Navigating GPA Requirements for Missouri Teacher Certification

Becoming a certified teacher in Missouri involves a multifaceted process, and understanding the Grade Point Average (GPA) requirements is a crucial step. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the GPA standards for teacher certification in Missouri, including recent changes and alternative pathways. Certification is required to work in Missouri public schools and some private schools.

Traditional Certification Pathways and GPA Requirements

The traditional route to Missouri teacher certification involves earning a bachelor’s degree or higher from a college or university with a state-approved teacher education program. At the completion of the program, the institution can recommend you for certification.

Initial Professional Certificate (IPC)

Most teachers begin their careers in Missouri classrooms by earning an Initial Professional Certificate (IPC) from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). An IPC is the first certificate a new educator receives.

To qualify for an IPC, candidates must meet specific GPA requirements:

A minimum 2.5 GPA in content area coursework.
A minimum 3.0 GPA in professional education coursework.

GPA for Specific Certification Areas

Different GPA requirements may apply depending on the certification area:

Early Childhood Education (Birth-grade 3): As a candidate for an Initial Certificate, you can earn a bachelor’s degree as part of your teacher education.
Elementary Education (grades 1-6): Qualifications for an Initial Certificate recommendation from your college or university require a 2.75 overall GPA and a 3.00 GPA in elementary education and professional education courses.
Secondary Education (grades 9-12): To qualify for an Initial Certificate after your teacher education program, you must earn a 2.75 overall GPA and a 3.00 GPA in your major subject courses.
Grades K-12 - Physical Education (PE) certification: You must earn a 2.75 overall GPA and a 3.00 GPA in your major courses to qualify for an Initial Certificate.
Special Education: Requirements for an Initial Certificate include earning a 2.75 cumulative GPA and a 3.00 GPA in special education courses.
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) (K-12): A 2.75 cumulative GPA and a 3.00 GPA in your major TESOL courses is necessary to apply credits toward a TESOL endorsement.

Recent Changes to GPA Requirements

In the past, Missouri required a 3.0 GPA or higher in the specific content area for which the teacher was seeking certification. However, the Missouri State Board of Education has recently made changes to these requirements.

Lowering the Content GPA Threshold

The proposed amendment to the rule would change the required content GPA from 3.0 to 2.5. This change primarily affects teachers seeking certification to teach most school subjects at the secondary level, as well as some specialty courses, like the arts. Teachers seeking certification in elementary, early childhood, and/or special education will not be affected by this change.

The State Board of Education instituted the current GPA requirement for content teacher certifications in 2017. Since establishing the rule, the state has seen a substantial drop in the number of individuals completing the program for these certification types, disproportionately affecting teacher candidates in STEM subjects, where the need for teachers is particularly high.

Rationale Behind the Change

The decision to lower the content GPA threshold was based on research and feedback from educators. A Missouri researcher evaluated 1,174 teacher candidates from science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields and found no statistical difference between the first-time certification exam pass rates of candidates with a content GPA between 2.75 and 3.0 and those with a content GPA of 3.0 and above. This suggests that the content knowledge of teacher candidates with a higher content GPA does not significantly differ from that of candidates earning a lower content GPA. There is also no data in this research to suggest a correlation between a teacher’s future success in the classroom and a 0.5 difference in GPA.

Officials with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Educations say the change is intended to increase the number of certificated teachers coming into public schools. “There is no evidence tying a particular GPA in the content area to more effective teaching,” Daryl Fridley, the department’s education preparation coordinator, told the board. A 2019 study out of Texas showed that there was no improvement in achievement outcomes between a 2.5 GPA and 2.75 GPA requirement.

Alternative Certification Pathways

Missouri offers alternative or innovative routes to teacher certification for individuals who may not meet the traditional GPA requirements or who have a bachelor’s degree in a content area other than education.

Superintendent's Recommendation

An alternative option for individuals to receive initial teacher certification is through a superintendent's recommendation.

Post-Baccalaureate Programs

If you have a bachelor’s degree in a content area, you can return to a college of education for a program of study to take courses in a post-baccalaureate program and teach simultaneously. In this case, you work under a two-year Provisional Certificate while completing about 30 semester hours of coursework. At the completion of the college program, you earn a certificate or a master’s degree, depending on the curriculum. After passing the required assessments, you qualify for an Initial Certificate.

Teach for America

Teach for America recruits, trains and assigns teachers in the St. Louis area to facilitate education equality. This national organization works to increase students’ life opportunities by improving schools and classroom experiences. Teach for America corps consists of top college graduates who make a two-year commitment to live and work in low-income school districts.

American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE)

The American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE) is an option for career changers who want to earn Missouri teacher certification. This fast-track program requires applicants to pass an Educational Testing Service (ETS) assessment in the content area they want to teach. Students take courses online and attend a series of meetings to learn classroom management and instructional skills. When the program is complete, graduates earn a one-year Initial Certificate. Only certain subject areas are available for certification under ABCTE in Missouri.

Ozarks Teacher Corps

The Ozarks Teacher Corps helps to develop a community of teaching candidates who commit to teaching in their rural home communities for a minimum period of three years. The program’s objective is to encourage passionate new teachers to remain in their home communities as teacher-leaders. The Ozarks Teacher Corps is open to third-year college students who grew up in rural communities in the Missouri Ozarks.

Additional Requirements for Certification

In addition to meeting the GPA requirements, candidates for teacher certification in Missouri must also fulfill other requirements, including:

Completing a teacher education program: Educators strengthen their pedagogical skills by completing a teacher education program. DESE approves programs that meet state requirements.
Student teaching experience: To become a teacher in Missouri, candidates must complete student teaching experience requirements. Teacher preparation programs place learners in internships to gain classroom experience.
Missouri Educator Gateway Assessments (MEGA): You must pass a series of Missouri certification exams, called the Missouri Educator Gateway Assessments (MEGA), for an Initial Certificate.
Background check: Before you begin student teaching, you must register at the State Highway Patrol’s Missouri Automated Criminal History Site (MACHS) for fingerprinting at a Missouri-approved fingerprinting location. The Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) and the FBI will conduct a background check based on your fingerprints.
Application and Transcripts: Complete one (1) online Initial Professional application and submit it to the Missouri institution where you completed your teacher education program. The institution will complete their portion and then forward the application to DESE for processing. Official transcripts from all institutions attended must be sent directly to the DESE from your institution.

Certification for Out-of-State Teachers

If you earned education and experience in another state, reciprocity agreements in Missouri can help you earn state teaching certification faster. Missouri grants full reciprocity by issuing a Professional Certificate in the specialty that most closely matches an out-of-state certification equal to the years of teaching experience. Out-of-state teachers do not have additional coursework requirements. All candidates must have college transcripts that demonstrate a minimum a GPA of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale for certification.

An applicant who completed a teacher education program in another state and who possesses a valid professional certificate in that state may be granted a Missouri certificate in an area most closely aligned to the certification if Missouri issues such certificate. If an educator is completing or has completed a teacher education program in another state (either on campus or online), it would be beneficial to obtain that state's certificate whether one plans to reside in that state or not.

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