Certification and Licensure
A highly qualified teacher, as defined by the No Child Left Behind Act, must hold a bachelor's degree, be fully licensed or certified by the state, and demonstrate competency for each academic subject taught. However, there are questions regarding whether these requirements guarantee a teacher's success in the classroom:
- Are the states' certification and licensing processes predictors of student achievement and other related outcomes (e.g., number of discipline referrals, dropout rates, and attendance rates)?
- What do we know about the effectiveness of the states' alternative routes to certification?
- How important are other teacher factors (e.g., general ability, knowledge of how children develop, pedagogical knowledge, demographic similarity to students) to student achievement?
Publications
TQ Research & Policy Update Vol. 4, No. 1 (January 2009) (
Adobe Reader PDF 132 KB)
Teacher Quality and Student Achievement: Making the Most of Recent Research (2008) Adobe Reader PDF 960 KB
This brief culls the associations between teacher quality and student achievement, as identified in a research synthesis conducted by the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality. It identifies several teacher quality variables—including specific teacher qualifications, characteristics, and classroom practices—that are strong and consistent predictors of student achievement.
Education and Certification Qualifications of Departmentalized Public High-School Level Teachers of Core Subjects: Evidence from the 2003–04 Schools and Staffing Survey ( Adobe® Reader® PDF)
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) discusses the issue of out-of-field teaching. They use data from the 2003–2004 Schools and Staffing Survey to examine the match between teaching assignments and postsecondary majors and teaching certifications of teachers in public high schools.
Teachers on the Move: A Look at Teacher Interstate Mobility Policy and Practice ( Adobe Reader PDF 476 KB)
The National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC) partnered with the Troops-to-Teachers Program and the Maryland State Department of Education to commission a study of teacher interstate mobility. The final report by Learning Point Associates describes the problem of barriers to interstate mobility and points to promising solutions.
Online Resources
TQ Source on Teacher Certification and Licensure
A highly qualified teacher as defined by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act must hold a bachelor's degree, be fully licensed or certified by the state, and demonstrate competency for each academic subject taught. However, there are questions regarding whether these requirements guarantee a teacher's success in the classroom.
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