Provisional Teaching Certificate in Missouri
In Missouri, there are several types of certificates. Teachers can renew or upgrade to a career certificate which is valid for 99 years. Read more about the requirements for renewal and upgrade.
Teaching Certification in Missouri
Teachers in Missouri can instruct early childhood through high school students in a variety of areas including art, music, science, history, English, and math. Career education teachers in Missouri teach specialized subjects such as nursing, automotive, and trade fields. Available certificates for these teaching options include a 1-year temporary certificate, 2-year provisional certificate, standard 4-year initial certificate, and a 99-year career certificate. Certificates can be obtained through multiple different routes, and most can be renewed or upgraded to a career certificate. Read more below.
<table border="1"><tr><td>Education Required </td><td>Bachelor's degree</td></tr>
<tr><td>Exams Required </td><td>Missouri General Education Assessment (MoGEA); applicable performance and content assessments</td></tr>
<tr><td>License Validity Period </td><td>2 years (provisional); 4 years (standard); 99 years (career certificate)</td></tr>
<tr><td>Advancement Requirements </td><td>Teaching experience and professional development</td></tr>
<tr><td>Average Teacher's Salary in Missouri (2018)* </td><td>$30,440 (preschool); $51,630 (kindergarten); $49,860 (elementary); $55,070 (middle school); $54,280 (high school); $49,590 (career/technical education, high school)</td></tr>
<tr><td>Estimated Job Growth (2016-2026)* </td><td>10% (preschool), 7% (kindergarten and elementary school), 8% (middle school and high school teachers) nationwide; 6% high school career and technical education teachers nationwide</td></tr>
</table><p><i>Source: *U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics</i>
</p><h3 id="section---ProvisionalTeachingCertificate">Provisional Teaching Certificate</h3><p>Missouri offers a 2-year nonrenewable certificate to educators who fall into one the following categories:
</p><ul><li>An educator who has completed the academic requirements for an initial license, but has not passed the required assessments
</li><li>An educator who holds a bachelor's degree in a qualifying field, has entered into an approved educational program, and is teaching while completing his/her coursework
</li><li>An educator who has completed an approved educational program and is within 12 semester hours of completing his/her certification requirements
</li></ul><h3 id="section---CertificateRenewalsAndExtensions">Certificate Renewals and Extensions</h3><p>A provisional certificate cannot be renewed, but can be extended with the approval of the teacher's institution. Typically, this occurs if the educator is expected to complete all requirements within the school year.
</p><p>Standard 4-year certificates can be renewed or extended; however, most 4-year certificate holders upgrade to a career certificate when they've met all applicable requirements.
</p><h3 id="section---CertificationAdvancement">Certification Advancement</h3><p>A 2-year provisional certificate can be upgraded to an initial 4-year certificate by completing certain requirements. Within the 2-year period, educators typically complete about 30 semester hours. When their program has been completed and any applicable assessments passed, their college will recommend an initial 4-year certificate.
</p><p>A 4-year initial certificate can be upgraded to a 99-year career certificate if an educator meets all of the following requirements:
</p><ul><li>Completion of 4 years of approved teaching. Substitute teaching and teacher's aide work do not count towards required teaching experience.
</li><li>Participation in a mentoring program for 2 years; the educator's school will assign a mentor.
</li><li>Completion of 30 hours of professional development (for traditional teachers) and 90 hours (for career education teachers). College credits can be applied, with one college credit hour counting as 15 hours of professional development.
</li><li>Participation in a beginning teacher assistance program through a Missouri college or university, Regional Professional Development Center (RPDC), or professional teacher's organization (such as MNEA).
</li><li>Participation in an employing school's yearly Performance-Based Teacher Evaluation.
</li><li>Development and implementation of a professional development plan that is put on file with the educator's district.
</li></ul><h3 id="section---MissouriTeachingCertificationRequirements">Missouri Teaching Certification Requirements</h3><p>In the state of Missouri, teaching certificates require a bachelor's degree with a cumulative GPA of 2.75 or higher. An educator can take the traditional route of completing a 4-year bachelor's degree program in an educational field, or an alternative route is an option if he/she already holds a degree in another area. All teaching applicants must submit the following:
</p><ul><li>Fingerprint background check
</li><li>Official transcripts
</li><li>Assessment results</li></ul>