Reply #14: Oh goodness! Teachers have taken content tests for decades!

[Sancho]

In the 70's I took a biology test required for teachers to teach science...and since then I've taken tests a dozen other times for other states and subjects. Almost every state has a set of teacher certification tests, and most are specifically on the subject you have to teach AND another test of how to teach AND observations for probationary periods up to two years before getting an initial certificate. Most states require additional graduates courses (like two every five years) in your subject to keep a certificate. There are some differences, but most teaching certificates also require a minimum number of courses in a subject major in addition to the test; so most of those teachers have also taken all the exams in all those courses.

Some states allow teachers who are not fully certified to have contracts and those folks don't have majors or may not have passed tests; which is a problem. On the other hand, lots of people PASS the test in reading, writing, and 'rithematic and are terrible teachers. It certainly takes a knowledge of a subject to teach it; but tests have been used for years and there is still no magic bullet predicting if that person is going to be a good teacher.

It's much harder to learn HOW to teach than it is to learn the subject that you intend to teach.