Teacher Certification

There is no doubt that the need for more and better teachers is ever growing. According to the latest teacher supply and demand projections, in the next decade, the nation will need to hire 2.2 million people who are not currently teaching in the nation’s elementary and secondary schools. Not only that, but there is also mounting concern about teacher preparation and the quality of the teaching force.

The number of teachers who are teaching “out of field” has grown to an alarming number. By “out of field”, that means that these teachers are teaching subjects for which they have no academic major or even a minor, for that matter. All this, of course, points to the main problem of teaching standards regarding the training, licensing, recruiting, and hiring of teachers.

To answer this need, the Administration and the Congress of the United States have decided on education programs such as teacher certifications that are intended to raise the level of skills and know-how of the country’s educators.

The purpose of teacher certification programs is to train individuals in the specific skills and knowledge required in teaching. Historically, a person can become a teacher by completing a teacher education program at a college or university. These colleges and universities must have been approved by the state licensing authority before you can teach in any school after completing the program. As a result, school districts naturally recruited directly from these institutions with such state-approved programs.

However, this traditional “pool of qualified teachers” has turned out to be a somewhat unreliable source of teachers. About a third or forty percent of people who are “fully qualified to teach” do not teach – at least not right away. And out of those who do decide to teach, they only do so within five years (at most). Afterwards, for some reason or another, they leave teaching behind.

Because of this, the demand for more teachers far outweighs the number of teachers being produced from state-approved teacher programs. Thus, an alternative resource for teachers was needed and the solution was teacher certification programs.

This alternative movement for teacher certification rose out of a need for not only more, but also better, teachers. Teacher shortages and the concern for diversity and quality of the teaching force have compelled the states to step forward and provide new avenues for individuals to enter the teaching profession.

Each state has a different requirement for teacher certification. Some teacher certification programs accept high school graduates, allowing them to earn teaching units, enough to enable them to teach in elementary or secondary school. Other teacher certification programs require a college degree. Specialized teacher certification programs are also available. These programs allow for a set of skills and knowledge specific to one subject area, which is often the major of the teacher certification applicant.