Become a Teacher in Tennessee (2023)

FAQs

Is there a teacher shortage in Tennessee? ›

Despite teacher shortages, school districts across the state are finding creative solutions to hire and retain teachers, relieve teacher burnout and provide benefits. The following is a look at how Davidson County, Shelby County, Hamilton County and Knox County are combating teacher shortages.

Individuals applying for initial teacher licensure in Tennessee must submit passing scores on the appropriate edTPA performance-based, subject specific assessment and Praxis content speciality area test(s) for all endorsements to be listed on the license.

42 is the professional performance standard recommended by the makers of edTPA. However, to account for measurement error, 37-42 is the recommended cut score range. No state currently has a cut score of 42. Tennessee's current cut score of 40 is the second-highest in the nation.

New rankings from the National Education Association put Tennessee close to the bottom when it comes to how well we pay our public school teachers. Tennessee is ranked No. 42 for public teacher salary with an average of $52,871 in the 2020-2021 school year, the report said.

Nearly 550 Metro Nashville Public Schools teachers resigned by the end of the 2021-22 school year, new district data show, up from 464 resignations or terminations the year before.

Completing the edTPA is about careful planning and hard work, but it's also psychological. As difficult as the edTPA can be at times, the requirements are widely considered best teaching practices.

The edTPA itself does not have an official passing score. Each program or state sets its own, known as a “cut score.” The cut score ranges from 37 to 42.

The Tennessee State Board of Education does require that aspiring teachers fulfill Praxis Tennessee requirements by taking the Praxis PLT Early Childhood, Praxis PLT K-6, Praxis PLT Grades 5-9, or Praxis PLT Grades 7-12.

As of 2019-2020, SIU's Teacher Education Program students have a 100% pass rate on the edTPA in nearly all subject areas since fall 2015. Special Education has a 98% pass rate (64/65 candidates), Agriculture Education has a 97% pass rate (31/32 candidates), and Physical Education's rate is 94% (16/17 candidates).

Is a 47 on the edTPA good? ›

There are three scored tasks within the edTPA — planning, instruction and commentary. The highest score possible is 75. A score of 38 is passing, and a score of 45 is considered mastery level.

Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators Tests

There are three Core tests: Mathematics, Reading and Writing. You can take them as separate tests or one combined test.

Oak Ridge Schools had the highest average salary for classroom teachers that year at $66,926, followed by Maryville City Schools at $66,863. Lake County Schools had the lowest classroom teacher average salary at $43,624.

Mississippi saw the highest teacher-to-student vacancy rate in the 2021-22 school year. The state reported having nearly 69 missing teachers per 10,000 students.

High pressure and low pay have led some teachers to leave the profession, which is exacerbating another issue — teacher shortages. Teacher shortages are not unique to Nashville, but rather part of a nationwide crisis.

Going into the 2022-23 school year, Tennessee was short 2,000 teachers. Tennessee is short 2,000 teachers.

Generally, candidates must have professional references and at least 60 credit hours of education from an accredited college or university. Other school districts may require a bachelor's degree and/or teacher licensure.

If you're looking for a fresh challenge, it's never too late to switch to a career in education. So, can you become a teacher without a degree in education? Yes. Good news – you don't have to go back to school and get another bachelor's degree in education to teach thanks to alternative teacher certification programs.

Do you have to student teach to become a teacher in Tennessee? ›

Gain Student Teaching Experience

Tennessee does not list a minimum number of hours of student teaching experience as a requirement for licensure; however, all of the state's approved educator preparation programs include student teaching experiences.

Re-take the edTPA: You can re-take the edTPA to try to achieve a passing score. You can either re-take just one task of the edTPA or you can re-take the entire edTPA. You should consult with the SUNY Cortland edTPA advisor about the retake process. More information on the edTPA retake process can be found here.

What if I don't pass the first time? You will work with the edTPA coordinator on a resubmission plan. There is no limit to how many times you can attempt a resubmission. Most people who fail the first time pass their resubmission.

A candidate can register for only one retake at a time (either full-assessment retake or partial retake). Candidates must wait to receive scores from their last submission before they can register for another retake.

For Elementary Education: Literacy with Mathematics Task 4 and Elementary Education: Mathematics with Literacy Task 4 (18 scoring rubrics), 44–50 score points may be used as the professional performance standard range.

How much time do I need? The edTPA is composed of 3–5 consecutive lessons. The exact length of time will be determined by the length of each lesson, how many lessons you include in your learning segment, and how long it takes you to respond to the commentary prompts and assemble and submit your work for scoring.

Educator Preparation Programs may access candidates' scores in ResultsAnalyzer® 24 hours after candidates receive scores.

To become a certified teacher in Tennessee, you must successfully complete the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators tests, in addition to any relevant Praxis tests for Specific Licensure Areas. You also need to complete the Principles of Learning and Teaching test.

State Requirements

For the Praxis Core Mathematics exam, the passing score required is 150 for all states, except for Washington, which requires 142. For the Praxis Core Reading exam, all states require a minimum score of 156.

Can you graduate without passing edTPA? ›

Starting in New York and Washington, and now also in Wisconsin and Hawaii, the edTPA is required for certification. In other states, candidates must pass the edTPA to graduate from a teacher education program. Individual schools also might use it as one of their "key assessments" for accreditation.

edTPA stands for “educative” Teacher Performance Assessment. • edTPA is a preservice assessment process designed by educators to answer the essential question: "Is a new teacher ready for the job?" • edTPA is designed to measure teacher candidate effectiveness in the classroom by focusing on student learning.

Access Your edTPA Handbook

Candidates will access the required assessment handbooks and templates via their educator preparation program, and will also be able to download these materials in the portfolio system they use to build their portfolios.

edTPA is a performance-based, subject-specific assessment and support system used by teacher preparation programs throughout the United States to emphasize, measure and support the skills and knowledge that all teachers need from Day 1 in the classroom.

Fifty-four percent of those who take the Praxis test on elementary-level content fail on their first try. Twenty-five percent never manage to pass. (In nursing, by contrast, 85% of test-takers pass their licensing test on the first try.)

Calculator Use and Tutorials. Graphing, scientific and 4-function calculators are permitted or provided for some Praxis tests. Unless it's specifically stated that a calculator is permitted for a particular test, you can't use one.

Praxis^® tests at home is a safe and convenient testing option that you can take right at home. It's the same Praxis^® test that you take at a test center.

One hundred eighty (180) days for classroom instruction; Ten (10) days for vacation with pay; Five (5) days for in-service education; One (1) day for teacher-parent conferences; and.

How much does a teacher with a master's degree make in TN? ›

While ZipRecruiter is seeing salaries as high as $52,650 and as low as $15,112, the majority of Master Teacher salaries currently range between $21,449 (25th percentile) to $37,049 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $48,261 annually in Nashville.

How much does a HIGH School Teacher make in Tennessee? As of Oct 17, 2022, the average annual pay for a HIGH School Teacher in Tennessee is $38,576 a year. Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $18.55 an hour. This is the equivalent of $741/week or $3,214/month.

The tension and responsibility that educators like Gillum faced during the pandemic — combined with long-standing issues plaguing the profession, plus the coarsening of debates about classroom control, teacher pay and respect — have caused many to make the tough choice to leave the classroom.

New rankings from the National Education Association put Tennessee close to the bottom when it comes to how well we pay our public school teachers. Tennessee is ranked No. 42 for public teacher salary with an average of $52,871 in the 2020-2021 school year, the report said.

Researchers polled more than 4,600 TK-12th grade teachers across the state between May 24 and June 6. The findings show that while many teachers find their work rewarding, a majority said they felt exhausted and stressed — with burnout cited as the top reason for leaving the profession.

Going into the 2022-23 school year, Tennessee was short 2,000 teachers. Tennessee is short 2,000 teachers.

High pressure and low pay have led some teachers to leave the profession, which is exacerbating another issue — teacher shortages. Teacher shortages are not unique to Nashville, but rather part of a nationwide crisis.

How many public school teachers are in Tennessee? ›

In 2022, Tennessee had 1,001,916 students enrolled in a total of 1,843 schools in 141 school districts. There were 64,105 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 16 students, compared to the national average of 1:16.

The TN visa regulations provide temporary work authorization for three "Teacher Occupations." All of these occupations require a bachelor's degree to qualify for TN visa status.

The Apprentice Teacher License is a full license for teaching in Tennessee. It is issued to an educator who has: Completed a bachelor's degree. Completed an approved teacher preparation program.

Grow-your-own (GYO) teacher programs recruit and train teachers from within communities to bring racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity and skills such as bilingualism into schools. These pro- grams are often partnerships between schools, districts, community organizations, and teacher preparation programs.

In the state of Tennessee, first-time applicants for a teaching license in Spanish must earn the initial license known as the Practitioner Teacher License. To earn this license, prospective Spanish educators must complete an approved educator preparation program and pass the necessary Spanish Language assessments.

According to data compiled by Niche, an education research platform, Maryville City Schools in Maryville, Tennessee, ranks as the best school district in the state.

Tennessee is the 37th ranked state in annual report card from Education Week. The state got a grade of a 70.1 overall, which is graded on 3 indices, including "Chance-for-Success", school finances and the "K-12 Achievement Index".

About MSCS. Memphis-Shelby County Schools is Tennessee's largest public school district and is among the 25 largest public school districts in the United States.

When compared to the process of obtaining other work visas, such as an H-1B Visa or an L-1 Visa, it is rather easy to get a TN Visa. In fact, in many cases you can obtain a TN Visa the same day at a qualifying port of entry.

TN Visa Application and Filing Fees

These are the fees for the TN visa: Visa application filing fee at a US Embassy or Consulate Abroad: $160. USCIS petition filing fee: $460 (only necessary if the foreign national is inside the U.S. and switches to a TN visa from another visa status.

How long is TN visa valid for? ›

How Long Does a TN Visa Last? TN visa holders have an initial stay in the U.S. of three years. After that period, TN visa holders can apply for unlimited renewals that are granted in three-year increments.