Mastery of Subject Area Knowledge

In the State of Florida, teachers must demonstrate mastery of subject area knowledge as one of the requirements for earning a professional teaching certificate.

You may need to take one or more Subject Area Tests based on what grade level, subject area, or special student population you teach. There are also multiple pathways to demonstrate mastery of Subject Area Knowledge.

You may demonstrate mastery of Subject Area Knowledge by any one of the following:

For a subject requiring only a baccalaureate degree for which a Florida subject area examination has been developed, achievement of a passing score on the Florida-developed subject area examination specified in state board rule
For a subject for which a Florida subject area examination has not been developed, achievement of a passing score on a standardized examination specified in state board rule, including, but not limited to, passing scores on both the oral proficiency and written proficiency examinations administered by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages
For a subject for which a Florida subject area examination has not been developed or a standardized examination has not been specified in state board rule, completion of the subject area specialization requirements specified in state board rule and verification of the attainment of the essential subject matter competencies by the district school superintendent of the employing school district or chief administrative officer of the employing state-supported or private school
For a subject requiring a master’s or higher degree, completion of the subject area specialization requirements specified in state board rule and achievement of a passing score on the Florida-developed subject area examination or a standardized examination that is directly related to the subject specified in state board rule
Documentation of a valid professional standard teaching certificate issued by another state
Documentation of a valid certificate issued by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards or a national educator credentialing board approved by the State Board of Education
Documentation of successful completion of a United States Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center program
Documentation of a passing score on the Defense Language Proficiency Test (DLPT)
For a subject requiring only a baccalaureate degree for which a Florida subject area examination has been developed, documentation of receipt of a master’s or higher degree from an accredited postsecondary educational institution that the Department of Education has identified as having a quality program resulting in a baccalaureate degree or higher in the certificate subject area as identified by state board rule.

Certification Subject Areas

Among the Florida Department of Education Certification Subject Areas, there are five areas that require a master’s degree and Content Specialization, as well as a passing score on the corresponding Subject Area Test, in order to include this area of certification on your professional certificate. These five areas are as follow:

Florida Educational Leadership (all levels)
Guidance and Counseling (PK-12)
Reading (K-12)
School Psychologist (PK-12)
Speech-Language Impaired (K-12)

Thirty-five of the 40 Certification Subject Areas require a baccalaureate degree and the passing of the corresponding Subject Area Test. However, in accordance with s.1012.56(5)(i), F.S., “for a subject requiring only a baccalaureate degree for which a Florida subject area examination has been developed, documentation of receipt of a master's or higher degree from an accredited postsecondary educational institution that the Department of Education has identified as having a quality program resulting in a baccalaureate degree or higher in the certificate subject area” meets the requirement for inclusion of this area of certification on your professional certificate. The 35 Certification Subject Areas are listed below:

Agriculture (6-12)
Art (K-12)
Biology (6-12)
Business Education (6-12)
Chemistry (6-12)
Computer Science (K-12)
Drama (6-12)
Earth-Space Science (6-12)
Educational Media Specialist (PK-12)
Elementary Education (K-6)
Middle Grades English (5-9)
English (6-12)
English to Speakers of Other Languages (K-12)
Exceptional Student Education (K-12)
Family and Consumer Science (6-12)
World Language: French (K-12)
World Language: German (K-12)
World Language: Latin (K-12)
World Language: Spanish (K-12)
General Science (5-9)
Health (K-12)
Deaf or Hard of Hearing (K-12)
Humanities (K-12)
Engineering and Technology Education (6-12)
Marketing (6-12)
Mathematics (5-9)
Mathematics (6-12)
Music (K-12)
Physical Education (K-12)
Physics (6-12)
Prekindergarten/Primary Education (Age 3-Gr 3)
Preschool Education (Birth - Age 4)
Social Science (5-9)
Social Science (6-12)
Visually Impaired (K-12)

Subject Area Examinations

Subject Area Examinations consist of one subtest with the exception of the following examinations which contain two or more subtests.

Elementary Education K-6 (four subtests)
Prekindergarten/Primary PK–3 (four subtests)
Middle Grades English 5-9 (two subtests)
English 6-12 (two subtests)
German K-12 (two subtests)

For more information on the Subject Area Examinations, click HERE.

Examinations for Grades K-6 and 5-9

Elementary Education K-6
Middle Grades English 5-9
Middle Grades General Science 5-9
Middle Grades Math 5-9
Middle Grades Social Science 5-9

Examinations for Grades 6-12

Agriculture 6-12
Biology 6-12
Business Education 6-12
Chemistry 6-12
Drama 6-12
Earth/Space Science 6-12
Engineering and Technology Education 6-12
Family and Consumer Science 6-12
Marketing 6-12
Mathematics 6-12
Physics 6-12
Social Science 6-12

Examinations for Grades K-12

Art K-12
Computer Sci K-12
Deaf or Hard of Hearing K-12
ESOL K-12
ESE K-12
French K-12
German K-12
Health K-12
Humanities K-12
Latin K-12
Music K-12
Physical Education K-12
Reading K-12
Spanish K-12
Speech-Language Impaired K-12
Visually Impaired K-12

Examinations for PreK–3 / PreK–12

Prekindergarten/Primary PK-3
Preschool Education Birth-Age 4
Educational Media Specialist PK-12
Guidance and Counseling PK-12
School Psychologist PK-12