TeacherCertificationZone.com - Helping Teachers Become Certified

Maryland Teacher Certification

Average Teacher Salary: $54,486
Average State Salary for All Jobs: $47,780

Coursework and Preparation Programs You'll Need:

You'll need a Bachelor's Degree before you can teach in Maryland schools. There are no special undergraduate coursework requirements in individual subject areas for Maryland teacher certification. You will, however, need to complete a Maryland-approved teacher preparation program. A list of approved programs is available here:
http://directory.msde.state.md.us
For a list of alternative teacher preparation programs, see
http://www.teach-now.org
the National Center for Alternative Certification Web site.

Tests

For teacher certification in Maryland, you'll need to take the following test for basic teaching skills:
PPST (Pre Professional Skills Test) Official Site: http://www.ets.org | Praxis 1 Test
You'll also need to take one or more of the following tests in specific subject areas:
Praxis 2 Exams Official Site: http://www.ets.org | Praxis 2 Test

Required Reading

If you're certified in early childhood education, elementary education, or special education, the state of Maryland requires that you take 12 course hours in reading. A list of these courses is available here:
http://www.marylandpublicschools.org
Teachers who have not taken these 12 course hours may alternatively qualify for certification in Maryland if they have a score of 173 of this Praxis II assessment:
Reading Across the Curriculum: Elementary (mc & cr - 2 hr) 0201

Reciprocity Agreements

The State of Maryland has reciprocity agreements to accept teaching credentials from most other states.

Facts about Maryland Teacher Certification

Differential pay support is available for teachers in high needs subject areas.
After teaching in Maryland for two years, a teacher becomes eligible for tenure.

For Further Information

You can contact the Maryland State Department of Education about teacher certification at this address:
Maryland State Department of Education
ATTN: Certification Branch
200 W. Baltimore Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21201

Or you can call the Certification Assistance Line at 410-767-0412 or 1-866-772-8922 (toll free) .
In addition, the following official Web sites have information about the Maryland teacher certification process:

Maryland State Department of Education:
http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/msde

Maryland Certification Branch:
http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE/divisions/certification/certification_branch/