To become a math teacher in Missouri, you need a bachelor’s degree, a DESE-approved educator preparation program, and a passing score on the Praxis Mathematics (5165) test for grades 9-12 or Middle School Mathematics (5164) for grades 5-9. You then apply to DESE for a four-year Initial Professional Certificate. Career changers can teach first through Temporary Authorization.
Missouri’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) certifies math teachers for two grade bands: middle school (grades 5-9) and high school (grades 9-12). If you want to become a math teacher in Missouri, pick your band before you pick a program, because it decides which Praxis test you take. Certified teachers can later add an Elementary Mathematics Specialist (grades 1-6) certificate.
Older guides still list the MoGEA and Pearson exams, which Missouri dropped in 2024. Here are the four steps, current as of October 2026:
- Choose Your Route and Complete an Approved Math Educator Program
- Pass the Praxis Mathematics Test for Your Grade Band
- Apply for Your Missouri Initial Professional Certificate
- Upgrade to a Career Continuous Professional Certificate
Step 1. Choose Your Route and Complete an Approved Math Educator Program
Every route starts with a bachelor’s degree at minimum to become a math teacher in Missouri. What differs is whether you finish your preparation before you teach or while you teach. Missouri has several routes, and these four cover most future math teachers:
| Route | Who It Fits | Job Offer Needed First? | How It Works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional | Students earning a math education degree | No | Bachelor’s program with student teaching, then your program recommends you to DESE |
| Alternative | Bachelor’s degree holders who want a structured program | No | About 30 semester hours at a college of education, often while teaching on a two-year provisional certificate |
| Temporary Authorization (TAC) | Math or math-heavy degree holders already hired by a school | Yes | Teach on a one-year renewable certificate while you finish 24 semester hours of coursework |
| ABCTE or Teachers of Tomorrow | Bachelor’s degree holders who want a self-paced national program | No | Earn the program’s certificate, pass the Missouri Praxis test, and log 60 contact hours with students |
DESE’s Routes to Certification page also lists a route for out-of-state teachers (covered in Step 3) and a doctoral route. A math PhD who passes Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades 7-12 (5624) gets an initial certificate that renews but never upgrades.
Traditional Route
Most Missouri math teachers study math and education together in one of DESE’s approved teacher education programs, at the bachelor’s or post-bachelor’s level. Your program maps its courses to the state rule for your grade band, 5 CSR 20-400. You’ll finish with student teaching and your program’s recommendation.
Watch your grades in your math courses. The current 5 CSR 20-400 sets a 2.5 GPA for your content area, down from the 3.0 the State Board adopted in 2017. Your program may still set a higher bar.
Alternative Route
If you have a math degree but no education coursework or student teaching, you can return to a college of education for a post-baccalaureate certificate or a master’s degree with certification. Some run online.
DESE says these programs usually run about 30 semester hours, and you may teach on a two-year provisional certificate while you finish. Once you complete the program and pass your Praxis test, the college recommends you for your initial certificate. That provisional certificate is separate from the one-year TAC described next.
Temporary Authorization Route
The Temporary Authorization Certificate (TAC) is the fastest way in if a school has already offered you a math job. According to DESE’s TAC requirements, you need:
- A bachelor’s degree in math, or at least 24 semester hours of math coursework
- A 2.50 GPA in your math coursework
- A joint application with your employing Missouri public school district or accredited nonpublic school
The TAC lasts one year, and you renew it with your district each year. Your district verifies that you passed your annual evaluation and took part in a mentoring program. You send DESE your content and professional knowledge test results, plus a transcript showing at least nine more semester hours. Those hours build toward 24 semester hours in eight areas, from Psychology of the Exceptional Child to Cultural Diversity. You’ll typically teach for two years on this route before you qualify for full certification.
ABCTE or Teachers of Tomorrow Route
Missouri accepts American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE) and Teachers of Tomorrow certificates for middle and high school math. You’ll need a bachelor’s degree, the program’s certificate, a Missouri fingerprint background check, and 60 contact hours working with students, validated by a principal. In a classroom, at least 45 of those hours must be teaching. Substitute hours count only if at least 30 are consecutive in the same classroom.
Since July 1, 2026, ABCTE candidates must also pass the Missouri Praxis test for their area, and DESE applies the same rule to Teachers of Tomorrow. DESE’s ABCTE and Teachers of Tomorrow pages list the application steps.
Adding the Elementary Mathematics Specialist Certificate (Grades 1-6)
This is an add-on, not a first certificate. Under 5 CSR 20-400.590, you need a valid Missouri teaching certificate, two years of successful math teaching, 24 semester hours beyond initial certification (three of them clinical), and a qualifying score on DESE’s designated exit assessment.
Step 2. Pass the Praxis Mathematics Test for Your Grade Band
Missouri switched from its Pearson-run Missouri Content Assessments (MoCA) to ETS Praxis tests on July 1, 2024, according to DESE’s Missouri Content Assessments page. Praxis tests taken before that date don’t count for Missouri certification. You’ll take the test that matches your grade band:
| Grade Band | Praxis Content Test | TAC Teachers Also Take |
|---|---|---|
| Middle school (5-9) | Middle School Mathematics (5164) | Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades 5-9 (5623) |
| High school (9-12) | Mathematics (5165) | Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades 7-12 (5624) |
Missouri sets its own qualifying score for each test. Check the current score on ETS’s Missouri test requirements page before you register. If you test outside Missouri or your Praxis profile has an out-of-state address, add DESE (code 7625) as a score recipient, or your scores won’t reach it.
Old MoCA Scores and the MoGEA
A MoCA math score you earned before July 1, 2024, generally still counts in its certification area, so you don’t need to retake it as a Praxis. You also don’t need the Missouri General Education Assessment (MoGEA). DESE removed it as a program admission test in May 2024, and it was never a certification exam.
Step 3. Apply for Your Missouri Initial Professional Certificate
Your first full certificate is the Initial Professional Certificate (IPC), and it’s valid for four years. You apply online through DESE’s Educator Certification System. The Educator Certification Help Guide walks you through setting up your profile.
On the traditional and alternative routes, you apply once you’ve passed your Praxis test, and your program submits its recommendation. On the TAC route, you apply after finishing your coursework and passing both Praxis tests.
Before DESE issues any certificate, you’ll need a fingerprint background check. If you mail transcripts instead of sending them electronically, the address is Educator Certification, PO Box 480, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0480.
Before you accept an offer, check what Missouri math teachers earn.
Moving to Missouri With a License From Another State
If a Missouri public school hires you and you hold a valid teaching certificate from another state, RSMo 168.021 directs the State Board to issue you a professional certificate in your closest matching area, matched to your years of experience, once your background check clears. Military spouses and recent movers can teach on a three-year provisional certificate while the check finishes.
Still weighing a neighboring state? Compare math teacher certification in Kentucky, Oklahoma and Tennessee, each with its own exams and routes.
Step 4. Upgrade to a Career Continuous Professional Certificate
Missouri doesn’t simply renew your first certificate. You upgrade it to a Career Continuous Professional Certificate (CCPC), which is valid for 99 years. Your district verifies the requirements, so start with its certification contact a few months before your IPC expires.
To upgrade, you’ll need to finish these during your four years on the IPC:
- Four years of DESE-approved teaching experience, at least half time
- Two years in a district-provided mentoring program
- 30 contact hours of professional development (one semester hour of college credit counts as 15 contact hours)
- A two-year Beginning Teacher Assistance Program from a Missouri college, a Regional Professional Development Center, or a teacher organization
- Successful participation in your school’s annual Performance Based Teacher Evaluation
- A professional development plan you carry out, on file with your district
Once you hold the CCPC, you’ll keep it active with 15 contact hours of professional development each year. If you miss a year, you have two years to make up the hours, and make-up hours only count after you’ve logged the current year’s 15. Miss that window and the certificate goes inactive. Reactivating it takes 24 contact hours within six months before or after you reactivate. You can stop logging hours once you have a local professional development plan and meet two of three conditions: ten years of teaching experience, a master’s degree, or a national certification the State Board approves.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I teach math in Missouri without an education degree?
Yes. If you have a bachelor’s degree in math, or at least 24 semester hours of math, a school can hire you on a Temporary Authorization Certificate while you finish your education coursework. You can also enroll in an alternative program at a college of education, or certify through ABCTE or Teachers of Tomorrow and pass the Missouri Praxis test.
Do I still need to pass the MoGEA?
No. DESE removed it as a program admission test in May 2024, and it was never a certification exam. Your program may still set its own admission criteria.
Are my old Missouri Content Assessment scores still valid?
In most cases, yes. DESE says passing Pearson MoCA scores earned before July 1, 2024, still count in the certification area they were tied to. New test takers take the Praxis Middle School Mathematics (5164) or Mathematics (5165) test instead.
What happens if I don’t pass the Praxis math test?
Under RSMo 168.021, you can receive a two-year nonrenewable provisional certificate. To earn full certification, pass the test during those two years. Or earn acceptable scores in each of the two years from seven walk-through evaluations, two formative evaluations and one summative evaluation, receive a third contract, and have your district recommend you to DESE.
How long is a Missouri teaching certificate valid?
Your Initial Professional Certificate lasts four years. After you upgrade, the Career Continuous Professional Certificate is valid for 99 years, as long as you keep teaching and complete 15 contact hours of professional development each year. If you fall behind and don’t catch up within two years, it goes inactive.
- Pick your grade band first: Missouri certifies math teachers for grades 5-9 or 9-12, and the band decides your Praxis test.
- Praxis replaced MoCA in July 2024: Take Middle School Mathematics (5164) or Mathematics (5165). Since July 2026 that includes ABCTE and Teachers of Tomorrow candidates.
- No MoGEA: DESE dropped it as a program admission test in May 2024.
- Career changers can teach first: With a math degree and a job offer, the Temporary Authorization Certificate lets you teach while you finish 24 semester hours of coursework.
- Upgrade, don’t renew: Turn your four-year IPC into a 99-year CCPC with four years of teaching, two years of mentoring, a two-year BTAP, annual evaluations, and 30 contact hours of professional development.
If you already hold a math or engineering degree, compare programs by whether they support Temporary Authorization or a master’s-plus-certification track, since that decides whether you can teach while you finish. Several listed schools run online.