5-9); C. Technology and Engineering (5-9); D. Language Arts (5-9); E. Mathematics (5-9); F. Science (5-9); G. Social Science (5-9); and H. Speech/Theatre (5-9); and (D) Field and Clinical Experiences (ten (10) semester hours). Field and clinical experiences should be appropriate to the progress of the student through the program and should be supervised through a close partnership of highly qualified professionals in appropriate school settings. 1. Early Field Experiences (one (1) semester hour with a minimum of thirty (30) clock hours). The early field experience includes placements in which candidates observe students, support teachers, and respond to specific class assignments. The candidate may work with students individually and/or in small groups as requested and under the supervision of the classroom teacher. 2. Mid-Level Field Experiences (one (1) semester hour with a minimum of forty-five (45) clock hours). The mid-level experience occurs between the initial placement and the culminating clinical experiences. At the mid-level, candidates continue to observe; respond to specific class assignments; and work with students individually, in small groups, and in whole class settings as requested and under the supervision of the classroom teacher. 3. Culminating Clinical Experiences (eight (8) semester hours with a minimum of twelve (12) weeks in one (1) placement). The culminating experience refers to placements typically in the final sequence leading up to and including student teaching. Candidates actively participate and complete required assignments, work with students as requested and under the supervision of the classroom teacher, and have the opportunity and responsibility to lead the class over an extended period of time. AUTHORITY: sections 161.092, 168.011, 168.071, 168.081, and 168.405, RSMo 2016, and sections 168.021, 168.400, and 168.409, RSMo Supp. 2025.* Original rule filed Oct. 29, 2013, effective May 30, 2014. Amended: Filed Nov. 2, 2020, effective May 30, 2021. Amended: Filed Feb. 10, 2023, effective Sept. 30, 2023. Amended: Filed Dec. 10, 2024, effective July 30, 2025. Amended: Filed June 13, 2025, effective Jan. 30, 2026. *Original authority: 161.092, RSMo 1963, amended 1973, 2002, 2003, 2013, 2014; 168.011, RSMo 1963, amended 1984; 168.021, RSMo 1963, amended 1973, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024, 2025; 168.071, RSMo 1963, amended 1973, 1978, 1984, 1988, 1993, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2011, 2013, 2014; 168.081, RSMo 1963, amended 1984, 2002, 2014; 168.400, RSMo 1985, amended 1990, 2002, 2024; 168.405, RSMo 1985; and 168.409, RSMo 1985, amended 2025.