The Teacher Certification Crisis: Why Are So Many Candidates Failing?

In the past five years, teacher certification exam pass rates have remained alarmingly low, particularly for the Praxis and TExES exams. Many aspiring educators struggle to pass these critical assessments on their first attempt, delaying or derailing their teaching careers. In this blog, we explore the challenges teachers face in passing certification exams, the subject areas with the highest failure rates, and what this means for the future of education.

Why Are Teachers Struggling to Pass?

First-attempt pass rates for the Praxis Elementary Education: Multiple Subjects exam sit at around 46%, meaning more than half of aspiring elementary teachers fail on their first try. Similarly, in Texas, the TExES Core Subjects EC-6 Social Studies subtest has a first-time pass rate of just 71%. These exams are notoriously difficult, requiring broad content knowledge, and many candidates must retake them multiple times.

Subject Areas with the Lowest Pass Rates

Teachers in STEM, bilingual education, and special education fields are among those who struggle the most to pass certification exams. Many of these subject areas are already facing teacher shortages, making the situation even more dire. In Texas, nearly 52% of new hires in 2023–24 were uncertified upon hire, largely due to struggles with certification exams.

What Needs to Change?

With growing concerns over teacher shortages, some states are adjusting requirements, such as allowing coursework to substitute for exam scores or providing more flexible pathways to certification. However, lowering standards comes with risks—students taught by uncertified teachers tend to perform worse academically. Moving forward, states must find a balance between maintaining high standards and ensuring a strong, stable teacher workforce.