A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Raising Licensing
and Certification Standards

In recent years, as many as 50,000 people have entered teaching on emergency or substandard licenses because they lacked full qualification.⁽¹⁹⁾ Thirty percent of the math teachers in high schools do not even have a college minor in math. The figures for science are not much better.⁽²⁰⁾

If teacher preparation programs, policies for state licensure (initial approval) and certification (endorsement for full teaching or teaching in certain areas), as well as school district hiring and evaluation practices have set low expectations for teachers, it is primarily because no standards existed to guide them. That is no longer true. Three parallel developments are pushing the teaching profession toward high standards, enveloping the teaching career from beginning to end in rigorous attention to quality.

One development concerns pre-service education. As the teacher preparation section described, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) requires institutions of higher learning seeking its seal of approval to ensure that their students know how to teach to the higher content standards being adopted by most states and that future teachers demonstrate their skills through performance assessments rather than through the traditional "seat time" accumulation of course credits.

A second important way that standards are being raised is through initial licensure. Licensure is being transformed in at least 30 states into a true measure of a teacher's knowledge and skills. These states are members of the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC), sponsored by the Council of Chief State School Officers. It is creating performance standards for the licensing of beginning teachers and is developing assessments that match the standards.

The third influence on teaching quality is one that inspired and provided the standards used by the other two efforts. The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, established with foundation support in 1987, has developed standards for accomplished teaching and has prepared assessments at all levels and subject areas. Now partially financed by Congress through the U.S. Department of Education and strongly supported within the profession and by business, political, and civic leaders, the National Board is educating the country about what high standards for teaching really mean. The National Board's standards are based on agreement by teachers and researchers with the following five propositions naming the essentials of accomplished teaching:

• Teachers are committed to students and their learning--they make knowledge accessible to all students by adjusting their teaching to student abilities, skills and backgrounds.
  
• Teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to students--they are aware of students' prior knowledge and preconceptions and can create multiple ways of acquiring new knowledge.
  
• Teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning--they draw upon a variety of instructional strategies and know how to engage students in learning; they use multiple ways of measuring student growth.
  
• Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience--they evaluate their teaching, seek advice from others, and integrate research into their practice.
  
• Teachers are members of learning communities--they work collaboratively with colleagues and with parents and use school and community resources for their students.

Members of the 63-member National Board and technical advisers are basing the development of 33 assessments on these five propositions, a process expected to be completed by the year 2000. Teachers who apply for National Board certification spend several months preparing a portfolio of videotapes, lesson samples, journals, essays, and documentation of working collegially. They also take part in two to three days of interviews at assessment sites. The process is so rigorous and intensive that state policy makers often provide re-certification credit or other recognition to teachers who participate in it even if they do not become Board certified (only about half of those applying so far have received certification). A very high percentage of teachers who complete the process credit it with a dramatic renewal of their commitment and teaching skills.

Beyond identifying accomplished teachers, the National Board's work ripples throughout the profession. Its standards are being adopted by state professional standards boards. Some districts are beginning to use portfolios for teacher evaluation. Some states and districts are developing systems that evaluate teachers according to district or state standards.

The New Professional Teacher System in Indiana

After spending two years on research and consultation with experts in teacher education reform, the Board recommended that Indiana become a member of the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) so that it could collaborate with other states on redesigning preparation and licensure systems. By joining INTASC, Indiana accepted its basic premise: that decisions about teachers' competencies should be based on teachers' abilities to perform in classrooms with increased student achievement as the measure. Traditional licensure programs usually only take course credits and perhaps a nationally standardized test into consideration.

The Board views this process of reform as analogous to building a three-story house. The first floor--standards that describe what education professionals must know and be able to do to improve student learning--is finished. Standards in 17 content and development areas began circulating on a statewide basis to all education stakeholders in August 1996 and were approved in the spring of 1998.

Construction of the second floor--assessment--is underway. Under INTASC's sponsorship, Indiana is working with nine other states to develop performance assessments that will be used for teacher licensure decisions. The Board believes the teaching standards, which have been positively received, will only work as long as the assessments of teachers are as rich as the standards, measuring both their content knowledge and their ability to perform in the classroom. The standards must apply both to candidates for licensure and to experienced teachers for re-licensure as a measure of the latter's increasing mastery of standards.

Staff work has started on the third floor, the reconfiguration of the licensing system to reflect the standards and assessments. Finally, the "roof" will be the statutes and rules that govern the standards, assessments, and licensing procedures.

How is this effort different from previous attempts to reform teacher preparation, licensure, and continuing development? A major contrast is the broad involvement of institutions and groups across the state. The Indiana Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, for example, established various task forces to study how the new standards-based and performance-based system would affect preparation and professional development programs and minority recruitment and retention. Practicing educators developed the standards with colleagues from higher education and will serve as the mentors, trainers and scorers for new licensure assessments. Also, the state principals' association has formed a group to recommend standards for licensing school-level administrators.

In this new system, a teacher's career from preparation to induction and licensure to continued professional growth is based on standards. Furthermore, these standards are linked to student achievement standards.

In the past, teacher preparation programs were not held accountable for teachers' performance in classrooms. Under the new system, they must prepare teachers to pass the assessments required for licensure. These assessments will be based on the state's standards and will emphasize performance. That is, teachers will need to demonstrate what they know and how well they can perform in classrooms.

To help the public and professionals themselves understand the profound changes taking place in teacher quality in Indiana, the Board is participating in the New Professional Teacher Project of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. One of seven states selected for the project, Indiana, through the Board, created a statewide body of interested groups, developed print and video materials, and convened focus groups and regional task forces. Lessons learned from its efforts to create public support for the redesign of teacher preparation and licensure will be shared with other states.

The Continuum for Quality in Connecticut

Over the years, other components have been added to the effort to ensure quality teaching, but standards are always at the heart of each addition. The state has designed a three-tiered process to become fully certified--initial, provisional, and professional. Prospective teachers must pass a basic skills test (currently the Praxis I computer-based tests developed by the Educational Testing Service) as well as a test in their specific subject area (Praxis II or a state test, CONNECT, for elementary teachers) at the end of their preparation in order to receive initial certification. They then enter the Beginning Educator Support and Training (BEST) program.

Through BEST teachers are assigned a mentor for the first year of teaching. In the second year they complete a performance assessment based on the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) standards and modeled after the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards portfolio process. Successful completion of this phase leads to a provisional certificate.

The same standards now apply to experienced teachers as well. In order to renew their certificates every five years, practicing teachers must prepare portfolios that follow the INTASC and National Board standards. Connecticut also designed an alternate route program for prospective teachers entering from other careers. They participate in the BEST program for two years to qualify for a provisional certificate, then must meet the requirements for professional certification.

Initially, some critics of the changes feared that the higher standards would discourage teaching candidates. However, during the first five years of Connecticut's plan for renewal of the teaching force, the number of first-time exam-takers increased threefold, indicating an increase in the candidates for teaching. Furthermore, their pass rate rose consistently and the median SAT score of those who applied for teacher education programs increased considerably. Within three years, Connecticut had eliminated teacher shortages around the state, and recent studies show a steady climb in student achievement. For example, the most recent results from the state's student achievement tests show an increase in the number of high school students achieving at high levels in one or more academic areas. The average math score is the highest it has been on the SAT in 22 years.

National Board Standards as a Catalyst
in North Carolina and Ohio

Among the Board's most ardent supporters have been state governors and other policy makers who see the Board's work as a catalyst for bringing constituencies together around standards for teachers focused on higher student achievement. The leadership provided to the National Board by governors of both North Carolina and Ohio, for example, stimulated comprehensive initiatives in their respective states.

North Carolina Governor James B. Hunt, Jr., chair of the National Board, enthusiastically put state resources behind Board certification early on. In 1994, the initial year of the Board's assessment program, North Carolina became the first state to offer incentives to teachers applying for Board certification. These incentives now consist of: payment of the $2,000 fee for the assessment up front; three days of release time to prepare for the meeting with the portfolio and/or the assessment panel; and a 4 percent annual salary bonus for those who become certified. The governor's proposed bi-annual budget for 1997-99 gave Board-certified teachers an additional 12 percent in salary above the amount set for either a bachelor's or master's degree. The state's Center for the Advancement of Teaching conducts week-long sessions for those applying for Board certification.

So far, North Carolina has 205 Board-certified teachers. Because the Board process has become an important professional development strategy, education leaders decided this spring that they needed to learn from those who applied but didn't achieve certification. A special forum engaged about two dozen of these teachers in talking about what it is like to take a risk and what could have been done better in the process.

In addition, the State Board of Education in North Carolina gives certification renewal to teachers who complete the portfolio for the National Board assessment, even if they are not certified by the Board. The credentials of a Board-certified teacher coming from another state are accepted immediately. The state board also leverages the power of the National Board by linking teacher preparation programs to the standards developed by the National Board. These standards must be integrated into the curriculum and the evaluation of students at the campuses in order for them to obtain program approval.

In Ohio, Governor George Voinovich, a former Board member, has supported similar incentives for teachers, and the state has also gradually integrated the vision and reality of National Board certification into its teacher licensure system. The Ohio Department of Education decided that completing the process for National Board certification could fulfill many of the requirements for licensure renewal. It also brought colleges of education serving urban areas into the effort through a grant program to encourage them to recruit and support a small number of teachers through the National Board certification process. The support of these teachers at five campuses was so successful in helping the candidates share their successes and struggles and provide feedback to each other that the governor has recommended to the legislature that cohort groups be established at 10 universities around the state. These cohorts would accommodate the 400 teachers each year who the governor proposes should receive payment for the certification fee. Board-certified teachers also receive an annual stipend.

As an extra recognition, newly certified teachers are recognized by Governor Voinovich each year at a reception at the Governor's Mansion.

Characteristics of Promising
Ways to Improve Licensing and Certification

• State-level professional standards boards set high standards for preparation, entry, licensure, and certification. They also conduct research/evaluation on the various efforts. Teachers are well represented on the boards.
  
• Assessments for licensure require aspiring teachers to demonstrate competence related to professional teaching standards.
  
• Certification is granted only after a beginning teacher has demonstrated competence in teaching to the standards.
  
• There is collaboration and consistent support for standards among key stakeholders at state and institutional levels.
  
• Policies encourage National Board certification through payment of fees, higher salaries, and leadership roles for Board-certified teachers.

[Improving Teacher Preparation]

[The Induction of New Teachers]