THINKING OUTSIDE OF THE UNIVERSITY Innovation in Alternative Teacher Certification Davida Gatlin Center for American Progress April 2008 The Center for American Progress thanks the Joyce Foundation for generously providing support for this paper. Based in Chicago, the Foundation invests approximately $8 million annually in work to improve public educaiton in the Midwest, especially by improving the quality of teachers in low-performing schools. www.americanprogress.org Center for American Progress Executive Summary eacher quality is critical to the success of all other education reform efforts, which is why forward-thinking education reformers are so focused on reforming Tteacher certification standards to boost quality. Adding urgency to the effort is a growing consensus that the supply of new teachers isn’t meeting the demand, particu- larly for subject shortage areas and hard-to-staff schools. One approach to meeting the challenges of teacher quality and supply are alternative routes to teacher certification. These routes have been proliferating over the past de- cade, and they currently supply about one-fifth of new hires nationally.1 Teachers pre- pared through these programs have been found to be just as effective as those prepared through traditional routes within a short period of time. These routes can also increase diversity in the teaching pool. Yet many alternative certification programs are no longer all that different from the tra- ditional routes they have replaced. A recent study by Kate Walsh and Sandi Jacobs from the National Council on Teacher Quality found that many of the “alternative” pro- grams are very similar to traditional preparation programs. The researchers found that the programs are only as selective, or even less selective, than education schools. What’s more, most alternative programs are not flexible enough to support non-traditional ap- plicants and provide inadequate training and support for teacher candidates. Minimizing the differences between standard and alternative programs still further, approximately 50 percent of alternative programs are operated by colleges and uni- versities, and they often closely resemble traditional teacher preparation programs in terms of required professional coursework. 2 Since traditional, university-based programs are not adequately preparing high quality teachers, particularly for hard-to-staff schools and subjects such as math and science, alternative programs are needed that try new and innovative approaches, rather than mimic traditional approaches. A guide to duplicating successful alternative certification programs by Urban Institute researchers Beatriz Chu Clewell and Ana Maria Villegas noted four factors that are particularly important to a program’s success: 1 APRIL 2008 www.americanprogress.org Strong partnerships between prepara- ers who have been prepared by university tion programs and school districts. schools of education are typically pre- pared to seek employment in the general A rigorous but flexible selection pro- market and may lack skills that are neces- cess using traditional and non-tradi- sary in high-needs schools. tional criteria. What many of these innovative pro- Teacher education that meets the grams have in common is an emphasis on needs of non-traditional participants. competencies rather than course cred- its for preparing new educators. Ideally, A strong support system.3 the programs or the districts that they partner with provide prospective teachers Studies conducted by other education with opportunities to build these compe- researchers also emphasize providing a tencies through pre-service clinical expe- lengthy and comprehensive pre-service rience, mentoring, induction, and ongo- component involving practice teach- ing professional development. ing.4 In their study, Clewell and Villegas assume that alternative teacher prepara- Finally, innovative programs create com- tion programs are housed in university petition with education schools and other schools of education, but none of the ele- alternative certification programs. Their ments that they noted is dependent upon creative solutions for preparing teachers that relationship. for challenging teaching placements could help to spur sorely needed change across Indeed, non-profit organizations such as the board. Education schools have been Teach For America and The New Teach- able to circumvent much of the competi- er Project, community colleges, private tion by operating the majority of alterna- entities, individual schools, and others tive certification programs themselves with can, with support and funding, develop the support of state policy. A true market- innovative teacher preparation programs based approach to teacher preparation that can incorporate all of these elements would encourage innovation in program and prepare prospective teachers for cer- development and delivery as programs tification and a career in teaching. And compete to produce effective teachers. those efforts are increasing apace. Some states are adopting these Innovative Programs alternatives to traditional teacher education schools. The innovative preparation programs pro- filed in this report include the following: Innovative programs operated by a diversity of providers can provide solu- Teacher Intern Programs train tions to the unique challenges faced by teacher interns specifically for the charter schools, high-poverty or high- school or type of school in which they needs schools, reconstituted schools, will be working once they are certified. and schools in rural areas, by preparing In most programs, an intern is expect- teachers who are specifically trained to ed to already demonstrate subject-area meet those challenges. In contrast, teach- competency, usually through under- 2 www.americanprogress.org APRIL 2008 graduate coursework, and teaches as a of coursework for new teachers, often full-time teacher of record while com- virtually equivalent to earning a master’s pleting training in pedagogy. degree and as Chester Finn and Mike Petrilli of the Thomas B. Fordham Foun- Teach for America and the New dation state, “have merely re-ordered the Teacher Project are nationally traditional teacher-prep sequence with- recognized non-profit organizations out altering its substance.”6 that selectively recruit non-traditional teacher candidates to teach in high- In order to allow innovative programs to needs schools with the mission of clos- develop, the following steps must be taken: ing the achievement gap. Revise Licensure Requirements Online Programs enable teachers to to Reflect Teaching Competencies. take courses and become certified on State licensure requirements should be the Internet. They provide an econom- revised to reflect a framework of teach- ical option for teacher candidates who ing competencies that new teachers will need more flexibility as they prepare be expected to master. for certification, who live in geographi- cally remote areas, or who feel that Revise Policies to Allow a Diver- they can meet certification require- sity of Providers. States should ments with little formal instruction. revise their policies to allow non-profit and private organizations, commu- Community Colleges offer certi- nity colleges, districts, regional service fication to prospective teachers who centers, individual schools, and others already hold a bachelor’s degree in a to develop and implement their own subject other than education. teacher preparation programs. Teacher Residency Programs pro- Strengthen Evaluation and Ac- vide teacher residents, like novice doc- countability of Teacher Prepara- tors, with intensive support throughout tion Programs. All programs, tradi- their residency year. They do not teach tional and alternative, should be held as full-time teachers of record. Instead, to the same high standard of quality, they typically teach in a classroom determined by the ability to prepare alongside a mentor teacher and are participants to meet state standards for given increasing levels of responsibility certification and by the effectiveness of throughout the school year. their graduates in the classroom. Provide Federal Funding to Sup- Implications for Policy port Innovative Alternative Cer- tification Programs. The federal There is no empirical evidence that edu- government should create financial cation schools do a better job of prepar- incentives for states to expand their ing teachers or that required professional definition of alternate route programs education coursework increases student to include a diversity of providers. achievement.5 In many states, licensure Public funds should be made available requirements call for excessive amounts to those programs that prove their ef- 3 APRIL 2008 www.americanprogress.org fectiveness in recruiting and preparing the barriers to innovation are removed, competent teachers, especially those in however, a marketplace of options can- high-needs areas. not operate properly, and innovative pro- grams cannot flourish or grow to scale. The requirement that all teachers be “highly qualified”—established by Title II Given the prevailing negative attitude of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, about the current state of teacher prepa- the most recent reauthorization of the El- ration programs, both traditional and al- ementary and Secondary Education Act ternative, it seems appropriate to consider of 1965—has helped to keep teacher cer - a new paradigm for teacher preparation tification at the forefront of the national