In order to teach in a public elementary
or secondary school in the United States, you must
be licensed or certified by the state in which you teach.
The routes to certification are the responsibility of each state and
the requirements vary from state to state. The routes to certification
are usually divided into two categories: traditional and, the much broader
category, alternative. 46 states and the District of Columbia have some
type of alternative certification program in place. In fact, states
report 144 alternatives to traditional programs to
become certified to teach. The National Center for Education Information
has developed a classification system for categorizing routes to certification.
Some of the routes to certification are as follows:
TRADITIONAL
APPROVED TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAM
For this type of program a college or university has submitted a plan
to the state for preparing teachers that has been approved. A potential
teacher applies to the institution, takes specified courses, meets the
necessary requirements, passes the required tests and is granted a license
to teach. The usual course of study is four years.
5TH YEAR PROGRAM
In addition to completing the requirements of the regular course of
study, the teaching candidate is required to complete an extra 5th year
of work before receiving a certificate.
ALTERNATIVE
CLASS A
A program designed for the purpose of attracting individuals who already
have a bachelor’s degree in a field other than education into
elementary and secondary school teaching. The program is not restricted
to shortages, secondary grade levels or subject areas. The alternative
teacher certification programs in these states involve teaching with
a trained mentor, and formal instruction that deals with the theory
and practice of teaching during the school year and sometimes in the
summer before and/or after.
Example: Texas Alternative Certification Program
CLASS B
Teacher certification routes that have been designed specifically to
bring talented individuals who already have at least a bachelor’s
degree into teaching. These programs involve specially designed mentoring
and formal instruction. However, these states either restrict the program
to shortages and/or secondary grade levels and/or subject areas.
Example: Georgia Teacher Alternative Preparation Program (TAPP)
CLASS C
These routes entail review of academic and professional background,
or transcript analysis. They involve specially (individually) designed
in-service and course-taking necessary to reach competencies required
for certification, if applicable. The state and/or local school districts
have major responsibility for program design.
Examples: Florida Alternative Certification Program, South Carolina
Program of Alternative Certification for Educators (PACE)
CLASS D
These routes entail review of academic and professional background,
and transcript analysis. They involve specially (individually) designed
in-service and course-taking necessary to reach competencies requires
for certification, if applicable. An institution of higher education
has major responsibility for program design.
Example: Virginia Career Switcher Program
CLASS E
These post-baccalaureate programs are based at an institution of higher
education.
Example: New York Internship Certificate
CLASS K
These avenues to certification accommodate specific populations for
teaching.
States may offer emergency certificates or waivers in certain situations
that will allow an individual to teach while completing certification
requirements. Also, in special cases a person with some outstanding
set of qualifications, such as a famous scientist, may be issued a certificate
to teach certain subjects.
A complete listing of alternative programs by state and the names and
addresses of contact persons for each state may be found on the website
for the National Center for Alternative Certification
www.teach-now.org
The classification system used on this page was
obtained from the following publication:
Feistritzer, C. Emily and Chester, David T. Alternative Teacher Certification
A State-by State Analysis 2003. Washington,D.C.: National Center for
Alternative Certification, 2003.
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