Secondary Teaching Certification
Secondary teaching certification qualifies you to teach a specific subject to students in grades 6 through 12, rather than teaching all subjects to one elementary class. Requirements set by each state’s Board or Department of Education typically include a bachelor’s degree in your content area, supervised student teaching, and passing any required state content and performance assessments, such as Praxis exams or edTPA, where applicable.
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Think back to your favorite high school teacher, the one who made chemistry click or turned a Shakespeare play into something worth reading. That person didn’t just know their subject. They earned a credential built around a single content area instead of an entire elementary curriculum. This guide covers what secondary certification requires, how expectations shift by subject, and what separates an effective secondary teacher from an average one.
Use the links below to jump to secondary certification requirements, subject-specific expectations, and the qualities that separate an effective secondary teacher from an average one.
- What is secondary teaching certification?
- Subject-matter knowledge requirements
- How to become a certified secondary teacher
- What makes an effective secondary teacher
What Is Secondary Teaching Certification?
Secondary certification is a subject-specific credential rather than a grade-level generalist one. Where an elementary teacher is certified to teach every subject to one class, a secondary teacher is certified to teach one subject- English, math, a science, a social studies discipline, or a world language- to multiple classes across middle and high school.
Grade span isn’t uniform from state to state. Some states define secondary certification as grades 7-12, others extend it to 6-12 or fold in a separate middle-level credential for grades 5-9. Check your state’s Department of Education for the exact span before you plan coursework, since it affects which content-area exam you’ll sit for.
Most states also let certified teachers add a subject endorsement to an existing secondary license. A history teacher who also wants to teach government or economics typically doesn’t start certification over. Many states allow teachers to add a subject endorsement by meeting state requirements, often passing an additional content exam and applying through the state’s education agency, without repeating an entire teacher preparation program.
Subject-Matter Knowledge Requirements
Each secondary subject carries its own content-area exam and coursework expectations. A math teacher and a science teacher aren’t interchangeable, and certification exams are built to confirm that a candidate has mastered the specific subject they intend to teach.
English
English certification candidates are tested on literary analysis, composition instruction, and the mechanics of language, syntax, grammar, and rhetorical structure. Many states use the Praxis English Language Arts: Content Knowledge exam to confirm that background, though some states require their own state-specific content exam instead. Candidates need to show they can teach students to interpret literary devices and symbolism, not just identify them, and to move students from summarizing a text to analyzing it.
Because high school is when most students refine their writing habits, English certification also expects familiarity with how to teach sentence-level mechanics: syntax, sentence variety, and punctuation, alongside the higher-order skills of argument and interpretation. For a closer look at the specific requirements, see this guide to English teaching certification.
Mathematics
Math certification moves well past the arithmetic taught in elementary school. Candidates are tested on algebra, geometry, trigonometry, functions, statistics, and in many states, an introduction to calculus. Many states use the Praxis Mathematics: Content Knowledge exam, though some states require their own content exam instead.
Certification exams test both computation and the ability to connect topics, showing, for example, how algebraic reasoning underlies geometric proofs. Effective math certification programs also expect candidates to demonstrate how to relate abstract math to real-world applications, since students engage more with material they can see used outside the classroom. See this guide to math teaching certification for the full breakdown.
Social Studies
Social studies certification covers history, civics, geography, and economics, and in many Praxis-participating states, exams like Praxis Social Studies: Content Knowledge test all four areas rather than letting a candidate specialize in just one. In contrast, other states use their own content exams covering the same ground. Candidates need to demonstrate how historical events connect to current civic and economic decisions, not just recite dates.
Civics and government components test knowledge of founding documents and the structure of government, while the economics component covers how resource allocation and market decisions shape policy. Certification standards expect candidates to connect these threads for students rather than teaching them as isolated units. Learn more in this guide to social studies teaching certification.
Science
Science certification is typically subject-specific at the secondary level. Praxis offers separate content exams for biology, chemistry, physics, and earth and space science in participating states. However, some states use different licensing exams (see this guide to science teaching certification for subject-specific detail). Candidates must demonstrate understanding of the field’s core theories along with the practice of scientific inquiry itself, how hypotheses are tested and revised.
Certification standards also expect candidates to show how cellular biology, physical properties of matter, or planetary science connect to the broader discipline, since secondary science instruction is built around helping students build a coherent, testable view of how the world works.
How to Become a Certified Secondary Teacher
Most states require a bachelor’s degree in the subject you intend to teach, or a closely related field, plus completion of a state-approved teacher preparation program that includes supervised student teaching. Candidates in alternative certification programs, who already hold a bachelor’s degree in another field, can often begin teaching under a provisional license while finishing required coursework and exams.
Every path leads through the same content-area exam and, in many states, a performance assessment like edTPA that evaluates actual classroom instruction rather than test-taking alone. Once coursework, student teaching, and exams are complete, the state Board or Department of Education issues the license. A provisional or initial license typically converts to a professional license after meeting the state’s experience, evaluation, and any additional licensing requirements.
If you’re weighing which path fits your background, the state teaching certification requirements guide breaks down exact steps, exams, and timelines by state. You can also browse teaching certification programs by state to find accredited options near you.
What Makes an Effective Secondary Teacher
Subject mastery gets a candidate certified. It doesn’t automatically make them effective in front of a classroom of teenagers. In a 2005 study, “Seek Balance, Connect With Others, and Reach All Students: High School Students Describe a Moral Imperative for Teachers,” published in The High School Journal (Vol. 89, No. 2), researchers Jean Whitney, Maureen Leonard, William Leonard, and Marguerite and Vincent Camelio polled 271 high school students on which teacher qualities they valued most.
Five themes came up repeatedly. Students wanted teachers who noticed individual differences instead of teaching to one pace. They responded to visible enthusiasm for the subject, and disengaged from teachers who seemed to be going through the motions. They pushed back against both extremes, rigidly strict teachers and ones who let poor behavior slide unchecked. They respected teachers who could tie the subject to something happening in the world, a social studies lesson linked to a current event, for example. And they engaged more with classes that mixed demanding work with activities they actually enjoyed: group projects, field trips, and skits.
None of that shows up on a Praxis score report. It’s the difference between a teacher who passed certification and one students actually remember.
Frequently Asked Questions
What subjects require secondary certification?
English, mathematics, science (often broken into biology, chemistry, physics, and earth science), social studies, and world languages each require their own secondary certification track. Career and technical education and the arts also have secondary-level credentials in most states.
What’s the difference between elementary and secondary certification?
Elementary certification qualifies you to teach every subject to one class of younger students. Secondary certification qualifies you to teach one subject across multiple classes, usually spanning middle school through high school depending on how your state defines the grade band.
Do I need a separate exam for each subject I want to teach?
Generally, yes. Many states use Praxis, which offers separate content-knowledge exams for English, math, each science discipline, and social studies. In contrast, other states require their own state-specific content exam matching the subject on your license.
Can I add a subject endorsement to my existing certification?
In most states, yes, though the exact process varies. Teachers who already hold a secondary license can typically add an endorsement in another subject by meeting state requirements, often passing an additional content exam and applying through the state’s education agency, without repeating an entire teacher preparation program.
What grade levels does secondary certification cover?
It varies by state. Common spans are grades 6-12 or 7-12, and some states carve out a separate middle-level certification for grades 5-9. Check your state Department of Education for the exact range tied to your certification track.
- Secondary certification is subject-specific — it qualifies you to teach one content area across multiple classes, not every subject to one class.
- Grade span varies by state — most fall between grades 6-12 and 7-12, and some states have a separate middle-level credential.
- Each subject has its own content exam — many states use Praxis, which offers separate tests for English, math, each science discipline, and social studies, while other states require their own state-specific exams.
- Endorsements let you add subjects later — most states allow adding a subject to an existing license without restarting certification.
- Subject mastery isn’t the whole job — research on student perceptions consistently points to enthusiasm, fairness, and relevance as what separates effective secondary teachers from merely certified ones.
Find accredited teacher preparation programs that offer secondary certification tracks in your subject area, along with Praxis-aligned coursework and student teaching placements.
