Why Aren't College History Credits Enough? State Historical Content Qualifying Exams for Social Studies Teachers

Despite changes in the New York State teaching certification process in the last four years, aspiring teachers are still required to receive a qualifying score on the Content Specialty Test for their area of certification. The Content Specialty Test is a comprehensive examination that holds teachers responsible for understanding the details and themes associated with each topic and grade-level in the NYS Social Studies Curriculum. In addition to a wide variety of multiple-choice questions, test-takers must answer one essay.  The content of the exam is fair, but broad. The examination does not prepare teachers to instruct the New York State social studies curriculum. Instead it is one part of a multi-step program for teachers to complete in order to receive their permanent certification or as it is now called their professional certification. Under the old certification system teachers with provisional certification could teach in New York State up to four years without taking the exam. Besides achieving the status of permanent or professional certification, how valuable is this exam to everyday instruction? This study will review sample questions provided by NYS and other review materials to determine the extent to which this exam is relevant to classroom instruction.            If the NYS Content Specialty Test can help make secondary social studies teachers more effective, how well are college teaching programs preparing students to take this exam? Teaching programs differ in the way that they answer two fundamental questions: What instructional strategies do we teach our students? How much time should be spent on giving students the necessary content knowledge in order to be effective teachers? This delicate balance between content depth and pedagogy can impact the ability of college graduates to accomplish NYS certification requirements.