Here’s how to become a math teacher in New York: earn a bachelor’s degree, complete a state-registered teacher preparation program, finish three required workshops and fingerprinting, and on most routes pass the Educating All Students test and the Mathematics Content Specialty Test. Then apply through NYSED’s TEACH system for a five-year Initial certificate.
New York certifies math teachers in two bands: Mathematics (grades 5-9) and Mathematics (grades 7-12). Choose your band first. It decides which preparation program you enroll in, where you student teach and which content test you register for, so switching later costs you coursework. If you certify in grades 7-12, you can add grades 5-6 later through an extension instead of earning a second full certificate.
The basic requirements to teach math look like most states’: a degree, a preparation program and exams. What’s specific to New York is who runs it and what you no longer take. The New York State Education Department (NYSED) handles certification through its Office of Teaching Initiatives, and two exams older guides still list, the edTPA and the ALST, are gone. Everything below is current as of October 2026, and the four steps show how to become a math teacher in New York by every route, traditional or alternative.
- Earn a Bachelor’s Degree and Complete a Teacher Preparation Program
- Complete the Required Workshops and Fingerprinting
- Pass the New York Teacher Certification Exams
- Apply for and Maintain Your New York Teaching Certification
Step 1. Earn a Bachelor’s Degree and Complete a Teacher Preparation Program
You need at least a bachelor’s degree, and how much math it must hold depends on your route. A registered preparation program requires a math major or its equivalent. If NYSED evaluates your transcript instead (the individual evaluation route under 8 NYCRR 80-3.7), you need 30 semester hours of mathematics, no more than six of them in a related field, with at least a C in each undergraduate course and a 2.5 cumulative GPA. Already hold another New York classroom teaching certificate? Then the content requirement drops to 18 semester hours.
The traditional route is a New York State-registered teacher preparation program that leads to your certificate title. It includes supervised student teaching with an experienced math teacher, and your program also builds a teacher performance assessment into that student teaching. Before you enroll, confirm the program appears on NYSED’s list of registered teacher preparation programs.
If you already have a degree, or you’re certified somewhere else, you have other routes. Here’s how they compare:
| Route | Who It’s For | Leads To | What You Still Complete |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registered preparation program | Undergraduate or graduate students in a New York math education program | Initial certificate | Workshops, fingerprinting, EAS and the math content test |
| Transitional B | Degree holders in a New York alternative program with a district job and mentor | Initial certificate | EAS, the content test and the rest of your program |
| Transitional C | Career changers with a graduate academic or professional degree, in a Transitional C program with a district job | Professional certificate | Workshops, fingerprinting, EAS, the content test and the rest of your program |
| Transitional G | Graduate degree holders with two years of college teaching in math | Initial certificate | A public school district’s recommendation in TEACH |
| Endorsement (out of state) | Teachers certified in another state with three years of public school experience | Initial certificate | Workshops, fingerprinting and a rating form from your employer |
| National Board | NBPTS-certified math teachers | Initial certificate | Workshops and fingerprint clearance |
Alternative Routes for Career Changers
Most career changers enter on a Transitional B certificate. You enroll in a New York Transitional B program and teach full time in a district that has committed to employ and mentor you. The certificate is valid for up to three years. It covers only that district, and it ends the day you finish or leave the program.
Need more time? You can apply in TEACH for one time extension, valid for three years from the date your certificate expires. It isn’t automatic. You have to meet one of NYSED’s eligibility conditions, your college has to attest that you’re still enrolled, and NYSED won’t accept the application more than six months before the certificate expires.
Alternative programs across the state, New York City included, work on this model. Before you accept a placement, ask which certificate you’ll hold. Transitional B leads to the Initial certificate. Transitional C, for career changers who already hold a graduate academic or professional degree, leads straight to the Professional certificate, which skips a full stage of the ladder.
If you hold a graduate degree and have taught math at a college for two years, look at the Transitional G certificate. A public school district recommends you in TEACH (charter schools can’t), and it’s valid for two years before you move to the Initial certificate.
Moving From Another State
New York’s endorsement pathway is for teachers who’ve already taught. You need all of the following:
- A valid, comparable certificate from another state in the same subject and grade range
- Three years of certified public school teaching in that subject and grade range
- A Classroom Teacher Rating Form from your employer showing effective or highly effective ratings for those years
- A bachelor’s degree with a 2.5 cumulative GPA
- Fingerprint clearance and all required New York workshops
This pathway only issues the Initial certificate, whatever level you hold at home. If you finished a preparation program in another state but haven’t taught three years, you can apply through a comparable program instead. You’ll need the same 2.5 GPA, and you’ll pass New York’s exams. NYSED also runs an Enhanced Comparable Program pathway for programs completed in a listed group of states, including Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Jersey, so if you trained next door, compare that state’s requirements with New York’s before you apply. Your college submits a form directly to NYSED, and you still pass New York’s exams and complete its workshops.
National Board Certification
If you hold National Board certification, New York matches it to a state title. Mathematics: Early Adolescence becomes Mathematics (grades 5-9), and Mathematics: Adolescence and Young Adulthood becomes Mathematics (grades 7-12). If you’re eligible, New York holds you only to its workshops and fingerprint clearance.
Adding Grades 5-6 to a 7-12 Certificate
If you hold Mathematics (grades 7-12), NYSED offers a Mathematics 5-6 Extension, so you don’t need a second full certificate to teach fifth and sixth grade. Programs that lead to the extension include 6 semester hours in early adolescent development and middle childhood teaching strategies. Check the extension’s exact requirements in TEACH before you enroll.
Step 2. Complete the Required Workshops and Fingerprinting
Every certification applicant completes three state-mandated workshops. Take each one from a NYSED-approved provider, because a district’s annual refresher or another state’s training won’t count:
- Dignity for All Students Act (DASA): at least six clock hours on harassment, bullying and discrimination prevention
- School Violence Prevention and Intervention (often called SAVE): two hours, required by Education Law section 3004
- Child Abuse Identification and Reporting: two hours, in its second updated version
The child abuse workshop changed recently. Applications submitted on or after October 1, 2025 need the second updated version, and every educator who is a mandated reporter must have completion reported to TEACH by their provider by November 17, 2026. If you took the earlier updated workshop between November 1, 2022 and August 31, 2025, you can take a 15-minute addendum instead, from the same provider.
You’ll also need fingerprint clearance for a criminal background check. Book it with IdentoGO, run by IDEMIA, through the certification link on NYSED’s fingerprinting page or by phone at 877-472-6915, and enter service code 14ZGQT, the code for certification. That page lists the current fee. If you’re being hired by the New York City Department of Education, don’t use these links: NYC DOE handles its own fingerprinting.
Step 3. Pass the New York Teacher Certification Exams
If you’re earning a first Initial certificate through a preparation program or a Transitional B or C program, NYSTCE requires two exams: the Educating All Students test and the Content Specialty Test (CST) for your certificate area. The endorsement and National Board pathways in Step 1 don’t list these exams.
- Educating All Students (EAS), test 201: teaching diverse learners, students with disabilities and English language learners. 2 hours 15 minutes of testing time, a passing score of 520 and an $80 fee
- Mathematics CST, test 004: 90 multiple-choice questions and one constructed response, 3 hours 30 minutes of testing time in a 3 hour 45 minute appointment (the extra 15 minutes covers a tutorial and nondisclosure agreement), a passing score of 520 and a $122 fee
Bring your own graphing calculator to the Mathematics CST, from the approved list on the test page. The Mathematics CST (004) is the content test for both Mathematics (grades 5-9) and Mathematics (grades 7-12), so your band doesn’t change which math test you register for.
Missed by a few points? If you score within 0.5 standard error of measurement of passing, you can apply for an exam waiver, though the EAS isn’t eligible. If you took the Mathematics CST on or after February 26, 2025 and scored 512 to 519, you can submit NYSTCE Flex Mathematics (test 614), a written analysis, instead of retaking the test.
Exams You No Longer Take
Two exams that older guides still list are gone. New York dropped the Academic Literacy Skills Test (ALST) effective March 14, 2017. It eliminated the edTPA as of April 27, 2022, and registered programs now assess your teaching during student teaching instead.
Step 4. Apply for and Maintain Your New York Teaching Certification
You apply for your Initial certificate in the TEACH system, where you’ll also track your application. The fee is $50 if you completed a New York-registered program and $100 by any other pathway. If you came through an alternative or out-of-state route, expect to supply more documents:
- Official transcripts, sent by each college’s registrar
- Copies of every out-of-state certificate, including expired ones, emailed to [email protected]
- The Classroom Teacher Rating Form from your out-of-state employer, if you use the endorsement pathway
NYSED notifies you through TEACH when your certificate is issued. The Initial certificate is valid for five years, and in that time you need three things for the Professional certificate: three years of teaching experience (NYSED counts 540 days), one of them mentored if you teach in a public or charter school, and a related master’s degree. Your district enters the experience and mentoring into TEACH, so ask your employer to submit it rather than reporting it yourself.
The Professional certificate doesn’t expire, but you keep it registered. You’ll complete 100 hours of Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (CTLE) in every five-year registration period. Once you’re certified, compare salaries for Teachers in New York by region before you choose where to apply.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I still need to pass the edTPA in New York?
No. New York eliminated the edTPA as a certification requirement on April 27, 2022. Your registered preparation program now builds its own teacher performance assessment into your student teaching or clinical experience.
Can I teach math in New York without an education degree?
Yes. With a degree and enough math coursework, you can enroll in a Transitional B program and teach full time in a district while you finish, which leads to the Initial certificate. If you already hold a graduate academic or professional degree, a Transitional C program leads straight to the Professional certificate.
Which math test do I take for grades 5-9?
The same one as for grades 7-12: the Mathematics CST (004), which takes a 520 to pass and costs $122. If you already hold Mathematics (grades 7-12), you can add grades 5-6 through the Mathematics 5-6 Extension instead.
How long is a New York Initial teaching certificate valid?
Five years. In that time you need three years of teaching (one mentored if you work in a public or charter school) and a related master’s degree to move up to the Professional certificate.
I’m certified in another state. Do I have to retake exams?
Not if you qualify for endorsement. NYSED’s endorsement pathway asks for three years of certified public school teaching in your subject with effective or highly effective ratings, a bachelor’s degree with a 2.5 GPA, fingerprinting and New York’s workshops. It doesn’t list New York exams among its requirements, and neither does the National Board pathway.
- Pick your band first: New York certifies math teachers in grades 5-9 or grades 7-12, and a 7-12 holder can add grades 5-6 through an extension.
- Two exams on most routes: program and Transitional candidates pass the EAS (201) and the Mathematics CST (004), which covers both grade bands, with 520 to pass each.
- Watch the workshop deadline: every mandated reporter needs the second updated child abuse workshop reported to TEACH by November 17, 2026.
- Career changers have two tracks: Transitional B leads to the Initial certificate, and Transitional C, for graduate degree holders, leads to the Professional certificate.
- Plan for the Professional certificate: you have five years to log three years of teaching and finish a related master’s degree.
New York’s route depends on the program you enter, so it’s worth comparing how each one handles student teaching, whether it offers a Transitional B or C option, and whether it includes the master’s you’ll need for the Professional certificate. The schools listed here include programs for career changers and for working teachers.