In an effort to meet the growing demand for teachers, the Missouri State Board of Education proposed an amendment on Tuesday, Dec. 3, to change the minimum required GPA for teachers from 3.0 to 2.5 in their specific content area (subject).
The demand for teachers is high and must be addressed, but if the Missouri Board of Education expects that those in the 2.5-3.0 GPA range will make up the difference, they are wholly mistaken. Missouri should be bringing in more teachers by improving existing conditions, not by scraping the bottom of a shrinking barrel.
This decision alone isn’t bad — research suggests that the content knowledge of teacher candidates with a higher content GPA does not significantly differ from those earning a lower content GPA. It’s just that it’s insignificant. From 2022 to 2024, only 101 people failed to meet the content GPA requirement according to the Missouri Department of Education. Out of the nearly 4,000 teacher certificates issued each year in Missouri, another 50 is minuscule.
College students don’t want to become secondary education teachers because they lack the incentive. Both pay and environmental factors have significant effects on career choice.
Overall, teachers have become less comfortable and less free in their classrooms in recent years. There are high and growing levels of gun violence in educational settings. Many current educators are sharing their struggle with teaching children in an era of digital technology and social media. Politically-motivated regulations restricting certain topics and banning books have increased dramatically.
Ed Bolton, science teacher, said he believes lowering the required GPA will not incentivize more people to teach for similar reasons.
“People are not going to choose to teach unless they feel that society supports education, schools are safe and that the job pays a wage appropriate to the required skills and time,” Bolton said. “Changing the GPA addresses none of those problems.”
It is essential that we recognize the struggle schools are facing and mend them appropriately rather than making minor changes that don’t target more important issues.
At best, little changes like lowering the barrier of content-specific GPA will only slow down the effects of the shrinking number of teachers and somewhat alleviate the pressure school districts are feeling. At worst, these insignificant changes will make us think the problem is solved and put off desperately needed reform.
