How to Become a Teacher in Texas: Requirements & Certification

There are four primary requirements that need to be met to become a teacher in Texas: education, practicum (student teaching), teacher preparation, and certification.

Step 1: Earn a Bachelor's Degree

Texas teachers must have at a minimum a bachelor's of education degree. This degree must come from an appropriately accredited university or college.

The college or university's accreditation must be through an agency recognized by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

You can check to see if an accreditation agency is approved through the U.S. Department of Education Database for Accredited Colleges and Universities.

Health Science Technology and Trades & Industrial Education certifications are exempt from the bachelor's degree requirement.

Finding a Bachelor's Degree Program

Bachelor's degree programs are usually about 120 credits and take about four years to complete.

Many colleges and universities in Texas offer education degrees. You should choose a degree program geared toward the area you want to teach.

You can major in a program for a specific age range such as:

• early childhood education
• elementary education
• middle-grade education
• high school education

You can also major in specific subjects such as:

• English
• health science
• history
• languages other than English
• journalism
• mathematics
• physical education
• science
• social studies
• special education

Step 2: Complete an Educator Preparation Program

Many education degree programs fulfill the practical and teacher preparation requirements, but if your program does not, you'll need to complete the program outside of your degree program.

These Educator Preparation Programs (EPPs) take around four years to complete but can be done alongside your bachelor's degree program.

You can find a list of approved programs through the Texas Education Agency (TEA) website. When choosing a program, you'll need to find one for the area of teaching you're interested in.

There are many different options you can choose for your EPP. It's a good idea to look at available EPPs while looking at bachelor's programs to ensure you find the right combination.

Student Teaching

Student teaching is a required part of the Educator Preparation Program. There are two components to student teaching: blocks and clinical teaching.

The blocks are done earlier in your EPP. This portion of your teaching experience has you shadowing teachers and observing classroom settings.

The block experiences immerse you in the classroom, allowing you to get a sense of what teaching is really like. During this time, teachers may ask you to help with activities like grading or classroom organization.

The clinical teaching is the portion where you actually get to start teaching. You'll be under the watch of a licensed teacher. The licensed teacher will help guide you and help you develop your teaching skills.

During this time you'll assist with teaching classes as well as other tasks like developing lesson plans.

Step 3: Obtain Your Teaching License

Once you've completed your bachelor's degree and EPP, you'll need to get your teaching license.

Testing

Your EPP should provide the necessary information on what tests you need to take. They'll also provide the necessary preauthorization to take those tests.

There are a few different testing options, but the primary test for new teachers is the TExES, which stands for Texas Examinations of Educator Standards.

There are several different TExAS tests depending on the age range and subject you want to teach.

These include:

• Early Childhood: PK-3. This is a five-hour test that covers areas like child development, English language arts and reading, fine arts, mathematics, P.E., science, and social studies.
• Core Subjects: EC-6. This is a five-hour test covering five subject areas: English language arts and reading, mathematics, science, social studies, and fine arts, health, and physical education.
• Core Subjects: 4-8. This is a five-hour test covering four subject areas: English language arts and reading, mathematics, science, and social studies.
• Special Education: EC-12. This is a five-hour test that covers four key domains of special education.

Once you pass your certification exams, you must apply to be certified.

This process includes:

• passing a background check, which includes fingerprinting
• submitting all required documents
• completing the certification application

Your EPP program will be able to confirm with you that you've met all the requirements for certification.

Once you've earned your teaching license, it's valid for five years. To renew your license, you'll need to complete 150 hours of continuing education throughout those five years.

Salaries for teachers in Texas will depend on several factors, such as the type of teacher you are, the type of school you teach at, and how much experience you have.

Below you'll find some of the different teaching positions with their average annual salary in Texas:

• preschool teachers, except special education: $39,620
• kindergarten teachers, except special education: $59,560
• elementary school teachers, except special education: $59,790
• middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education: $59,800
• secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education: $61,210

All teaching jobs have a positive outlook according to Texas Labor Market Information.

You'll find the projected statistics up to 2030 below:

• preschool teachers, except special education: 26%
• kindergarten teachers, except special education: 13.9%
• elementary school teachers, except special education: 13.16%
• middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education: 13.5%
• secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education: 13.66%

Teaching can be an incredibly rewarding career. Contact Best Accredited Colleges today for help getting started.