Alternative Certification: A National Perspective
SELECT COMMITTEE ON LATERAL ENTRY
Raleigh, North Carolina
November 14, 2003
Charles R. Coble
Vice-President, Policy Studies & Programs
Education Commission of the States
What is a Highly Qualified Teacher? (as defined by NCLB)
• Has full state certification
• Holds a minimum of a bachelor’s degree
• Has demonstrated subject matter competency in each of the academic subjects in which the teacher teaches - if the subject is a core academic subject.
What is a Highly Qualified Teacher? (as defined by NCTAF)
• Have thorough knowledge of their subjects
• Know how students learn
• Can assess and increase student learning
• Manage classrooms effectively
• Care about the academic, social, civic, and personal success of all students
• Use technology effectively to promote learning
• Collaborate with colleagues, parents, & community members to create positive learning environments
• Are active and reflective learners
Why the Concern for Highly Qualified Teachers?
The NCLB Imperative:
“Closing the achievement gap between high- and low-performing children, especially the achievement gaps between minority and non-minority students, and between disadvantaged children and their more advantaged peers.”
20 U.S.C. § 6301
Why the Concern for Highly Qualified Teachers?
Workforce Skills and the Old Economy
The premium was on a “strong back and a weak mind.”
Workers were expected to be docile and tolerant of routine.
There were low educational expectations and for “thinking on the job.”
Why the Concern for Highly Qualified Teachers?
Workforce Skills and the New Economy Employees are expected to think and solve
problems on the job. Employees are expected to be able to read,
write, speak, and have computational skills. Basic and advanced computer skills are
expected. Employees are expected to work effectively
individually and with others, often in teams.
Volk, K. & Peel, H. “A Projection of 21st Century Workforce Skills”, Rural Education Institute, East Carolina University, 1993
Teachers Matter: Math Gain Scores in Dallas
76
27
15
90
Beginning 3rd Grade
Score (Percentile)
Ave
rag
e M
ath
Sco
re 3
yrs
late
r in
Per
cen
tile
s
Dallas StudentsAssigned To 3Highly EffectiveTeachers In ARow
Dallas StudentsAssigned To 3IneffectiveTeachers In ARow
Source: Heather Jordan, Robert Mendro, & Dash Weerasinghe, “Teacher Effects On Longitudinal Student Achievement” 1997.
Teachers Matter: Math and Reading Gain Scores in Boston
-0.6%
14.6%
0.3%
5.6%
-5
0
5
10
15
Average Student GrowthOverOne Year
(percent)
Least Effective Teachers
Most Effective Teachers
Source: Boston Public Schools, in “High School Restructuring,” March 9, 1998.(courtesy of The Education Trust)
READINGMATH
Teachers Matter: Math gain scores Texas, grades 3-5
Teacher Qualifications
40%
Other School Factors
3%
Home and Family Factors
49%
Class Size8%
Teachers Matter for Low-Performing Students
Impact of Effective vs. IneffectiveTeachers on Low-Performing Students
14%
53%
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
With Ineffective
Teacher
WithEffectiveTeacher
Source: William Sanders and Joan Rivers, “Cumulative and Residual Effects of Teachers on Future Student Academic Achievement,” 1996
AverageStudent
Gains OverOne Year
(Tennessee)
Sources of Teacher Supply
Teachers who remain from previous year
90%
Re-entrants
4%
New Graduates
6%
Sources of Teacher Supply
67,000
80,000
85,000
160,000
0 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000 120,000 140,000 160,000 180,000
Delayed entrants andothers
Re-entrants
Actual Supply, 1999-2000: Newly prepared
entrants
Potential New Supply:Newly preparedgraduates, 2000
Beginning Teacher Attrition Is a Serious Problem
14% 24% 33% 40% 46%0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
1st Year 2nd Year 3rd Year 4th Year 5th Year
Source: Richard Ingersoll, adapted for NCTAF from “The Teacher Shortage: A Case of
Wrong Diagnosis and Wrong Prescription.” NASSP Bulletin 86 (June 2002): pp. 16-31.
12.6
12
12.8
13
11.6
20.7
28.1
27.3
25.7
25
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Training inSelection/Use of
Materials
Training in ChildPsych./Learning
Theory
Observation of OtherClasses
Feedback onTeaching
Practice Teaching
No Training
Training
Teacher Preparation Reduces Attrition of First-Year Teachers
% of teachers leaving after one year
Average Retention Rates For Different Pathways Into Teaching
100
9084
100
70
53
100
80
34
0
20
40
60
80
100
% WhoCompleteProgram
% WhoEnterTeaching
%WhoRemainAfter 3Years
0
Five-year program (B.A. in subject field and M.A.
education)
Four-year program (B.A. in subject field
or education)
Short-term alternative
certification program (B.A. and summer training)
Source: No Dream Denied A Pledge to America's Children. National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, January, 2003.
The Relationship between California Elementary School API Scores, Student Socioeconomic Status,
and Teacher Qualifications, 2000
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
API Score
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
% EmergencyCredentialedTeachers
% Low SESStudents
Source: No Dream Denied A Pledge to America's Children. National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, January, 2003.
$35,736
$44,362
$26,639
$23,231
$20,000
$25,000
$30,000
$35,000
$40,000
$45,000
$50,000
1994 1999
Engineering
Computer Science
Math/Statistics
Economics/Finance
Business
Marketing
Chemistry
Accounting
Liberal Arts
Teaching
Trends in Starting Salaries Across Professions
United States, 1994-1999
The Teachers We Want
Do we find them or prepare them and do we focus on…
• Individual talent or Preparation ?• Content knowledge or Pedagogy ?• Focus on outcomes or Focus on inputs ?• Alternative or Traditional programs ?
The Teachers We Want
The choices are not a real choices, but:
• Higher education must build more developmentally appropriate and accessible entry routes into teaching
• States must develop better policies and programs that support the success of teachers regardless of entry route
Significant Growth in Alternative Licensure
Approximately 200,000 alternative certifications granted since 1985
A significant increase in alternative certifications began in the mid-1990s
Since 1998, approximately 25,000 people per year were certified through alternative routes
Source: The National Center for Education Information, http://www.ncei.com/2003/executive_summary.htm
Which States Offer Alternative Licensure/Certification Programs?
*West Virginia ---allows institutions of higher education to offer alternative certification programs, however, no institutions have currently implemented a program.
Source: ECS State Teacher Preparation Policy Database, http://www.tqsource.org/prep/policy
Yes (45 states* and DC)
No (5 states)
Types of Alternative Programs
University Based: Southeastern Louisiana University Master of Arts in Teaching program; Project ACT, East Carolina University
University System: CalTeach (CSU) and NC TEACH (UNC) primarily recruit mid-career professionals
Community Colleges: BS degree-completion programs (Miami-Dade & St. Petersburg CC) ; 2+2 degree completion programs (NCCC-UNC)
Types of Alternative Programs
State Sponsored: New Jersey enacted legislation to create alternative certification in 1984.
District Based: the Alternative Certification Program by the Houston Independent School District
Federal: Troops To Teachers
Independent: Teach for America; the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence
Who Enrolls in Alternative Programs?
California: 53 alternative programs have certified over 10,000 teachers; 48% ethnic, 29% male; retention for the first 5 years was 86%
New Jersey: 20-25% of all new teachers hired are from its alternative programs; they are older & more ethnically diverse
Texas: 27 alternative teacher certification programs produce over 14% of new teachers hired; 41% are minority
C. Emily Feistritzer, President,National Center for Education Information, 1999
How Should "Alternative Licensure" be Defined?
“There is – or ought to be – a distinction made between alternative licensure and alternative routes to licensure.
The latter concerns the preparation program path a candidate takes to become licensed, but there is no difference between the license this person receives as a beginning teacher and that of a more traditionally prepared teacher.
The former implies a different set of criteria applied to grant licensure to an alternative candidate.”
Michael Allen, Project Director, ECS Teaching Quality Policy Center
NCLB & Alternative Route Programs
Teachers not fully certified, but participating in alternative route licensure shall be considered “highly-qualified” if they:
(1) receive high-quality professional development that is sustained, intensive, and classroom-focused in order to have a positive and lasting impact on classroom instruction before and while teaching;
(2) participate in a program of intensive supervision that consists of structured guidance and regular ongoing support for teachers, or a teacher mentoring program;
NCLB & Alternative Route Programs
Teachers not fully certified, but participating in alternative route licensure shall be considered “highly-qualified” continued:
(3) assume functions as a teacher for a specified period of time not to exceed three years; and
(4) demonstrate satisfactory progress toward full certification as prescribed by the State.
USDE, Improving Teaching Quality, Non-Regulatory Guidance, Revised Draft, September 12, 2003
Why the Increase in Alternatively-Licensed Teachers?
While there may not be an overall shortage of teachers generally - nationally there is a shortage of math, science, bilingual education, and special education teachers.
A number of alternative route programs have been set up specifically to recruit and prepare people to teach in these fields.
Why the Increase in Alternatively-Licensed Teachers?
"The simultaneous occurrence of the bad economy and the Sept. 11 attacks which made people sit up and rethink their lives, has certainly contributed to this trend."
Emily Feistritzer, President of the National Center for Education Information
How Effective are Alternative Licensure Teachers?
Alternatively PREPARED teachers from good programs can perform as well as traditionally prepared teachers – eventually - if (1) given good induction and mentoring and (2) solid collateral coursework while they are in the first year or two of teaching.
Michael Allen, Project Director,ECS Teaching Quality Policy Center
How Effective are Alternative Licensure Teachers?
Alternatively LICENSED teachers, on the other hand, may not be as effective as licensed teachers teaching in their field of certification.
Michael Allen, Project Director,ECS Teaching Quality Policy Center
How Effective are Alternative Licensure Teachers?
Research comparing the effectiveness of traditional and alternative certification teachers has mixed results. For example:
Lutz and Hutton (1989) evaluated the Dallas Independent School District's alternative certification program and found that,of the 54% who completed the intern year, that supervisors’ perceptions were positive.
The Texas Education Agency evaluation reported (traditionally trained) beginning teachers as more knowledgeable than alternative teachers.
Schram, Feiman-Nemser, and Ball (1990) did not find any significant difference between the two groups.
Source: Alternative Teacher Certification--An Update (1991),
Teachers Matter: Polar Opposites Agree
Linda Darling-Hammond and Checker Finn agree on two things:
That smart, caring teachers can help students overcome background problems like poverty and limited English proficiency.
That the sun will likely rise tomorrow!
ECS Fall Steering Committee Meeting, Cheyenne, WY, November 1999.
State Data Collection on Teachers is Inadequate
• State Data Collection on Teachers is Inadequate
• Current state data collection efforts tend to be disjointed
• State databases often fail to provide a comprehensive, longitudinal view of teacher career paths.
• Few states collect data on individuals who complete an alternative teacher training program
• Data often is not available on a teacher's undergraduate major or minor or on undergraduate performance.
Source: SHEEO, Data Systems to Enhance Teacher Quality, 2003
ECS Recommendations on Alternative Licensure
• States with alternative route programs should:
Provide solid induction and mentoring
Require collateral coursework
Give new teachers manageable placements
Use incentives to get more experienced teachers to take the tough assignments
Require rigorous data collection to aid in program evaluation for all alternative route programs
• States should not:
Regard alternative route programs as suppliers of teachers for tough schools
Give new, alternatively prepared teachers the toughest job assignments
Make alternative license program completion requirements less rigorous than traditional licensing routes
ECS Recommendations on Alternative Licensure