Three years ago, warnings about potential teacher shortages dominated education headlines. Ohio policymakers, determined to alleviate concerns, included in the state budget a number of provisions aimed at bolstering the teacher workforce. Unfortunately, one of those well-intentioned provisions could soon have a negative impact on teacher preparedness and student achievement.
Before the 2023 budget changes, the law required Ohio educators to obtain a teaching license in one of three grade bands: pre-K–5, 4–9, and 7–12. But the budget reduced those grade bands from three to two: one for grades pre-K–8 and a second for grades 6–12. It also permitted public schools to allow educators to teach up to two grade levels outside their licensure grade band for up to two years. The goal was to provide school leaders with additional flexibility to meet classroom needs in the midst of teacher shortages. Broader licensure grade bands wouldn’t create more teachers overall, but they would expand the number of teachers available in certain grades and subjects. A shortage of sixth grade science teachers, for example, is easier to deal with if fifth grade science teachers can move up to sixth without running afoul of licensure laws.
But K–12 schools aren’t the only entities impacted by grade bands. They matter to teacher preparation programs, too. As part of their training efforts, preparation programs largely focus on two areas: content (knowledge about a specific subject, like reading or math) and pedagogy (knowledge about effective teaching, which includes things like instructional strategies, classroom management, and assessing student learning). Both areas can and should be tailored to specific grade levels. For example, teaching first graders to read requires different content and pedagogical knowledge than teaching middle schoolers how to write a thesis statement or high schoolers how to analyze Shakespeare. Math content for elementary educators is very different than it is for middle school educators, who could be tasked with teaching algebra, or high school educators, who might teach calculus.
In short, tailoring content and pedagogical instruction to specific grade levels is a key part of effectively preparing teachers. But expanding grade bands makes that a lot more difficult. When grade bands include all of elementary and middle school (as the pre-K–8 grade band does) or all of middle and high school (as the 6–12 grade band does), teachers have to master an enormously broad set of content and pedagogical knowledge. And that means their preparation programs must cram all the knowledge they need to teach as many as nine different grade levels into just four years of college (which is even more challenging if you take into account most universities’ general education requirements). For elementary and middle school educators, who teach more than one subject, that burden is even heavier.
If current law remains unchanged, preparation programs will attempt to ensure that teacher candidates get all the content and pedagogical training they need. But it will be almost impossible for them to succeed. What’s most likely to happen is that preparation programs will sacrifice depth for the sake of breadth. Future teachers will graduate with surface-level knowledge rather than in-depth expertise. And that’s a problem, given that many teachers already graduate without a strong content base. A recent report from NCTQ, for example, found that more than a third (36 percent) of Ohio’s elementary teacher preparation programs failed to provide sufficient instruction in math content.
The good news is that there’s already a solution available. Senate Bill 144, which unanimously passed out of the Senate in October, would require the state board of education to reestablish three licensure bands: pre-K–5, 4–8, and 7–12. It would also limit public schools’ ability to assign educators to teach up to two grades outside their grade band to only those who have at least one year of experience.
These are smart, simple changes. Narrower grade bands ensure that teachers (and preparation programs) aren’t required to sacrifice depth for breadth. And K–12 school administrators still have flexibility. They just have to make sure the teachers they assign to teach outside their grade band have at least a little experience—a reasonable expectation that benefits both students and first-year educators.
It’s unfortunate that the bill has spent the last six months languishing in the House. But that’s an easy fix, too. Lawmakers in the lower chamber just need to vote it out. Senate Bill 144 is one of those rare instances where simple, bipartisan legislation can fix an unintended consequence and benefit a wide variety of stakeholders, all without any sort of financial cost. House members would be wise to act as soon as possible.
