Table of Contents
Requirements For a Mississippi Teacher License
- Bachelor’s degree with a 2.75 or greater GPA and a major in your content area of teaching or other accepted content
- Complete a Mississippi teacher education program
- Pass the Praxis tests
- Complete a background check, which includes a fingerprint file
Exams Necessary For Your Mississippi Teacher License
- Praxis I basic skills exam
- Praxis PLT pedagogy test
- Finally, the Praxis II content area exam.
Standards For Renewal
- Five or ten continuing education units or an equal number of semester credit hours; the number varies surrounding your license level.
What Provides Licensing In Mississippi?
You can attain your license in Mississippi through the Mississippi Department of Education. The department provides support for all your work needs, and its website includes updated reports on what you should be doing when obtaining your license in the state.
Most of the data in this report surround obtaining a Class A license, the most basic option you can utilize in the state. It is also the most prominent license in the state.
Rules For Your Bachelor’s Degree
You must have a bachelor’s degree with a GPA of 2.75 or greater to qualify to become a Mississippi teacher. Your bachelor’s degree must include one of the following:
· A major in the content area you will teach
· A major in education with at least eighteen undergraduate or graduate-level credits in whatever content area you plan on teaching
· A major in a content area you want to complete, plus a passing score on an assessment test in your area with approval from the state Department of Education
Your degree may come from any accredited college recognized by the state of Mississippi.
Other Rules For Obtaining Your Teaching Certificate
In addition to having a bachelor’s degree, you must also complete a teacher education or preparation program. Therefore, the program will involve one or two semesters of study in pedagogy. It may also include an internship or a mentorship program. Furthermore, your program will include a review of how you can establish lesson plans, interact with students, and evaluate how well they perform. You can expect in-person teaching and interactions with students in a traditional environment with a mentor teacher being on hand to review your performance.
Additionally, there are multiple teacher education programs available throughout Mississippi. Still, you can also complete an out-of-state program if approved by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education.
The state also requires you to complete the Praxis tests and to go through a criminal history check. A child abuse registry check will also take place. A fingerprint file is also necessary, with that file going to the FBI to review your data.
You can complete the application with the Licensure Application Packet. Furthermore, the packet includes all the content necessary for handling your application work. You can submit it to the Department of Education when you are finished.
Exams Necessary For Your Mississippi Teacher License
You must complete the Praxis I Basic Skills test before you can become a Mississippi teacher. You must get a score of 170 or greater in all three portions of the test.
The Principles of Learning and Teaching test is also a requirement for all teachers. The PLT exam you complete must be relevant to the specific grade level you will teach.
The Praxis II exam is the third test you must complete. This last part is a core area exam focusing on your licensure area of interest. There are basic segments for early childhood and elementary education, plus sections on math, English, social sciences, and physical sciences for grades 7-8. Multiple secondary education tests are available for grades 7-12. Other Praxis II exams include ones for special education purposes and for managing career education programs.
The Praxis II exam you complete must match with the specific segment of study you plan on teaching.
Additional Classes For Licensing
Most Mississippi teachers hold Class A licenses. The Class A license is for bachelor’s degrees. The other three levels are:
- Class AA – for people with Master’s degrees
- Class AAA – for specialist degrees
- and finally, Class AAAA – for doctorate degrees
All licenses are valid for five years. The continuing education needs you hold will vary surrounding whatever class you hold. You can move from one class to another if you can provide the appropriate documentation stating you have a master’s or doctorate or any other specific degree surrounding the studies at hand.
Renewal Rules For Class A Licenses
The state Department of Education provides support for Mississippi teachers aiming to renew their licenses. You can apply to renew your license through the Department of Education website.
You can obtain continuing education units when renewing your license. These units entail studies in your content area. You may also attend traditional courses in pedagogy from an accredited university in the state.
Furthermore, you can renew your Class A license by completing one of three standards:
- You can use ten continuing education units in your content area.
- Three semester hours of further study may also work in your content area alongside five continuing education units.
- You can also spend six semester hours of study. No continuing education units are required at this point.
Renewal Rules For Other Licenses
A teacher with a Class AA, AAA, or AAAA license will require five continuing education units for each renewal period. The teacher may also provide a sealed transcript confirming three semester hours of study in one’s skill area. Those who have recently received support from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards may also apply for a license.
Resources
https://www.americanboard.org/mississippi/ – Requirements for teaching in Mississippi
https://www.mdek12.org/OEL – Mississippi Department of Education
https://teachms.org/ – Teach Mississippi
www.ets.org/praxis/ms/ – Praxis tests needed in Mississippi
https://www.mdek12.org/OEL/Forms – Licensing forms for Mississippi teachers
https://www.mdek12.org/OEL/Renew-or-Reinstate-My-License – Renewal website for all Mississippi teachers